As you may have read on the front page of today's Chronicle, the proposed $125 billion federal emergency-aid education bill would allocate $10 billion to California, including $4 million for Berkeley and $64 million for Oakland. The bill has passed the Senate Appropriations Committee, and is expected to be voted on by the full Senate next week and to have completed its journey through both houses of Congress by mid-February.
The specific effect on our school districts and on funding for WCC is unknown, since much of the funding is specifically targeted and local districts will not have complete control over how it is spent. But we can say this: it's not bad news.
Here's the link to an Education Week article on the bill:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/01/27/20stimstate.h28.html?tmp=367377135
Bob Menzimer