(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(D-WA) received a call from Education Secretary Arne Duncan informing her that
the he would be reversing the Department of Education’s decision to deny Seattle
Central Community College’s (SCCC) application for TRIO funding because of a
technical error on their application. The decision comes after Senator Murray
personally called Secretary Duncan on Friday, May 28th and sent
multiple letters with Senator Maria Cantwell, asking that the Department of
Education allow SCCC to compete for the funds which they had received for over
30 years. TRIO funding provides critical support services including counseling,
tutoring, mentoring, and financial guidance to low-income students.
“This was unfortunately a case of bureaucracy trumping
the needs of disadvantaged college students,” said Senator Murray. “And
I was proud to stand up for the young people at Seattle Central who rely on
TRIO to turn college potential into college success. I told Secretary Duncan
that we had to forget about technicalities and focus on the needs of these
students, and thankfully, he agreed. ”
“The TRIO program is a critical component of our
mission to provide education to all who come to our doors,” said Gary
Oertli, Interim President of Seattle Central Community College. “We
applaud Secretary Duncan’s decision and the hard work of Senator Murray, who
worked diligently to bring this matter to a satisfactory ending.”
SCCC has received TRIO funding for over 30 years and the
school stood to lose almost $2.5 million over five years if their application
was not considered (a decision on granting the funding is forthcoming). SCCC
serves 12,000 students per year, 54% percent of whom are racial and ethnic
minorities. SCCC is among Washington’s most diverse community colleges, and
serves many veterans, former foster youth, low-income and first-generation
college students, students with disabilities, and students of color.
SCCC’s TRIO application was submitted on time to the
Department of Education via email on December 11th, 2009. However,
the Department of Education maintains that a portion of their application – the
“program narrative” – was not included on the submission email and were
therefore refusing to consider SCCC’s application.
After being informed of the denial, Senator Murray along
with Senator Cantwell, sent the Department of Education a letter. After
receiving a letter back that the Department of Education was maintaining the
denial, the Senators sent a second letter. Senator Murray, a senior member of
the Senate Education Committee, also then personally called Secretary Duncan to
demand an answer.
A timeline of actions follows:
- December
11, 2009 – SCCC submits their
application for TRIO Student Support Services for the 2011-2015 grant
cycle via email. - December
14, 2009 – Department of Education’s
TRIO application deadline. - January
4, 2010 – The Department conducted a
review of the application and determined that the application was incomplete. - April
1, 2010 – SCCC notified by the
Department that their application would not be considered. - April
27, 2010 – Senator Murray writes a
letter, along with Senator Cantwell, to the Director of the Office of
Federal TRIO Programs requesting that SCCC be readmitted into the
competition for 2011-2015 TRIO funding. - May
12, 2010 – Senator Murray receives a
letter back from the Department denying the request that SCCC’s
application be considered. - May
20, 2010 –Senator Murray responds to
the letter from the Department of Education, along with Senator Cantwell,
urging the Department to reconsider their decision not to consider SCCC’s
TRIO application. - May
28, 2010 – Senator Murray calls
Education Secretary Arne Duncan to urge him to find a way to consider
SCCC’s application and to “not allow bureaucratic red tape to stand in
the way of success for the SCCC students that utilize TRIO services.” - June
9th, 2010 – Secretary Duncan reverses the
Department of Education’s decision to deny SCCC’s application.
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