The forgotten colleges that could restore hope to American education

When I was in high school, I began attending Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix. This was before dual enrollment became commonplace. Yes, I’m that old.

Why did I go to community college while still in high school? I wanted to study philosophy. I also enrolled in literature, political science, and English composition, eager to learn from professors who had devoted their lives to teaching.

A good education should answer two questions: How will I make a living? And what makes life worth living?

I’ll never forget the first day of my first philosophy class. The professor asked a simple question: What is the good for human beings?

Not merely one good among many, or what makes you happy this afternoon. What is the highest good for human beings?

We offered answers. A Socratic dialogue followed. The professor challenged our assumptions, pressed us to defend our reasoning, and showed us weaknesses in our arguments. I left with more questions than answers, but I had discovered something extraordinary: I wanted to know the truth about the good life.

That was my introduction to community college: dedicated teachers, serious questions, and an education that awakened the mind.

About 25 years into my career as a university professor, I now have two sons taking community college classes. I want them to have the same opportunity. But community colleges face serious challenges. Enrollment fell 22% between 2010 and 2023 — about 1.7 million students — according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Recent gains have not erased that decline.

That brings me to an election many voters overlook: the community college governing board.

In Maricopa County, three candidates are running together as Change4Maricopa: business executive John David Crow for an at-large seat, entrepreneur Ryan Caracciolo in District 4, and Susan Winder, an educator and administrator with 35 years of experience, in District 3. Their campaign emphasizes affordability, workforce and health care training, and restoring community college football. Not all three races appear on every voter’s ballot.

Their candidacies draw attention to four problems that governing boards nationwide should confront.

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Financial accountability

Community colleges exist to offer affordable education. That requires something universities are not always known for: careful spending.

An August 2026 California state audit found inadequate reserve policies at several community college districts. Four of the six districts reviewed held reserves above their own limits or the statewide median, yet none of those with high reserves had formal plans to use the money to improve student outcomes.

Governing boards should be able to explain how expenditures improve instruction, student success, or career preparation. Ideological programs deserve the same scrutiny as every other expenditure. DEI initiatives should not get a free pass because administrators regard their objectives as virtuous.

Fiscal responsibility means remembering whose money is being spent and why.

Build a pipeline from classroom to career

For too many students, the familiar college story is four years of study, a mountain of debt, and a diploma that leaves them wondering where the jobs went. Community colleges can offer another path.

A student interested in becoming an electrician, nurse, welder, medical technician, or semiconductor specialist should be able to identify the qualifications, complete an affordable program, and enter the workforce. Employers know what skills they need and can help colleges design the training.

But I do not want community colleges to become mere job-training centers. A good education should answer two questions: How will I make a living? And what makes life worth living?

We should not sacrifice either question to answer the other.

Confront the myth of educational neutrality

Another question governing boards cannot escape: What values guide education?

For decades, Americans have been assured that public education can set Christianity aside and remain neutral. I call that the myth of neutrality. Christianity was pushed out, but competing ideologies did not stay at the door. Marxist assumptions and political activism filled the supposed vacuum.

Christians should not have to abandon their convictions to participate in public education. We should reject the claim that education can be separated from questions of truth, goodness, and, ultimately, God.

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Restore educational hope for young men

Consider the persistent gap between young men and women in higher education. According to research published in July 2026 by the American Institute for Boys and Men, 43% of women ages 18-24 were enrolled in college in 2024, compared with 34% of men.

The causes are complex. But I doubt that lectures depicting young men as the problem make them eager to enroll. Some may simply vote with their feet.

A young man interested in advanced manufacturing should see a route from education to employment. So should one who wants to work in health care. Colleges should invite young men to develop their abilities, not treat them as presumptive offenders.

The election near the bottom of your ballot

What are community colleges ultimately supposed to accomplish?

I return to the professor who asked us about the highest good. He helped me imagine an intellectual future I had never considered, and that experience helped lead me to a career teaching philosophy.

Other students find their calling in nursing, engineering, construction, business, or technology. The paths differ, but education should give them hope by helping them discover and develop their abilities.

The people elected to governing boards now will shape those opportunities for years. Their races seldom command headlines or millions in campaign advertising. They still deserve your attention.

Community colleges can be great again. Do not stop at the top of the ballot. Keep going — and vote for conservatives who understand what these colleges can be.