Mary Spilde

President Barack Obama announced Friday he plans on proposing free education at community colleges for the first two years. The President spoke on Air Force One and later posted to Facebook as part of a preview for his upcoming State of the Union Address.

Obama: "It's something that we can accomplish, and it's something that'll train our workforce so that we can compete with anybody in the world."

Today (Monday), Lane Community College begins remodeling and expanding their student center at the core of main campus. KLCC's Tiffany Eckert reports the 35 million dollar project is expected to take a little over a year.

Center Building was built nearly 50 years ago and it shows. Siding is peeling away, concrete walls and walks are blemished. Lane County voters approved an 83 million dollar bond six years ago. Now the community college is spending the last of that money to finance the remodel.

Lane Community College may have to lay off part time and even full time employees if its enrollment continues to decline.

The college experienced a surge in enrollment during the recession, but that's dropped off as the economy has improved.
Lane saw a 40 percent boost in enrollment from 2008 to 2012 as people who had lost their jobs went to school for technical training. LCC president Mary Spilde says as state funding for higher education has dwindled; the college is more dependent on tuition.