Pennsylvania lawmakers and the state Department of Education obviously made a mistake when they changed how the state's 14 community colleges receive state reimbursement for tuition. It was an instance where the state sought to fix something that didn't need repaired.

Now that the legislature and Education Department officials have created a crisis in community college funding, including at Butler County Community College, it's imperative that they fully acknowledge their mistake and implement a good remedy quickly. They've already waited too long in regard to resolving the issue.

There should not have to be more hearings or other proceedings to convince anyone. BC3's $400,000 shortfall last year and estimated $500,000 shortfall projected for this year should be evidence enough that the new funding plan, the foundation of which was a desire to save money for the commonwealth, has evolved into a nightmare.

And it's not only BC3 that is suffering; so are the other 13 community colleges, to various degrees.

The funding change that has caused the problem consists of the community colleges being required to share a pot of money allocated by the legislature, rather than basing reimbursements on the number of full-time students enrolled by the colleges.

Enrollment had been the basis for reimbursements prior to implementation of the current system.

The current system would have worked if the legislature had approved a significantly bigger pot of money for distribution, but that wasn't the goal from the start. Thus, the fears of the community colleges early on about the change have come about and have caused the schools to struggle to meet their expenses.

If the legislature is truly committed to education, going back to the former system - or some system close to it and better - would seem to be the logical remedial action.

That might be evolving, based on a state Senate legislative committee hearing Oct. 4 in Harrisburg, at which Lynn Burtner, BC3 dean of finance, and representatives of the other community colleges provided testimony. A report and recommendations, based on that session, reportedly have been forwarded to the Education Department for consideration, but it's anyone's guess how soon that department will respond.

While the community colleges should always be encouraged to spend their money wisely - and no one has alleged that BC3 is doing anything but that - it's safe to conclude, based on what has transpired, that state bureaucrats and lawmakers have made a big mistake in this shortsighted venture.

Instead of having to hold hearings now to try to fix the problem, they should have listened to the schools' concerns when the current system was first concocted. Unfortunately, that isn't always the way things happen in Harrisburg.

- J.R.K.