Nicholas Neupauer

BUTLER TWP — In his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, President Obama again called for a $60 billion federal program to make community college free.

Here is a response to that proposal from Nick Neupauer, president of Butler County Community College who also is the board chair of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges.

“The president’s proposal for ‘America’s College Promise’ is encouraging, and would likely expand access to community college to more students than ever before. The Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, together with Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges, looks forward to working with our congressional delegation to make this proposal a reality.

“We will soon have that opportunity. Many of us will be in Washington, D.C., from Feb. 9-12 at the American Association of Community Colleges and Association of Community College Trustees National Legislative Summit.

“It is refreshing to hear that community colleges are being considered as part of a solution to higher education. The promise is an interesting way to begin a necessary conversation.

“The whole concept reminds me a bit of the passage of the original GI Bill many years ago.”