HARRISBURG — A Butler lawyer and trustee of Butler County Community College made a pitch Tuesday for more state funding in the state’s 2017-18 budget.

Trustee Joseph Kubit was joined by five BC3 students and dozens of others on the rotunda staircase of the state capitol building, and used the platform to press for more money.

“Without increased investment in community colleges, expansion to underserved areas and implementing new programs to meet community needs will be very difficult,” said Kubit, who is a Cabot resident and graduated from BC3 in 1984.

His comments came as state officials prepare to negotiate what both Democrats and Republicans have said is likely to be a painful spending plan for the coming fiscal year.

Gov. Tom Wolf proposed in February a budget that would keep state funding for community college level at $232.1 million. A Republican plan that sets state spending at $31.5 billion — more than $800 million less than Wolf’s proposal — was sent to the Senate last week.

BC3 students met with state Rep. Brian Ellis, R-11th; Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-10th; Rep. Jim Marshall, R-14th; and Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, before the rally. The meetings were part of a day of community college-focused lobbying in Harrisburg.

Kubit, for his part, said he wants to see the state increase its support for community colleges, which educated more than 34,000 students last year, according to the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges. The commission said the schools also provided more than $10 million in customized training for more than 18,000 workers.

“I urge Gov. Wolf’s administration and the General Assembly to increase state funding for community colleges,” Kubit said. “As history has borne out, the return on this investment will be hard to match.”