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Community college leader tells legislators system is driving workforce training, asks for staged pay increases
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Summary
Chancellor Baker told a joint legislative committee the Alabama Community College System focuses on workforce training, corrections education and health-care programs, reported enrollment growth and seeks a phased compensation increase of about 15% to remain competitive.
Chancellor Baker of the Alabama Community College System told a joint appropriations and education committee meeting that the system’s chief mission is workforce training and that recent state support has expanded programs statewide.
Baker said the system serves more than 150,000 Alabamians annually through more than 130 training and educational sites and noted new initiatives including the Alabama Energy Infrastructure Training Center and the Activate program with the Department of Corrections. "The Alabama Community College System is driven by one goal: to make life better for Alabamians," Baker said.
Why it matters: Baker framed the system as a principal workforce pipeline for health care, tech and advanced manufacturing in the state, and he argued that compensation levels are a limiting factor for recruitment and retention of instructors. That context is central to the system’s budget requests and program expansions.
Baker cited specific program metrics while answering committee questions. He said the system has "over 10,600 employees," enrolls more than 23,000 students in health-care programs, and has seen enrollment rise "over 5% every semester since 2020." He described an Activate cohort tied to the Department of Corrections that recently graduated 96 participants and said graduates from community colleges frequently stay in-state to join local workforces.
On compensation, Baker said the system loses prospective instructors — particularly in math and science — because K–12 salaries in some districts exceed community college pay. He asked for a phased approach to raises, saying campuses have been told to pursue roughly a 15% increase in pay over time to become competitive, "but not all at one time." Baker linked improved compensation to the system’s ability to recruit instructors who can both train students and contribute to community outcomes.
Baker also described partnerships with industry and law enforcement training: dual-enrollment growth, public-safety training (including evidence-collection and interrogation instruction), and work with the Alabama League of Municipalities to create municipal-official training starting in 2025. He emphasized flexibility in delivering programs across the state — citing Geneva and other rural sites — and noted the system’s role in preparing workers for new and expanding employers.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about the justice-involved education budget line and the capital needs tied to a new corrections training facility; Baker said a large portion of a requested $6.6 million increase would be for capital and equipment at a new prison training site. He also described efforts to connect reentry students with jobs so training translates into employment.
Looking ahead, Baker said the system will continue to expand skills programs and facilities and asked the legislature to account for the system’s workforce role in final budget decisions.
