With the passage of Proposition 13, California's community colleges lost an estimated two-thirds of their local revenues. As the largest such system, the Los Angeles Community College District is preparing for the hardest impact. Retrenchment, loss of local control, and legal difficulties are problems it faces. (JMD)

Higher education, the California dream for well over 2 million undergraduate students, is turning into a nightmare. The Golden State's promise of unparalleled access to community colleges and universities is fast becoming a tarnished relic of the past. And this state of affairs is occurring at a time when the demand for higher education has never…