the USA Cross Country Championships. Lane, 1990-present Oregon voters passed Measure 5 capping property taxes in 1990. That same election, Lane County voters approved a new property tax base for Lane Community College. Because the statewide measure would "equalize" funding for Oregon's community colleges, the resulting funding uncertainties presented a dilemma Community College Commissioner Mike Holland called "a cosmic joke." The College eventually lobbied successfully for its new tax base, and envisioned a return to better times, but President Jerry Moskus observed, "there were signs neither Lane nor Oregon would ever be the same." The northern spotted owl controversy and the nationwide recession of the early 1990s brought displaced timber workers to the College, after the dire 1992 forecast of a crippling recession in which President George Bush predicted, "we'll be up to our neck in owls, and every millworker will be out of a job." The New York Times reported, "At Lane Community College, the nation's largest center for retraining displaced woodworkers, nearly 9 of every 10 people going through the program have found new jobs, at an average wage of $9.02 an hour, about $1 an hour less than the average timber industry wage." By 2002, years of state funding shortfalls and enrollment growth required drastic action to reduce the College budget by 7 percent. The college eliminated seven degree and certificate programs, and raised tuition by $10 per credit, a 26 percent increase. In succeeding years, some personnel layoffs were avoided by leaving vacant positions unfilled, but there were also reductions in classified staff. Even though the College successfully invested capital funds in new construction and renovations in the first decade of this millennium, the operating budget has continued to be a challenge. The College predicted the shortfall for fiscal year 2015 to be $12.7 million, according to a local newspaper, "after a precipitous enrollment drop. The student body grew by 40 percent during the Great Recession and has retreated sharply since." In May 2014, a 5 percent tuition increase was approved to meet the deficit, meaning tuition increased 172 percent since 2000 — from $36 per credit to $98 per credit. Compounding the 2015 budget challenges, the federal loan default rate of ex-LCC students approached 30 percent in 2013, the threshold that could cause the federal government to "bar LCC students from getting federal grants." Approximately 73 percent of Lane's students take out student loans. Organization