Holding to his promise to veto some spending proposed by legislators, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this afternoon cut more than $50 million from the 2007-08 California Community Colleges budget.

Schwarzenegger’s line-item veto erased $13.8 for a rate increase for Career Development and College Preparation, a $33.1 million augmentation for the Basic Skills Initiative, $4 million for the Part-Time Faculty Health Insurance Program, and $1.5 million for Construction College.

However, Schwarzenegger left in place a 4.53 percent cost of living adjustment (COLA) and $107 million in growth money for two-year colleges.

The career development and basic skills money amounted to $46.9 million, which Schwarzenegger directed to an “ongoing veto aside” in the community colleges budget.

“…I am setting these funds aside for legislation that appropriates these funds for improving outcomes for at-risk students in a manner more consistent with the priorities of my proposed Student Success Initiative ($33.1 million) and the remainder for other more compelling Proposition 98 funding needs,” Schwarzenegger wrote in his veto message.

As for the career development money, Schwarzenegger claimed there have been no accountability measures developed to evaluate last year’s initial investment of $30 million for career development. He cited similar accountability issues and lack of specified “distribution mechanisms” for the $33.1 million in basic skills funding.

“My administration is prepared to work with the Chancellor’s Office to reinstate the ongoing (basic skills) funding pending agreement on revised accountability and distribution provisions that address my priority for improving meaningful outcomes for students transitioning from high school,” he wrote.

Heading into today’s signing of the multi-billion dollar state budget, Schwarzenegger had committed to blue-lining $750 million in spending proposed by the Legislature.

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