The suggested allocations to the University of California are nearly identical to the ones from Schwarzenegger’s January proposal, including the restoration of the $305 million cut last year and an additional $51.3 million in financial aid toward the 5,121 eligible students in the system who are not currently being funded. However, the governor’s newest budget would negate his January proposal to cut $111.8 million set aside to accommodate growing enrollment in the UC and CSU systems.
In order to absorb California’s $19.1 billion budget deficit, other services would suffer major cuts — including a proposed $3.7 billion from in health care, that would cut the Medi-Cal program for the poor, along with state in-home support for the disabled. In addition, the budget takes into account Proposition 98 — which passed in 1988 and guarantees a minimum pool of money for schools. Under the proposition, the 40 percent, or $1.4 billion, of the general fund that must be given to schools will be taken from subsidized childcare services for 142,000 children.
Federal money would still be available for about 78,000 children whose families fall within the lowest income bracket.
Under Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget, state employees would also take a hit: Instead of three furloughs a month, they would receive one unpaid “personal” day per month, and their salaries would be cut by 5 percent across the board. However, the state contribution to employee pensions would be raised by 5 percent.
An additional $1.2 billion would be cut from prisons, where inmate health-care services would be reduced and nonviolent offenders in state prisons would be moved to less expensive county jails.
UC spokesperson Lynn Tierney said the university hopes the state Legislature — which is currently negotiating the final budget — will follow the governor’s funding proposal, despite the effect it would have on low-income families and state employees.
“This is a very tough budget year,” Tierney said. “The legislature has almost impossible decisions to make. We’re hoping that the legislature will stick with the governor’s recommendation.”
In another win for financial aid, Schwarzenegger’s plan would restore $45.5 million to the Cal Grant program, which provides an estimated 46,000 low- to middle-income UC students with necessary financial aid. The governor originally proposed reducing the program by $79 million by not considering income eligibility and award levels.
“[The restoration of the Cal Grant program is] going to help out in the short term, and I think that was the main argument: a short-term solution for low- to middle-income students who receive Cal Grants,” Sanchez said. “We needed that program stabilized. I know students are going to benefit from it, because a lot of those students receive those grants. A lot of those students need those grants.”
Former A.S. Vice President of External Affairs Gracelynne West lobbied to restore the Cal Grant program alongside students UC Irvine, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara at the governor’s office in downtown Los Angeles last Wednesday.
She applauded the preservation of Cal Grants, but said that the money should not come at the expense of health care low-income families.
“It’s commendable that they’re really starting [to] prioritize higher education, but we need to prioritize the underserved communities as a whole, because they’re being cut out [to support] higher education,” West said.
“That’s not the way I want to see UC, CSU or community colleges funded.”
Tierney said that, though Schwarzenegger’s budget would not provide the $931 million originally requested by the UC system, the $305 million would be a steps toward retaining faculty and offering more courses.
“It signals a re-prioritization of education [and] the realization that we cannot move forward without funding what is to be our future,” UC Student Association President Victor Sanchez said. “We’re hopeful this is a first step.”
However, to counter the increased UC funding, Schwarzenegger proposed to eliminate campus outreach — specifically, the $31.3 million used for academic preparation programs such as includes Early Academic Outreach Programs. EAOP aims to prepare middle- and high-school students for college. Similarly, the budget would limit academic preparation in the CSU system to $18.6 million.
The governor also suggested funding an additional $355 million toward construction projects on UC campuses that have already been planned — such as classroom buildings, dormitories and lab facilities. According to Schwarzenegger, this would create roughly 3,300 private-sector jobs for those working in the construction industry.
The UC Committee on Finance will hold a budget update presentation at the UC Board of Regents meeting on May 19 to discuss the governor’s latest proposal.
“It’s really, really much more important than before that students look at the budget and realize what that means, and get involved in advocacy, because these legislators are being asked to choose between health-care programs for homeless people and funding UC,” Tierney said. “These are really tough decisions that people have to make. Students have an opportunity to make their voices heard, now.”
Committee members also plan on approving the official 2010-11 budget for the Office of the President.
State legislators are currently negotiating a final interpretation of Schwarzenegger’s proposal, which will require the governor’s signature for approval. The amount of time it will take to pass the budget is uncertain still, as a two-thirds majority is needed to pass any budget-related matter through the state Legislature.
Readers can contact Regina Ip at [email protected].
