Speaker of the California State Assembly Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) recently expressed approval of Gov. Brown’s May Revision of the 2015–2016 state budget, specifically commending the proposed measures to provide additional funding to California universities while acknowledging the need for further action.
The May Revision, which is a revision of the budget as it was stated in January, provides no additional general-use funding beyond the $119.5 million that was originally granted to the University of California. It does, however, allocate $7.6 billion from the state budget to repay the system’s pension obligations.
According to Atkins, this action will free up funding which would otherwise be spent funding the retirement of UC employees.
The budget further provides both $25 million for deferred general maintenance and $25 million for energy-efficiency projects, which will help UC campuses reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
While general-use funding for UC campuses did not increase in the May Revision, an additional $38 million is being added to the $119.5 million already granted to the California State University system by the January proposal. Still, this figure remains $59 million less than was requested by university administrators.
Atkins told the UCSD Guardian in an interview that she was pleased with the increase in funding for both the CSU and UC systems.
“The Assembly has always wanted more money for the [UC and CSU campuses],” Atkins said. “In this provision, the governor has granted that.”
The May Revision further states that increased state funding should mean that tuition hikes are not necessary for native California students. However, a steady increase in the cost of out-of-state tuition is expected, according to Atkins.
This raise is occurring largely as a result of the UC system’s prices becoming more aligned with the market, Atkins claimed, as the cost of attending a UC campus for out-of-state students has been significantly cheaper than it would be for other universities. This difference was mainly due to the UC system’s need to balance its budget using out-of-state tuition.
As a result, the number of out-of-state students on campuses such as UCSD and UC Berkeley has reached 20 percent of total enrollment.
While Atkins acknowledged the benefits of the diversity that out-of-state students bring to campuses, she argued that it is time for the UC system to begin prioritizing Californian students again.
“We don’t want to put the UC [system] in the position where they can’t accept out-of-state and out-of-country students, but these admission[s] are at an all-time high,” Atkins said.
Furthermore, this increase will provide overall $45 million in additional funding for the UC system.
Atkins and the Assembly also continue to push for transparency within the UC budget, claiming that it has helped the state realize issues that it was not aware of before.
Moving forward, the state Budget Committee and its six subcommittees will meet to negotiate the final details of the budget between the Senate and the governor.
Atkins encouraged students to continue a dialogue with the legislature about their concerns. In particular, Atkins told the Guardian that she hopes to receive student support for provisions such as the Middle Class Scholarship and other various aspects of financial aid, including those focused on providing books and affordable transportation for students.
