In an effort to fix California’s economy, Governor Jerry Brown has proposed a 6.8 percent budget reduction that would result in higher fees for students as well as a number of other changes to the California community college system.
According to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, California’s economy is looking to correct a $25.4 billion deficit which would require spending to be cut by $ 12.5 billion while revenues will need to be increased to $12 billion.
Funding to several sectors, including higher education will be slashed, which may mean a total loss of $1.4 billion. CSUs and the UCs would lose $500 million in funding each whereas community colleges would lose $400 million, according to the CSBA.
However, the extent of the cuts is dependent upon several factors that break the future down into three possible scenarios.
The first of the three scenarios according to Jack Scott, Chancellor of California Community Colleges, would be the most beneficial to students.
It would entail California resident’s approval for the June Tax Package, which would temporarily extend high taxes, originally due to expire next year, as well as bring a $10 per-unit fee increase which would generate $110 million in revenue for community colleges. The price per unit at EC would rise to $36.
“Even though it’s not a great solution,” Scott said, “the ideal solution would be… to take the cuts that Governor Brown recommends and to have those taxes extended so we’ll not have to reduce the money to community colleges more.”
The second scenario would happen if the June Tax Package fails and Proposition 98, which according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office “provides K-14 schools with a guaranteed funding source that grows each year with the economy and the number of students,” is funded at a minimum
In this case, the Community College League of California estimates that the effect to EC in particular would be a cut of almost $11 million that would be balanced somewhat by a $10 per-unit fee increase bringing the net reduction to Ec’s funds to about $ 9 million.
And lastly, if the tax package fails and Prop 98 is suspended, the C.C. League of California estimates that the effect to EC would be a $19 million loss in state funds and fees climbing up to a $66 a unit in an effort to bring the net reduction of EC’s fund down to $14 million.
Christina Gold, Academic Senate President, said that school officials are still unclear as to what the future will look like.
“Nobody knows what exactly is going to happen or how deep the cuts will be so they’re planning for each of these scenarios, we won’t know exactly until June,” Gold said,
Gold said that tuition fees will be going up regardless, with the effect being a drop in attendance at EC.
“We’re going to have probably a 5-7 percent decrease in the number of students on campus,” she said.
Since the state only funds for a certain number of students, going over the student limit could hurt our budget even more.
The last time tuition fees were increased in 2002-2003 and 2004-2005, the Legislative Analyst’s Office reported that “enrollment dropped by 11 percent.”
Classes have already been cut, but there are still more cuts to come according to Gold.
“The Legislative Analyst’s office is particularly targeting repeatable classes, so classes that you can take four times,” Gold said, adding that these classes are more common to the music, P.E., and arts departments and are the kind of classes the state is looking at asking colleges to cut.
Valencia Clark, 19, Film major, said she could already feel the effects of the economy on higher education despite this being just her second semester at EC.
“Last semester things were crowded but I know we had a little more, you can just tell the attitudes have changed,” Clark said, “It just seems less inviting.”
And while the popular opinion among most EC students is that taxes should be raised in order to divert more money into the education system, Sanim Khan, 19, biochemistry major, believes otherwise.
“How can you increase taxes, when people are already running out of money,” Khan said, “It doesn’t make any sense.”
