The UC Board of Regents met quickly and rather discretely the
Monday after finals to raise student fees by $135 starting spring
quarter. While $405 per year ““ the first such increase in
eight years ““ is a hearty increase for students who pay less
than $3,500 in registration fees annually, it’s hard to blame
the regents for their decision. They were, after all, handcuffed by
the financial quagmire that is the state of California.
A student fee hike should not be the answer when the UC needs
funding, but the regents did not have many alternatives to
compensate for the $74 million in budget cuts Gov. Gray Davis
proposed for the UC last month. They may not have many alternatives
in the future either, given the projection of another large budget
deficit next year. A 6.5 percent student fee hike has already been
approved for the 2003-2004 academic year unless the state can cover
the costs, which is unlikely. So how can future budget crises be
avoided and how can the UC deal with them more tactfully when they
do arise? The state of California, the federal government, and the
regents need to shape up. The financial burden on students should
not haphazardly fluctuate along with the economy.
Gov. Davis can begin by realigning his priorities. Davis claims
his top three priorities are “education, education and
education”; but if so, why did he agree to boost prison
guards’ pay by 25 percent in a five-year plan while making
major cuts in education that he indicated will continue in 2003? No
governor should have to deal with a problem as dehabilitating as
California’s energy crisis, but Davis cannot take his budget
problems out on the UC system, the pinnacle of education in
California. A better solution for Davis would be to spread the pain
of the budget crisis by raising taxes across the state, with a
particular emphasis on those who can afford to pay.
The federal government can also change their policies to
alleviate future states’ financial crises by eliminating
proposed tax cuts. President Bush continues to tout tax cuts as
relief for hard-working Americans ““ so they will remember
their check on election day. But a relatively small tax cut from
the federal government affords little relief if it coincides with a
larger tax hike from states in economic turmoil. When asked about
the relationship between Bush’s potentially permanent tax
cuts and stimulating the economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan said, “I know there is a presumption that if you
make those tax cuts permanent it will add stimulus to the economy.
I doubt it.”
During an economic downturn when states like California cannot
tread water on their own, the federal government should step in
with relief. If stimulating the economy is high on Bush’s
agenda, he would do better by lending a hand to help large states
fund their vital public programs than by giving residents a small
tax break and hoping the money will flow upwards.
When considering another student fee increase, the regents can
help students by implementing a gradual fee increase plan, as some
regents proposed, instead of subjecting them to what Regent Ward
Connerly called, “the most incoherent fee policy on the
planet.” A plan with a steady rate of increase over a four to
six year period will allow students to pay when they can afford it.
Extra money can be reserved in times of prosperity and saved until
times when the budget becomes thin. Students should know how much
their education will cost for the entire year at the beginning of
the year.