SAN FRANCISCO “”mdash; Faced with a critical cutback in state
support in the wake of a statewide fiscal crisis, the University of
California Board of Regents is ready and willing to come to the
table with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“The state budget is looming large in our minds. It is
clear that this budget “¦ will have a substantial impact on
the UC,” said UC President Robert Dynes.
“Budget cuts over time have begun chipping away at the
quality, affordability and access of the UC “¦ and its impact
on California’s economic growth,” he said.
The regents aim to convince Schwarzenegger and the state
Legislature of the UC’s widespread impact on
California’s economy, hoping to lighten the burden of cuts
and keep the university strong.
Although the governor can recommend the UC make certain fee
increases and cuts, only the regents can officially approve the
decision.
Many of the regents, such as Velma Montoya, agreed the board
should work with the governor and the state Legislature, and were
confident the regents could negotiate the university’s $372
million in cuts.
“I think he is on our side,” Montoya said.
Many of the other regents agree. Dynes, for example, recently
met with Donna Arduin, Schwarzenegger’s director of finance,
and found her receptive to the UC’s message.
“The budget could have irreversible effects on the young
people and the state of California, but if we sit down and work
through this, we can build jobs,” Dynes said.
The regents acknowledge the cuts as necessary in a time of
fiscal crisis.
“History had taught us that it is more important to work
with them than to go to war,” said Larry Hershman, the UC
budget vice president.
But some, like Regent Richard Blum, are critical of the governor
for trying to impose decisions on the regents.
“We, and not the governor, should decide how many students
we enroll,” Blum said, referring to a proposal that would cut
freshmen enrollment at the UC next year by 10 percent.
Ward Connerly agreed, saying the regents should make the
decisions on fee increases because the regents get responses from
students, and have the best understanding of the impacts.
In addition, some of the regents were not satisfied with
Schwarzenegger’s distribution of the cuts.
Blum agreed the budget could have been worse for the UC, but
said Schwarzenegger did not really “share the pain” of
the cuts because he refused to raise taxes.
Student regent Matt Murray said the fee increases are like tax
increases for working families, as UC students have already
absorbed a 30 percent fee increase imposed last year.
Dolores Huerta said the regents should work with the governor,
but she also advocated educating Californians about the importance
of the UC so they would support the state Legislature in raising
taxes to keep the UC at a high level.
“We have to come to our own defense. Democracy takes a lot
of work,” Huerta said.
“If students reach out to their parents and people they
know in their community they could reach maybe 100,000
people,” she added.