With an additional $4 billion in the state budget for the
2005-2006 year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to increase
funding to transportation and cut deficit spending.
The governor said the growth of the budget to $115.7 billion was
“great news for California” as it represented an
increase from earlier estimates as well as from last year.
“Revenues to the state have increased by more than $6
billion over last year,” Schwarzenegger said in a
statement.
But the $4 billion extra in the May Revision of the budget,
which was released Friday, meant little for education, as neither
the college nor the K-12 system received notable funding
increases.
There were some “winners” in the state budget, which
included transportation and local governments, said John Elwood, a
professor of public policy at UC Berkeley.
Transportation received a large chunk of the new $4 billion,
getting $1.3 billion more than they had expected based on the
January draft. This money will be used primarily toward expanding
public transportation and additional lanes to highways.
Cities and counties will be repaid for about half of the money
loaned to the governor to cover the 2004-2005 deficit. The rest is
set to be repaid in the 2006-2007 budget.
But other areas were conspicuously not given funding increases
in the May Revise.
“Obviously, the one group left out here is the California
Teachers Union,” Elwood said.
Teachers say the budget does not allocate enough money to K-12
education and accuse the governor of falling short on his promises.
Based on an agreement made between the governor and the school
system last year, education officials say he owes them another $2
billion.
“The governor has missed this opportunity to make good on
his promise to California students,” said Jack
O’Connell, superintendent of public instruction.
Though Schwarzenegger said the budget invests more money in
education than California ever has before, school officials say it
is not enough and does not fulfill earlier deals.
“The governor’s budget forces schools to continue
their struggle to educate California’s students with funding
that is lower than 42 other states,” O’Connell
said.
Higher education also received few additional funds in the May
Revise, either in the UC, California State University or community
college systems.
The governor held to the compact he made with the UC in May
2004, which sets out the stating funding for the university over
the next several years, and both UC and CSU saw only a small
increase. “Entering into that agreement with the governor was
very helpful in mitigating surprises,” said Ravi Poorsina, a
spokeswoman for the UC Office of the President.
But the UC and CSU schools did receive $1 million more than
expected, all of which will go toward educating teachers in math
and sciences. The UC is set to receive $750,000 of this.
Worse off than either the UC or CSU are the state’s
community colleges, said Norton Grubb, a professor in the School of
Education at UC Berkeley.
With only a few small changes in funding here and there, the
community colleges received little in the May Revise.
“Who really got screwed in higher education was the
community colleges,” Grubb said.
The prison system received an additional $191 million in the May
Revise of the budget, which is more than either higher or lower
education was given.
But the biggest part of the $4 billion increase was put toward
compensating for deficit spending.
In the original draft of the budget, Schwarzenegger had planned
to use $1.7 billion from deficit-recovery bonds. Under the May
Revise, this will come out of the $4 billion in additional
funds.
But even with the growth in the budget, the state is still
looking at a $4 billion deficit for the 2006-2007 year.
“We still have big budget problems facing us in the
future,” Schwarzenegger said.
The May Revise is by no means the final word on the 2005-2006
budget and nothing will be set in stone until it is signed by the
legislature this summer.
“The May revise is the beginning of the negotiation
process, not the end,” said Bruce Cain, a professor of
political science at UC Berkeley. “That’s why nothing
can be certain until they sign.”