The University of California Board of Regents will vote Thursday on adopting a formal position regarding Proposition 92, an initiative which aims to increase funding for community colleges in California.
Officials at California State University and UC campuses are concerned with the possibility of losing a portion of state funding to the community college system, which would further deplete the taxed UC budget and could increase student fees.
Endorsed by organizations such as the Association of California Community College Administrators and California Federation of Teachers, the proposition will alter current state law, as well as the California Education Code.
The initiative would divide the current minimum education funding requirements between community colleges and K-12 schools, creating a separate requirement for community colleges, according to the Legislative Analysts’ Office.
The initiative would also lower the per unit community college cost from $20 to $15 and create a maximum limit for the annual increase in community college fees. This limit corresponds to the lower value of either 10 percent annually or the rate of increase in California’s per capita personal income, according to a UC Office of the President press release.
The proposition would also increase the number of members on the community colleges’ state governing board, according to the legislative analysts’ office Web site.
Because the initiative itself does not indicate a source of funding, if passed, state legislators will be responsible for allocating the money.
Options would include raising taxes or removing funding from existing state programs, including the general fund which supports the CSU and UC systems, according to university officials.
Both the chancellor of the CSU system, Charles Reed, as well as UCOP, have expressed significant concerns over the possibility of reducing state funding allocated by the general fund. According to a fiscal analysis conducted by the Legislative Analysts’ Office, the proposition would require the state to spend $300 million more in the next year.
“The passing of Proposition 92 could mean leaner times for the CSUs,” CSU spokesman Paul Browning said.
Browning also noted that lower-income community college students already receive a designated amount of aid and would not gain increased benefits as a result of the initiative. While officials at UCOP also had similar sentiments about Proposition 92, they note the complexity of the issues surrounding the initiative.
“The concern is that an initiative like this could reduce the amount of discretionary money in the state budget that is left for programs like UCs. At the same time, we believe that all segments of higher education need to be funded. It’s a difficult issue,” UCOP spokesman Brad Hayward said.
UCOP has recommended to the committee on educational finance and policy of the Board of Regents that they either not adopt a position at all, remain neutral while noting the potential for a depletion of state funds, or oppose the initiative.
Within the last 23 years, the Board of Regents has only taken a formal position on five nonbond-related ballot propositions, according to press release issued by UCOP.