The University of California stands to lose a net of $109 million under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed 2008-2009 budget.
The budget proposal, which was released on Thursday as a reaction to what Schwarzenegger called California’s “fiscal emergency,” included a 10 percent across-the-board cut to state programs and will most likely result in increased fees for UC students, said Ricardo Vazquez, a spokesman for the UC Office of the President, in a press release.
Though Schwarzenegger honored his 2004 compact with the UC Board of Regents by increasing funding for student enrollment growth and other programs, the overall 10 percent cut in unallocated funds to the UC, which totals approximately $332 million, will offset any increases resulting in a net loss of $109 million for the UC.
Still, because the cuts are targeted at general funds and not funds earmarked for specific programs, the regents will have flexibility in deciding how to cut university spending.
Many have expressed concerns that the funding the UC will receive, almost $400 million less than the regents had hoped for, will result in a fee hike.
According to the press release from the Office of the President, the new budget predicts a 7 percent increase in educational fees and a 10 percent increase in registration fees that will result in a minimum of $490 per undergraduate and $546 per graduate student per quarter. Schwarzenegger acknowledged that “it is possible that the regents will act to increase fees beyond these levels.”
When the regents entered into the compact with Schwarzenegger in 2004, both parties agreed that fees would not increase 10 percent in any given year. But, with state funding falling dramatically short of the regents’ predictions for the UC’s needs, Courtney Weaver, the legislative director for the UC Students Association, said she has not ruled out the possibility that the regents will break this nonbinding compact.
“Now that the governor made this pretty massive cut, they can potentially go to the students as a mechanism for making up the money they didn’t receive in the state budget,” Weaver said.
But, while the regents have committed to discussing the proposed budget at their upcoming meeting at UCLA Jan. 15-18, Vazquez said he believes insinuating the regents will break the compact is nothing but speculation.
“The regents will have to look at all their options and discuss the budget proposal, but I think it’s premature to say anything about those particular things,” he said.
UCSA President Louise Hendrickson said she believes the idea of increasing student fees is “outrageous,” and she said she has seen her fees increase almost $1,500 in the last four years as a graduate student at UC Riverside.
“Financial aid doesn’t keep up with these increases, and the cost of living continues to go up. … I’m constantly questioning where this money is going. I’m seeing the governor using the students as a tax-paying body,” she said.
Hendrickson said she and other students will attend the upcoming regents meeting to express their frustration about increased fees.
“I wish that in this “˜year of education,’ higher education was still shown to be a priority in this state,” she said.
Still, the proposed budget includes pockets of additional funding for the university, including $388 million in bond money that, subject to legislative approval, will be allocated to “address growth, life safety and infrastructure renewal needs on UC campuses.”