Gov. Brown warns UC tuition could double

Two-fold tuition increases and campus closures were among the dramatic pronouncements that emerged out of Sacramento this week as Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers sought to confront the possibility of an all-cuts budget.

Brown warned in a speech Wednesday that University of California tuition would double to more than $20,000 a year if no new revenue is raised, the Associated Press reported.

At a Senate hearing the next day, Democratic lawmakers suggested closing down some of the UC campuses and shuttering segments of research programs to eliminate overlap.

The suggestions followed a report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. The office had responded to requests by lawmakers to put forth solutions that did not include voter-approved tax extensions.

The list included raising tuition another 7 percent and cutting wages by 10 percent at the UC, as well as limiting Cal Grant eligibility. The report concluded that another $1.1 billion cut from universities will be required to balance the books if revenue solutions are not reached.

The LAO did not recommend campus closures in the report, but legislative analyst Mac Taylor said the question, posed by Lori Hancock (D-Berkeley), was a legitimate one.

Hancock’s district contains UC Berkeley, and she expressed a desire to protect “flagship” campuses, Taylor said.

About five weeks remain until the May revision of the budget. Brown will have to produce new solutions at that time.

For now, the governor is traveling south to drum up support for a tax extensions measure in a special election. He visited Arlanza Elementary School in Riverside Friday morning to talk with local leaders about the impact of cuts on county schools.

The UC is presently focusing on coping with the $500 million cut already enacted, said UC spokesman Steve Montiel. Budget officials are also making preliminary preparations for a worse scenario.

Downgrading campuses in the face of more drastic cuts is “not an option,” Montiel said. But he reiterated UC President Mark Yudof’s proclamation that little else would be off the table.

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