California established a Master Plan for Education in 1960 that transformed educational opportunity for several generations and in the process became the model for public higher education nationally. The plan defined specific roles for the University of California, California State University and the California Community Colleges system. Its underlying principle was that some form of higher education should be available to everyone based only on academic proficiency and not economic means.
That Master Plan is now at a crossroads. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has announced that the projected budget deficit for this year is close to $20 billion, which will mean deep cuts in education. Although the state has weathered budget crises in the past, this time may turn out to be the worst for California public education and particularly for community colleges.
Because property tax revenues are far lower than predicted, the governor’s budget proposes to cut community colleges by nearly half a billion dollars to cover the shortfall, including about $92 million that will immediately be trimmed out by July 1.
For the City College of San Francisco, this translates to an almost $3 million loss, enough to fund about 460 course sections. Although operating costs continue to increase by nearly five percent — with health care increasing into the double digits — the state is not providing any money to cover the inflationary costs, creating an $8 million hole in the projected $195 million annual budget of City College.
How will City College deal with this budget crisis so that it can continue to educate its 110,000 students in 10 campuses throughout San Francisco?
Eighty-five percent of the students who attend City College work, so they need to get through college as fast as possible. Others need to make up or fill in so that they can complete their studies or transfer to a four-year college or university. Many want to accelerate their course work to enter the job market as soon as possible. For them, summer school classes are not a luxury, but a necessity.
To deal with the crisis, City College will not replace administrative, faculty or staff retirements. If the governor’s proposed budget becomes a reality, City College will have no choice but to eliminate 500 classes, 50 of which are English as a Second Language classes. This will result in larger class sizes, longer lines, fewer offerings and less student services.
City College will also have to dip into its reserves to help balance its budget for this fiscal year. But, unfortunately, this is not a one-year budget problem. Next year is expected to be devastating.
To deal with the problem, the state’s legislative analyst is proposing a hike in student fees from $20 to $26 per unit, a 30 percent increase. The last time tuition fees were increased, 300,000 students statewide dropped out, many postponing their college education for at least a year.
The impact of the proposed tuition fee increase will not be shared equally. It will fall hardest on the most vulnerable students, students who have just lost their jobs and cannot afford to pay the increased fees. Students who have budgeted $6 per day for food would have to go two weeks without food to pay for the fee increases.
Furthermore, since the proposed tuition fee increases will be for all of public higher education in California, fewer students will be able to afford a CSU or UC, and more will have to rely on California community colleges. Their entry will edge out the traditional community college students, often the least educated and with the lowest incomes.
The present fiscal crisis can be traced back to the November 2003 executive order by Schwarzenegger eliminating the $200 vehicle license fee, an action which has meant an aggregate loss of $9 billion in general revenues, much of which would have gone to education.
To avert the crisis, new revenue enhancements need to be part of the budget solution, not just cuts. There should be no fee increases for the students — the budget should not be balanced on the backs of the students.
Public higher education must be enhanced, not reduced, now more than ever.
Rodel Rodis is a trustee of the San Francisco Community College board who has served three terms as board president and chair of the Finance Committee.