The Crisis of Public Education
California’s Budget
Deficit:
Budget Cuts:
Tax Extensions:
Other*:
Total:
- $28.7 Billion
+ $12.5 Billion (500M from UC)
+ $12.0 Billion
+ $5.2 Billion
$1.7 Billion in reserve
* Income increases yield more income tax, other revenue sources.
Source: Office of the Governor: http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=16872 & 1/11 lecture by Prof. Dan Mitchell
What If?
• If Republicans refuse to put tax extensions on
the ballot in special election in June or voters
reject extensions, cuts will be more extreme.
• UC’s cuts will total at least $1 billion.
• To put that in perspective, half of that is equal
to state support for UCSB, UCSC, and UCSF
•
Presentation to the Regents, January 2011: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jan11/f1ppt.pdf
And Yet…
• Almost 66% of US corporations pay no federal
income tax, due to loopholes and tax havens
• CA is the only state that doesn’t tax oil drilling.
Yes, even Alaska and Texas have one.
• Prop. 13 (1978) limits property tax increases,
to businesses & corporations as well as homes
•
•
Sources: LA Times http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/15/business/fi-hiltzik15;
CNN http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/12/news/economy/corporate_taxes/;
UC fees have increased 6 times as fast
as inflation since 1966.
Sacramento Bee: http://blogs.sacbee.com/the-public-eye/2011/01/csu-uc-fees-outpace-inflation.html
Students’ fee revenues fund the UC
more than the state’s, for the first
time in state history. Is a public school
still public when over half its funds
are private?
http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2011/01/governor_browns_proposed_20112012_budget_cuts_500_million_in_state_funding_for_the_university_of_cal
Threat to Pell Grants
• 70,000 UC students got Pell Grants in 2010-11
• 36% of UCLA students received a Pell Grant
• Republicans’ proposed budget would cut $845
from Pell Grants starting in 2011
• Obama’s budget proposal ends summer Pell
Grants and subsidies for graduate students’
loan interest
Sources: UC Access & Excellence Report 2010-11; usstudents.org; and http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/13/news/
economy/obama_budget_pell_grants/index.htm
Rising Student Loan Debt
• Total amount of loans doubled since 1997
• Average debt/B.A. borrower rose 18% to $22,700
• Average grad student credit card debt: $8,612
Sources: http://www.collegeboard.com/html/costs/aid/4_1_loans.htm ; http://www.amsa.com/policy/resources/stats.cfml
UC Regents
18 Governor Appointees
7 Governmental “ex officio” officials
1 Student Regent
- Students contribute +51% of the UC’s core funds
- Students have 4% regental representation
- Regents serve 12-year terms & cannot be fired or
removed by the governor, students, or taxpayers
Effects of Cuts to UC
• Depts. bundled together or minimized
• Libraries canceling magazine subscriptions
• Larger class sizes = less personal attention,
limited student discussion, and increased
reliance on readers for grading
• 1/5 of undocumented students dropped out
due to fee increases
• Commodification of knowledge
• Ethnic Studies targeted for cuts and program
terminations
What’s Been Done
• Schwarzenegger said Nov. 2009 protests were
reason behind restoring $305 M to UC in 2010
• Schwarzenegger also backed a constitutional
amendment (unpassed) that guaranteed CSUs
& UCs would get 10% of state budget
• Legislature considered bill (unpassed) that
limited fee increases and calling for a waiting
period before increases could take effect
Source: Daily Bruin: http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2010/02/despite-flaws-governors-budget-proposal-uc-protest
What’s Next?
• Attend the Can You Hear Us Now? concert on 4/14:
hearusnowca.com
• Call a Republican CA legislator & ask the tax extensions
to be put on the June ballot
• Become Chancellor Block’s Facebook friend & ask for
more student reps on budget committees
• ASK QUESTIONS! – Ask your professors how budget cuts
are affecting their departments