State Has The Funds To Boost Higher Education
A new opinion piece from our co-chairs Dick Ackerman and Mel Levine ran on Fox & Hounds on November 21, 2016. Here’s an excerpt:
The State’s coffers are in good shape. The Legislative Analyst projects an $11 billion surplus in 2017-18, including $2.8 billion in discretionary reserves that the Legislature can approve for any purposes. At least half of that discretionary money should be reinvested in California’s system of public higher education.
On November 8, voters approved measures that will provide billions of dollars in additional revenue that will be earmarked for K-12 education, housing and healthcare. Not only was Proposition 55 passed to extend income tax rates on higher brackets, but the voters also substantially boosted tobacco taxes and opened up a new revenue stream with legalization of recreational use of marijuana. Local voters also passed additional sales taxes for transportation and housing projects. This revenue influx should give the Legislature and the Governor room to ramp up the State’s meager investment in public higher education.
Even with some gains in recent years, funding for the University of California and the California State University system has languished far below historic levels. Per pupil State spending for UC dropped from $24,644 in 2000-2001 to $12,709 in 2014-15 according to the Public Policy Institute of California. At CSU the drop for the same period has been from $9,393 to $7,916 per student. Much of that decline in State funding has forced substantial increases in tuition and fees. Tuition is now more than three times what it was 15 years ago at both institutions. And both UC and CSU are considering new tuition increases for the first time in six years. That won’t be necessary if Sacramento decision-makers step up to the plate.
Read the complete article, “State Has The Funds To Boost Higher Education,” on the Fox & Hounds website.