Schwarzenegger proposes new plan to increase funding for higher education
By Marcus Torrey
Jan. 10, 2010 11:53 p.m.
Last Wednesday, in his final State of the State address as governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a bold plan to renew funding for California’s public higher education systems.
The proposal, if approved, would amend the state constitution to ensure that a minimum of 10 percent of the state’s General Fund dollars goes toward public higher education.
In addition, the amendment would cap spending from the General Fund for the state prison system at seven percent, guaranteeing that the state would spend more on public higher education than on its prisons.
Steve Montiel, spokesman for the University of California Office of the President, said a funding plan like this would make it easier for the UC to plan a few years ahead.
“If approved, one of the big things it would do would be to give some stability to funding,” he said.
And stability in funding is something that the UC hasn’t had as of late, according to Montiel.
“Both the UC and the California State University systems have experienced years of cuts that threaten the quality and accessibility of education,” Montiel said. “(The) UC took a 20 percent cut this year alone.”
The 2010-2011 state budget proposal was announced Friday, on the heels of Schwarzenegger’s State of the State address, and also indicated a commitment to higher education.
Both the UC and CSU systems will see an increase in state funding under the proposed budget, with $305 million from the 2009-2010 cuts being restored for the UC.
Schwarzenegger’s new devotion to funding higher education might stem from public outcry, Montiel said.
“Student representatives have spent time in Sacramento, and then there were the protests,” he said. “These things helped people in Sacramento realize how important public higher education was.”
However, state Secretary of Education Glen Thomas said the governor is trying to start the state on a new path with his proposed amendment.
“The governor’s approach has been to try and reset California’s priorities,” Thomas said.
This turnaround in Schwarzenegger’s investment in higher education comes two months after student fee increases were raised across the UC.
“At this point, what’s most important about the proposal is not the timing or any of the numbers, but the opportunity it is creating for Californians to rethink the priorities which have framed state politics and state budgeting for the past couple of decades,” Montiel said.
However, the timing may be pertinent to some.
Christian Meitzenheimer, a first-year physiological science student, who has had to leave on-campus housing and was unable to enroll in classes due to the recent fee increases, knows first-hand what a lack of state funding can do to a student’s education.
He said the Governor’s actions came a little late.
“Damage has been done already by (Schwarzenegger’s) actions.” Meitzenheimer said, referring to the lack of funding this year.
Henry Powell, chair of the Academic Senate, echoed Meitzenheimer’s statement.
“Yes, the proposal is late and its impact would not be felt for several years,” Powell said in an e-mail statement. “But it is a step in the right direction and it is accompanied by a current-year budget proposal that is more supportive.”
However, with the amendment proposal and the new budget plan, Meitzenheimer agreed that the governor is headed in the right direction.
“Education always has to come first,” he said.
