UC, CSU systems may each face additional $50 million cut under revised budget proposal
By Naheed Rajwani
May 15, 2012 1:37 a.m.
California’s higher education systems may be forced to take on greater cuts to help cover a $15.7 billion gap in state revenues, according to the governor’s revised budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year.
The new budget proposal, released Monday, reflects changes in California’s economic climate since January. The budget deficit has increased by almost $7 billion, according to the state finance department.
“The fact is California has been living beyond its means. … There has to be a balance and a day of reckoning,” said Gov. Jerry Brown in a press conference Monday. “We have to take the medicine.”
To cover the gap, Brown has proposed deeper cuts to the state’s health and welfare programs, as well as higher education.
Under the revised budget proposal, both the University of California and the California State University systems would each need to absorb $250 million, which is $50 million more than what was proposed earlier this year.
These cuts will not materialize if Brown’s proposed tax measure passes in November. The measure would raise the sales tax by a quarter percent and increase income taxes on the wealthy, raising an estimated $8.5 billion in extra revenue for the state.
In his proposal, Brown also revised the amount of money that can be allocated to the UC Retirement Plan, from $90 million to $52 million. That number will not be affected by the passage of the tax measure.
The California Legislature will now review the proposal and is expected to pass a final budget in mid-June.
Many state programs, such as health and welfare programs, are only maintained through state funding and do not have alternative methods of raising money, said Daniel Mitchell, professor emeritus at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
For higher education, however, tuition can be increased to cover for reductions in state funding, which makes state colleges a popular source of cuts, Mitchell said.
Because the budget proposal is still in its early stages and is yet to be finalized by the Legislature, the university has not formulated a concrete plan of action for next year, said Dianne Klein, a UC spokeswoman.
“We prefer to set tuition levels as early as possible so students, parents and the university can plan accordingly,” she said.
The UC Board of Regents will meet Wednesday for its bimonthly meeting, and the regents will discuss possible sources of revenue, including the possibility of a 6 percent tuition increase for next year.
They do not plan to vote on any tuition changes this week, Klein said.
