Editorial: Governor’s deal still not a real compromise

Seeking to minimize the pain of university budget cuts and fee
increases, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the University of
California announced a lame compromise Tuesday, one that falls far
short of its supposed goals.

Yes, compared to Schwarzenegger’s original proposal
released in January, the new proposal includes more funding for
salary growth and smaller graduate fee increases. But those
benefits come at a high price. The new proposal still includes
graduate fee increases of 20 percent this year and 10 percent next
year, reduces the percent subsidy for financial aid, and calls for
three consecutive years of undergraduate fee increases. To reach
the agreement, Schwarzenegger largely bypassed the state
Legislature and negotiated directly with UC administrators.

His doing so may have harmed students. Under the plan,
undergraduate fees would increase 14 percent next year and roughly
8 to 10 percent for a number of years after that. Because of
limitations built into federal and state aid programs, fee hikes
likely will be more detrimental to low-income and middle-class
families than were last year’s.

Outreach, meanwhile, is to be supported by a vague agreement
“to use non-state resources,” augmented by
“additional state support.”

By bypassing the Legislature, Schwarzenegger sidelined the body
ultimately responsible for funding the university. Students,
administrators and ordinary citizens have lobbied and negotiated
with the Legislature for years, and Schwarzenegger has ignored
those efforts.

On the plus side, the proposal provides funding for 5,000
additional UC students in 2005-2006, small increases for
administrative wages and programs meant to graduate more K-12 math
and science teachers. But if the Legislature accepts the proposal,
UC students and their families will never know if a better solution
could have been found. Considering the new proposal is far from
perfect, it makes no sense that Schwarzenegger felt he should
exclude the most important ““ and representative ““
branch of government.

The Legislature should look long and hard at the
governor’s new proposal ““ and keep in mind that
constantly rising student fees gravely harm a university celebrated
for its access.