Editorial: Students and faculty come before maintenance

A multibillion-dollar stimulus bill is making its way through Congress to bail out a stagnant and suffering economy, and the House of Representatives passed a version of the bill last week. With federal aid in sight, students and faculty should feel a bit more uplifted. However, there’s a catch. Instead of increased faculty wages and additional department programming, tens of billions of dollars may go to infrastructure projects, which include university maintenance and repairs.

Varying news sources such as the Los Angeles Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education project amounts of $7 billion to $20 billion to be given to school projects.

State leaders and top university officials should take heed of the federal stimulus package’s progress in Congress and after.

A major chunk of the bill’s funding is expected to go to renovation, campus repair and energy efficiency projects.

Instead of demanding maintenance and renewal, California legislators and top administrators should consider the quality of higher education within the University of California system.

Whatever the amount California receives from the stimulus package, leaders must prioritize the basic necessities of the student, because refurbished buildings and solar panels may not solve the education budget crisis.

This week, the UC Board of Regents will consider UC President Mark Yudof’s financial aid initiative, the Blue and gold Affordability Plan, which proposes to cover fees for students whose families make less than $60,000 a year.

However, the board should do more to maintain the educational standards current and prospective students expect at a top university like UCLA.

While the university system has many giant budget needs, maintenance is the least significant among them.

The faculty retention problem must also be quickly addressed. Pay increases are basically nonexistent, and current wages are below market value.

In addition, student fees are increasing every year, and the Board of Regents may consider an increase in the upcoming week’s board meeting.

California state legislators already cut UC and UCLA funding by $33 million and $6 million, respectively. Belts have already tightened since Chancellor Gene Block directed UCLA deans and vice chancellors to reduce programming by several percentages.

With the federal aid, administrators should ensure that class sizes do not grow, and they should provide the academic staff and teaching assistants higher wages.

In addition, classes or department programs should not be cut.

Nor should soon-to-be graduating seniors have difficulty in finding General Education courses and have to stay at college for an extra quarter or longer to fulfill these basic requirements.

Instead, federal aid can help keep the cost of education down for students. Until buildings are falling apart or becoming health hazards, politicians and administrators should take care of the students and faculty first.