A California Republican

Departments and agencies in California scream everytime they have to take cuts. The education area is particularly good at this loud voiced opposition to cuts. Some of the loudest voices come from the UC and CSU systems and their representatives.

The UC was cut by some last budget cycle. One of the things cut out was $4 million that goes to support a labor program. You might ask what this labor program does…well it teachs union leaders how to negotiate with the state and win in negotiations. So we have a state agency teaching people who are negotiating with the state, how to win those negotiations. And it is only for labor unions. The istitute also sudies labor issues - and by labor I mean union. If you read their reports, they are all pro-union. So the Democrats didn’t want to cut any funding to it, and the Republicans wanted it out. The Republicans won.

The result was that the UC took more cuts than just that one, and cried about having to take the cuts. Now they wouldn’t be able to fund classes, teachers and research programs. They would have to raise student fees….all the normal complaints.

But somehow $4 million was found in their budget to continue funding the labor institute, even though the funding was cut. The UC system magically came up with $4 million to keep the labor institute open.

Now, when someone cuts money from a budget, and that agency is complaining about the drastic impact that is going to have on them…and then manages to find the $4 million somewhere else in their budget…I suspect they aren’t hurting as much as they want everyone to believe. If the system can find $4 million somewhere, shouldn’t they be using that to forward the interests of their students rather than to backfill cuts?

It is just my opinion, but cut them by at least another $4 million this year. Obviouslly they have too much money from the state at loose ends, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to come up with the money.

In a time of fiscal crisis in the state higher education - college, university and community colleges - need to charge more. When did low-cost college become a right? Raise your fees by 10% and cover some of the cuts that you think you are going to have to take. College isn’t a right, it is a privilege. And if you have to pay for that privilege, so be it. The UC and CSU systems are not going to go under because they don’t get state funding. They will just raise fees.

Community colleges need to raise fees as well. There is no reason for their fees to be so low. It is ridiculously low - especially when compared to other states.

So let’s be reasonable. Raise fees, and then you can cover your budget. Or simply learn that professors don’t need tons of money per year - especially not those making over $200,000. That’s obscene. They get tenure, retirement and great benefits. Let’s not be stupid with out money UC, CSU and community colleges. Let’s be smart.

Alternatively, the higher education system in CA could embrace alternative and distance education by offering more on-line classes . . . which would bring in more students because on-line classes are more flexible, and would result in less spending because you don’t need to have a classroom for the teacher and class to be in.