Times are flushed in the Golden State, fiscally speaking. With a total budget surplus of $97.5 billion, Governor Gavin Newsom’s May budget review prioritizes funding for higher education. Just ask Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley, who leads California Community Colleges.

In a prepared statement, he welcomed the governor’s proposed spending recommendation for 2022-23.

“The Governor’s Revised Budget Proposal provides unprecedented levels of support for California’s community colleges, strengthening our ability to advance educational equity and economic mobility for students and their families,” he said. he declares. “This includes the largest increase in funding per student and investments in faculty support, reducing our deferred maintenance backlog, modernizing technology infrastructure to better serve students, and widespread funding increases to continue to improve student outcomes.

Multiannual financing of higher education ensures the stability of expenditure. State spending from year to year does not, all other things being equal.

Jessie Ryan is the Executive Vice President of Campaign for College Opportunity, a statewide 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy group that aims to increase college completion in Golden. State. “The governor’s proposed budget is an important step in the right direction for students and the state,” she told Capitol Weekly. “He is doing a good job of focusing on higher education students with a long-term, multi-year plan for the system, including commitments to increase access, success and affordability.”

Multiannual financing of higher education ensures the stability of expenditure. State spending from year to year does not, all other things being equal.

Back to Ryan, she’s having a bit of a hard time choosing with the governor’s recommended higher education spending plan. Ryan wants more state funding for Cal grants that help low-income students.

“The Governor’s proposed budget failed to provide a truly debt-free pass to college by failing to guarantee that 150,000 students would have access to Cal Grant scholarships,” she said. “This is a missed opportunity. We will be pushing very hard in the coming weeks for an expansion of Cal Grant, the biggest lever of pandemic recovery policy for students, colleges and the state, amid a historic decline in community college enrollment.

A UC union member suggests Governor Newsom revised the May budget to advocate for improved conditions for university workers.

California Community Colleges enrolled 2,090,635 students in 2019-20 compared to 2,144,315 in 2018-19 and 2,159,058 students in 2017-18. The decline in community college enrollment began before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020.

Michael V. Drake, MD, is the president of the University of California. He sees the budget revision proposed by the governor in May strengthens the UC system to better serve the people of the state.

“As part of this revised budget proposal,” according to Dr. Drake’s statement, “the Governor and the University have also agreed to a five-year funding pact that provides reliable financial support for our campuses tied to specific success criteria for students”.

Linking government spending to these benchmarks is a positive policy, he said. “This increased and sustained funding will allow the University of California to make important investments that will expand access to the University for more undergraduate students in California.”

A UC union member suggests Governor Newsom revised the May budget to advocate for improved conditions for university workers. “Now there’s even less reason for UC to cling to its anti-worker policies,” said Ariana Firebaugh Ornelas, a research student in the Department of Organismal Evolution, Ecology and Biology at the University. ‘UC Riverside.

“…It is disheartening to learn that the May review does not propose any additional recurrent funding for UHC beyond the January budget proposal.” —Jolele Koester

“In recent bargaining sessions with workers represented by United Auto Workers,” she said, “administrators attempted to take away important rights and benefits and refused to move on important equity measures, including support fair housing, paid family leave and compensation. These anti-working class positions prevent the UC from fulfilling its promise as an engine of economic and social equity. UC cannot maintain that it advocates diversity while adopting financial policies that force committed scholars out of their careers. »

We turn to the head of the California State University system, an author and acting chancellor Jolene Koester. She challenged the budget revision proposed by the governor in May.

“While predictable levels of funding going forward are welcome and appreciated,” she said, “in light of the unprecedented surplus in government funding next year, it is discouraging to learn that the May revision proposes no additional recurring funding for CSU above the January Budget Proposal With many economic challenges such as inflation affecting every dollar earned by our talented faculty and staff and dedicated, it is imperative that we receive additional funding to better support them and their families with appropriate compensation while they work to fulfill the university’s mission.

A recurring inflation-indexed funding stream could partly respond to rising prices for basic commodities such as food and fuel. In the meantime, there is a June 15 deadline for state budget approval, as required by the California Constitution.
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Editor’s Note: Seth Sandronsky reports regularly for Capitol Weekly. Contact him at [email protected]