Regents Set to Raise Tuition in California by 32 Percent

Parents Forum
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<p>Yes, but there’s always this nasty “means testing” that screws things up for people like my parents. On paper, they look like they have money (because of their home’s value, IRAs, 401k, and misc retirement savings), but their income is low and they need to keep their savings for emergencies (they already had to pay $60k last year for my mom’s special therapy after one of her three strokes). At some point, they will need to go into assisted living, and they will need to use their savings to help with that.</p>

<p>And, it’s not easy for elderly people to move to cheaper areas. My parents (dad is 89)can’t drive anymore, so they have to live near family to help them get to doctor appts and the grocery store. Other grandparents are in the same boat. It would literally “kill” many of them to have to move away from their families just to live in cheaper housing to avoid some outrageous property tax hike. </p>

<p>We need to stop picking on the elderly and their prop 13 tax breaks from the 70s. There aren’t very many of them anymore. Besides, many of those people are from the WWII generation. Leave them alone. They’ve paid enough to this country already.</p>

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<p>Text Messaging:</p>

<p>D at UCB: 32% increase in fees next year!
Mom: Get a Job!</p>

<p>I’m with UCSC<em>UCLA</em>Dad. My daughter didn’t respond to my text back to her, but I hope she got the message loud and clear.</p>

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<p>mom2collegekids:</p>

<p>What you said regarding jobs around particular campuses makes sense. Of course I’m more familiar with UCLA and UCSD which coincidentally happen to be in some of more expensive and exclusive areas of the country so they’re not normal in regards to off-campus jobs.</p>

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I think one of the major reasons for prop 13 passing was that due to the accelerated appreciation of homes in California some elderly and other homeowners with fixed or lower incomes were losing their homes because of increased property taxes that were based on the current value which of course, didn’t necessarily help those people who were just planning to stay in their homes for their remaining years. I agree it’s sad to see someone who paid property taxes for 40 or 50 years lose their home because the property taxes might have increased by a factor of 20 or 30 or more and moved past their fixed income capabilities.</p>

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<p>Yes, but businesses aren’t leaving because of Prop 13. There are some serious reasons why businesses are leaving Calif in droves. They are moving their companies to states that are “right to work,” have lower costs of living, and have lower taxes.</p>

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<p>Nobody in CA is paying property tax based on its value in the late 70s, because Prop 13 itself provides for a 2% yearly increase in the valuation. A 2% annual increase compounded 31 times still amounts to a hefty increase in property valuation from then until now, just not nearly so high as it would have been if the out-of-control property taxation that existed prior to Prop. 13 had been allowed to continue.</p>

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<p>Another way to look at the increase - the 32% increase is an increase on fees, aka tuition, not 32% on the total cost of attendance for the typical or resident student. It’s more like a 10% increase for a resident student - i.e. it’s roughly $25K to attend UCLA including tuition/on-campus housing, etc. and the $2500/yr increase is 10% of that. </p>

<p>I know I come across as an optimist and one who thinks students should be grateful for the benefits they’re already receiving from the taxpayers but I guess that’s because I am and I’m fairly pragmatic and there are generally solutions for issues like the increase even if it does cause some pain. Again, better to increase tuition for those receiving the benefits than to have the quality of the institutions decline given that there’s little left to be squeezed out of the state budget.</p>

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<p>I agree with uc dad.
Thanks to the taxpayers I was able to graduate from the UC. </p>

<p>Many taxpayers on salary with family income above $80K pay taxes regularly now have to pay more for their kids.</p>

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<p>The UC is not the only one affected by the budget. Highschools, middle schools, and elementary schools are also suffering. College students should have a better idea with what’s going on in CA and act properly.</p>

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<p>^^Or conversely, high school, middle school, and elementary school students should also be staging demonstrations and sit-ins to protest the funding cuts.</p>

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<p>Brilliant idea. I don’t mind the state reduces college fund to fund K-12 education. College boys and girls can take a break to join the army, navy, air force, marines or go to work on the farm and come back to college later.</p>

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<p>^^
Doesn’t the state’s constitution already require that something like 50% of its budget or income go for k-12 public schooling?</p>

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<p>I don’t know the answer but some critical programs for young kids were cut. Community colleges and 4 year colleges still throw money to some groups of students.</p>

<p>In a starved family, younger kids deserve more food ration than older kids so that the younger ones suffer less brain damage.</p>

<p>[Budget</a> takes $8.4 billion from K-12 classes](<a href=“http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/19/MN5A1615DV.DTL]Budget”>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/19/MN5A1615DV.DTL)</p>

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<p>The tuition protests at the UCs have already started in earnest.</p>

<p>At UCSC, students took over two administration buildings and have released a set of demands. Police have indicated the protestors are to vacate the buildings by Saturday evening or be arrested. Here’s one article on the protests:</p>

<p>[Protestors</a> at UCSC Release List of Demands - KION - Monterey, Salinas, Santa Cruz - News Weather-](<a href=“http://www.kionrightnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11542376]Protestors”>http://www.kionrightnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11542376)<br>
Additionally, there have been major protests at UC Davis and UC Merced as well.</p>

<p>And yes, the California state constitution does require that a set percentage of California revenues go to K-12 funding;–however, the state lawmakers are getting around this law by declaring a “deferred” revenue apportionment–and by declaring a “negative” cost of living increase this year–and by making “restricted” revenues available for “unrestricted” (general) funding–thus allowing them to give 18% less while still meeting the rule that “unrestricted” funding will be consistent with the state constitution.</p>

<p>I currently work (after a job change) as the fiscal budget manager for one of the largest K-12 school systems in the state (over 20,000 students);–and while it is true that the schools have taken a major hit, it is not as large as the rest of the state revenue recipients (despite what school administrators and teachers would have you believe)–and the revenue totals have been mitigated by federal stimulus funds, which have taken up most of the slack. However, as the K-12 school districts spend all the federal funds (and they all seem to be spending all the money in the first year), this means they will all have to face monstrous cuts next July (about 20% cuts on average).</p>

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<p>William & Mary is having budget ptoblerms as well</p>

<p>WILLIAMSBURG — Even before Friday’s announcement that cuts in state funding will force 12 layoffs among 31 jobs to be eliminated at the College of William & Mary, two professors told the Board of Visitors this week that the effect of dwindling budgets is already being felt in the classroom.</p>

<p>“We really are pushed right now to the limits because of these cuts,” Biology Department chair Lizabeth Allison told the board on Thursday.</p>

<p>Allison noted that the cancellation of tenure-eligible faculty searches has forced the college to bring in adjunct professors, or hire professors on one-year contracts to fill in. That, she explained, results in a loss of mentoring, loss of faculty committee work and an overarching concern about the quality of specific majors or academic programs.</p>

<p>History Department chairman Phil Daileader agreed.</p>

<p>“William and Mary is simply not the school it was two years ago.”</p>

<p>Daileader told the board about a student who thoroughly enjoyed one of her history professor’s classes, only to have him leave prior to this academic year. She asked his successor to be her faculty advisor on a project next year, then learned he was on a one-year contract and might not return.</p>

<p>Daileader predicted the lack of consistent professors during the student’s college career would directly affect the trajectory of her professional one.</p>

<p>Over that last year and a half the college has suffered $16.7 million in base budget reductions from the state. The latest round prompted the layoffs, though none are from faculty ranks, according to Sam Jones, vice president for finance.</p>

<p>Staffing reductions only account for about $1.4 million of the cuts made to offset the reduction in state support. Fully $6.6 million in stimulus funds dumped directly into operations make up nearly 40% of the total reduction.</p>

<p>Jones said that nonpersonal operating expensives, including utilities, professional development and travel and general operating expenses, have also been cut by more than $3 million.</p>

<p>A mid-year tuition increase approved by Friday is expected to yield more than $2.9 million and will be the final step, for now, toward balancing the college’s budget. Jones said all full-time undergraduate, graduate business and law students tuitions will rise by $300 for the spring semester.</p>

<p>“Knowing what’s coming down the pipe,” Jones said. “We wanted to deal with as much of this as we could through base budget reductions.”</p>

<p>Operating cuts, layoffs, and the tuition hike will all help to address the base budget reducation at the college, but it’s unclear if stimulus funds will be available again next year.</p>

<p>Jones said the college is expecting to receive $1 million in stimulus next year. If no more is made available, William & Mary will face a $5.6 million shortfall.</p>

<p>Daileader prefers the cuts be handled differently. He noted that Michigan State is considering eliminating 9 departments and a dozen majors, but said that is still better than the situation at the college. He called William & Mary’s situation more “insidious” because students there still expect the same education the college was providing a few years ago and it’s not the same.</p>

<p>He told board members that any professor will admit there are colleges they want to work at, and colleges they would send their children to. W&M may pull off a “unique trick” if its financial circumstances do not improve.</p>

<p>“My great fear is that William and Mary has become a college that I neither want to teach at nor want to send my children to.”</p>

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<p>hmom: I’m surprised that you drink the coolaid from the state employee and teacher’s unions. </p>

<p>Property taxes (and Prop 13) is just ONE source of state revenue. While property tax increases are capped, California has one of the highest income taxes in the 50 states. Other states, with high property taxes, such as Texas and New Hampshire, have ZERO income taxes. California also has a high sales tax relative to others. The point is that what really matters to the state’s economy is TOTAL tax take. And, California has the sixth highest tax take of the 50. If it goes higher, it will only drive more businesses to Harry Reid’s home state – which also has ZERO income tax…hmmmmm.</p>

<p>Of course, one could argue that sales taxes are regressive and property taxes are more stable and thus better to fund state and local budgets, but that is a different argument…</p>

<p>btw: You also mention small business leaving the state, which is true. But, Prop 13 helps small business by keeping rents down. Thus, it can be a two-edged sword.</p>

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<p>"For IS students, the costs are now about in-line with where they should have been, ie, similar to top publics like W&M, U Illinois and U Michigan. And it’s still cheaper than places like Penn State. LOL. "</p>

<p>Hawkette- I disagree here, as I think you’re not looking at the whole picture. I thought you possess an MBA? Maybe I’m thinking of someone else. Anyway, First, you’re assuming that the cost of the schools you mention aren’t already over-priced to begin with. Not everyone will agree that the tuition at, say Illinois is not over priced to begin with, therefore, raising California’s tuition to the same value is, by some standards, raising tuition from reasonable, (or already overpriced) to over priced (or absurdly priced).</p>

<p>More importantly (if I can add a finance perspective)- tuition is only a part of the cost that California’s citizens pay to maintain the UC system. The citizens of California are taxed higher (in some cases, much higher) than the citizens of many other states. A portion of that tax money goes to the UC system. Therefore, the cost of attending a UC is the sum of the tax money a student’s family pays PLUS tuition, fees, etc. Taking into account both factors, the cost of attending UC’s before the tuition hike may, in actuality already be higher than it is in states with “higher” tuition. Be careful when you assume that the sticker cost for tuition is indicative of the true cost, this just isn’t the case.</p>

<p>COA= (Tax) + (T and F)</p>

<p>COA =Total cost of attendance </p>

<p>Tax =% of tax money paid by student’s family going to UC </p>

<p>T and F =tuition, fees, room board, books, etc</p>

<p>Because of the “hidden” tax component in the above equation, one cannot assume that the “sticker price” of tuitions as compared between states is set by free market forces.</p>

<p>In evaluating the total cost, one must be careful to consider BOTH factors in the above equation, not just one.</p>

<p>Personally, I think that when the voters of California continue to vote these “leaders” in office, they are getting exactly what they vote for. If they don’t like the treatment, they need to field candidates that aren’t crooks. The irony is that I bet many of the protesting students self identify as liberals who are for wealth redistribution, but when asked to raise tuition so more of California’s tax base can go towards social programs that support medical care for illegals and low tuition for illegals, etc., all of a sudden wealth redistribution doesn’t seem fair and becomes a cause worthy of protesting against.</p>

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<p>what’s happening in Ca is similar to what has happened over the last decade or so here in the northeast. No doubt the rapid changes in the last couple of years has sparked the outrage and protests whereas the more gradual shift in northeast states went largely under the radar. Even if the uc’s made the kind of cuts in administrative salaries and the state provided more money would it really change the long range trend - the stratification of higher ed along economic and racial lines?</p>

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<p>See Bluebayou…I can agree with you too. ;)</p>

<p>I agree with your last post and tomslawsky’s too.</p>

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<p>dstark:</p>

<p>I think our thousands of posts will show that we have agreed on substantive (and not-so-substantive) issues from time-to-time. “Not that there is anything wrong with that.” :D</p>

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<p>"History Department chairman Phil Daileader agreed.</p>

<p>“William and Mary is simply not the school it was two years ago.”</p>

<p>My take- well crafted Rhetoric from someone with a bully pulpit who is lobbying for money.</p>