CSU Considering Large Fee Hikes Regardless of November Tax Initiative

California voters will have a chance in November to vote for Proposition 30, which is predicted to bring in more than $7 billion to temporarily bail the state out of its now perennial budget deficits. Governor Jerry Brown has threatened extreme austerity measures should the bill fail in November, including large across the board cuts to K-12 and higher education. This would trigger an automatic $250-million cut to the California State University system (CSU) system, leading to a 5% tuition hike for in-state students, plus a 7% increase in supplemental fees for out of state students.

Yet, even if the bill passes, the CSU system will not be able to close its budget gap. Consequently, the governing board for CSU is considering numerous fee increases that would go into place even if Prop. 30 does pass. These would include a per unit supplement of $372 for seniors who have already accumulated 150 semester units, the Los Angeles Times reports, as well as a $100 per unit fee for students who want to repeat a class. Official estimates suggest that roughly 40,000 class spots are filled with students who are repeating classes. They also want to add a $200 per unit fee for any units over the usual 16 per semester. This is intended to discourage students from enrolling in large numbers of classes and then dropping them later.

Record Number of California School Districts Face Bankruptcy

A record number of California school districts face bankruptcy, state schools’ chief Tom Torlakson announced Monday. The Los Angeles Times reported this week that 12 school districts, mostly in northern California, are currently on the verge of financial failure, while an additional 176 school districts are at risk. And the problem could worsen if Gov. Brown’s tax initiative fails in November. Only 53 of the state’s school districts are in sound financial health.

More Cuts for Cali, Even With Tax Increase

Gov. Brown Squeezing Blood From a Turnip

In January, Gov. Jerry Brown told Californians that if they didn’t pass his tax increase initiative in November, he would have no choice but to slash over $5 billion from public education. Since then, tax revenue has been much lower ($3.5 billion) than anticipated, prompting Brown to threaten much deeper cuts, even if his tax initiative passes.

The tax initiative would impose a regressive sales tax on all Californians, including the poor, in addition to a short-term tax increase on incomes of $250,000 or more. It is projected to generate $9 billion, which would have barely maintained the status quo before the latest projections, and hardly made a dent in the $20 billion cut from public education over the past 3 years.


The new round of cuts will likely target health and welfare programs. However, Brown is also expected to squeeze unions. According to the Los Angeles Times, he has already been meeting with Yvonne Walker, president of SEIU local 1000, and he has been actively lobbying for cuts to public sector pensions. But the details of his proposed cuts have not been released, nor has the true size of the deficit, which some believe may be as high as $15 billion. However, one can predict some of his likely demands on the public sector unions: more furloughs, cuts to health care and pensions, layoffs and decreases in certain public services.