This Monday, Governor Jerry Brown released his proposed budget for California.
In it, over $1 billion in cuts to higher education (The University of California and California State University systems) results in an increase of over 38 percent in fees per unit for courses taken at any California community college (the per unit fee goes from $26 to $36). This will undoubtedly lead to even more massive increases in tuition and fees for struggling students all across the state.
A little bit of good news for education, and for the Albany Unified School District, is that in the proposed budget, Governor Brown spares the K-12 system further cuts, keeping state spending at $36.2 billion.
Thus, if Brown’s proposed budget is passed, AUSD and Albany High School will not have to worry about increasing class sizes and reducing sections of classes, at least for the immediate future.
Also included in Brown’s budget are massive cuts to state welfare programs such as Medi-Cal and CalWorks that, in total, would exceed $2.2 billion. The total amount of the cuts in the proposed budget is over $12.5 billion. These cuts are coupled with tax increases and adjustments totaling over $12 billion.
Governor Brown’s proposed budget is balanced, with a grand total of $127.4 billion in revenue sources and $125.2 billion in spending.
This budget is full of shared sacrifice, with across the board cuts and tax increases that affect both individuals and corporations.
Governor Brown’s budget is a realistic assessment of how to solve California’s budget woes. It does not use accounting gimmicks used by Governor Schwarzenegger throughout his two terms as governor.
The proposed budget tackles the massive $8.2 billion deficit for the current fiscal year and $17.2 billion for the next fiscal year, leaving the state with a surplus.
Although the cuts in programs will alter the landscape of California, turning the state into a more “every man for himself” place to live, the combined revenue increases and spending cuts will bring California back from the brink of fiscal disaster, eventually bringing prosperity and fiscal responsibility back to a state that is in dire need of both.
Thanks for covering this, Antonio! It’s inevitable that the state’s spending has affected and will continue to affect many AHS students and their families, so it’s important that we be well-informed about what’s going on.
Don’t forget that the saving of K-12 education from budget cuts is contingent on voters extending taxes. If that doesn’t pass, K-12 is looking at some deep cuts as well.