California could put an additional $50 million each into University of California and California State University coffers this fiscal year. The money would pay for deferred maintenance and is contingent on higher-than-expected tax revenues.
Student advocates say they would welcome the money. But, Meredith Turner with the California State Student’s Association, says the real difference maker would have been a legislative budget proposal to add up to $100 million to the $142 million Governor Brown is proposing for CSU.
“That would allow us to admit 20,000 additional students to the CSU over the course of the next year,” says Turner. “So clearly we’re not going to be able to do that with $142 million.”
The state has cut $1 billion from higher education spending since 2007. Sacramento State student Alejandra Gutierrez says that’s made it difficult to get required courses.
“For the amount that we’re paying for classes, it really sucks the fact that we want to get certain classes and we’re paying tuition and we can’t get into it,” says Gutierrez.
Final work on the budget must be completed by Sunday.
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