Tom Fitzwater Archives - 91��Ƶ

California’s Revised Budget Favors Higher Education

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — While students and administrators of California’s higher education system can breathe a sigh of relief with the revised state budget for the time being, the economy will continue into an era of unpredictability, according to a statement by Governor Jerry Brown.
The new budget has gained positive response from the higher education community. The college tuition freeze and $500 million in funding to California State Universities (CSU) and University of California (UC) campuses will be maintained and improvements for higher education include the elimination of the unit cap and multi-year funding increase. Community colleges will also no longer be expected to take increased responsibility for adult education. However, uncertain times will still call for discretion in the California budget.
“We have climbed out of a hole with the Proposition 30 tax,” Brown said. “That’s good, but this is not the time to break out the champagne.”
Proposition 30, which passed in November with just 53 percent approval, went into effect Jan.1 of this year. The four-year quarter-of-a-cent sales tax is projected to provide California schools with $6 billion each year and relieve the state of “trigger cuts” to education.
The proposition was under heavy scrutiny during the campaign, but the positive outcomes of the measure have now been made clear, Brown said.
“During the campaign the critics said two things: ‘Proposition 30 won’t pass and if it does, the money won’t go to schools,’” Brown said. “Well, they were wrong on both accounts.”
Brown did not downplay the major successes brought forth by Proposition 30, but he did warn that certain risks were involved with the new budget. At both the state and federal level, Brown said, there has been a habit of over-commitment.
“We’re trying to now have honest budgeting and careful budgeting,” he said.
The initial state budget, issued in January, did not anticipate recent economic impacts such as the sequester and the payroll tax restoration, Brown said. The pressure of Washington and the global economy has also played its part in budget projections. But as with years past, there are risks, Brown said.
“We’re sailing into some rather uncertain times as we always have,” he said.
The unit cap was eliminated from the January budget over concern that the proposal was ineffective and unfair to students. If the proposal were approved, students would only be allowed to take about a year’s worth of additional units or 150 percent of units required to complete most degrees.
“We want to get more people through than we currently do and we want kids not to take seven years but four years,” Brown said. “If they get through in four years instead of seven years, there’s more space, we can add more students, the kids don’t borrow as much money and they get into the workforce sooner.”
The loss was one among other gains, the governor said.
“Like everything else we take it in steps,” he said. “Two steps forward, one step backward.”
The multi-year funding plan will increase per student funding by $1,503 for community college students, $1,953 for CSU students and $2,491 for UC students by 2016 to 2017. The budget will increase the general fund contribution to each institution’s prior year funding base up to 20 percent over the four-year period. This represents approximately 10 percent in total operating funds, including tuition and fee revenues.
“It prioritizes higher education by providing new funds to begin reinvesting in the public universities, with the expectation that the universities will improve the quality, performance and cost effectiveness of the educational systems,” the budget revision said. “The plan is rooted in the belief that higher education should be affordable and student success can be improved.”
With Brown’s warning that the economy is still indeterminate, Ana Matosantos, director of the state’s department of finance, said the four-year budget increases are based upon past markers.
“We look at what has happened in the past, the recoveries generally following a recession, and what we think is going to happen,” Matosantos said. “We look at it twice a year and we take our best shot at what we think is going on in the economy and what is going on with revenue; we do the same thing with expenditures.”
Budget revisions have gained favorable responses from representatives of the UC and CSU systems as well as several higher education organizations in California.
“The funding proposed for public higher education in the governor’s May revise is a critical investment in the future of California,” said CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White in a statement. “We look forward to working with the governor and legislature to invest these educational resources while ensuring the accountability of our universities and the success of our students in a way that upholds the mission of the California State University.”
The California legislature will have until June 15 to pass or make revisions to Brown’s proposed budget.

The post California’s Revised Budget Favors Higher Education appeared first on 91��Ƶ.

California’s Budget Seeks to Close Achievement Gaps

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Governor Jerry Brown recently released a funding plan for the state’s K-12 educational system that would increase funding throughout the state.

The state provides compulsory instruction and support services to approximately six million students, grades K-12 in more than 10,000 schools, according to the recent report.

The budget includes an increase in funding as a result of certain propositions passed by voters. The budget includes Proposition 98 funding of $56.2 billion for 2013-14, an increase of $2.7 billion over revised funding levels for the 2012-13 year, according to the report. The budget also proposes investments for 2013-14 that will significantly reduce late payments to schools and target substantial additional funding to schools and students in most need of the resources.

“The budget cuts made in the last two years and the passage of Proposition 30 make it possible to both live within our means and to increase funding for education,” said Brown in a statement.

Although the help is always welcomed, some think the new budget will leave out suburban school districts as it looks to help districts in more rural and urban areas first.

Brown’s new formula would give districts more money based on their share of low-income students, English learners and also the number of foster children in the district, some argue this would leave less money for the general education fund and would not distribute funds fairly.

Details of the 2013-2014 California budget state, “While K-12 school districts across the state will benefit from the increased funding — through a new school funding formula — school districts serving those students who have the greatest challenges will receive more generous increases — so that all students in California have the opportunity to succeed.”

Among those receiving funding is the higher education sector. The budget increases state funding for UC and CSU’s by an additional $250 million. The budget states, “It proposes a multi-year stable funding plan to strengthen our higher education system, ensure affordability and reduce student indebtedness.”

In order to address the needs for the higher education sector, the state recognized the trend of higher costs for students to attend a college or university and that this has greatly affected the middle class. As a solution, the budget states, “By shortening the time it takes a student to successfully complete a degree and calling on UC and CSU to deploy their instructional resources more effectively, the system can be made more affordable — both for students and the state.”

While some see some gaps in the budget in terms of education, others have responded seemingly enthused, including the Education Trust—West, an organization that works for the high achievement of all students at all levels.

“Governor Brown’s proposal would correct deep funding inequities between rich and poor districts that we have documented in our research. It would simplify our complex, opaque and antiquated system of funding our schools,” according to a statement made by Education Trust—West. “Most importantly, by providing additional dollars for low-income students and English learners, it acknowledges the basic fact that students who enter school with additional needs require additional resources in order to close opportunity and achievement gaps.”

The organization said they are “ready and willing to work the governor and other advocates to ensure funding fairness for the sake of California’s students.”

The post California’s Budget Seeks to Close Achievement Gaps appeared first on 91��Ƶ.

North Dakota University System to Request Higher Education Funding

BISMARCK, N.D. — In an effort to carry out the overall vision of the North Dakota University System (NDUS) and the state’s 11 public colleges and universities, officials plan to request $146 million in capital spending to support 14 campus construction projects.

The top-ranked project is a $124 million medical school at the University of North Dakota, which is predicted to increase enrollment. Officials settled on a $38.5 million request from the $146 million budget proposal to initiate the first phase of construction, according to NDUS Chancellor Hamid Shirvani.

Another $30 million of the proposal would be used for a new science, technology, engineering and math classroom and laboratory building at North Dakota State University. If approved, the new building would host instructional activities, which are currently being held in cramped spaces that are 40 to 100 years old.

The budget plan also requests for $84 million in state funding for the next two years, bringing the general fund spending for the NDUS operational budget to almost $600 million — a 16.3 percent increase compared to the $516 million of higher education funding for the current biennium that ends June 30.

Shirvani said that more than $25 million (or about 30 percent) of the additional state funding would cover the costs of inflation, regular maintenance, and salary and retirement increases. The remaining $59 million would fund state priorities such as $25 million for campuses and $5.5 million to hire more security officers at the 11 schools.

The budget proposal will be presented to state legislators during the session that starts on Jan. 8. However, it already faced its first test on Dec. 5 when Gov. Jack Dalrymple delivered his 2013-2015 executive budget address to legislatures, showing which higher education plans he supports. In the address, he proposed an increase of $89 million in funding for higher education. In addition, the governor proposes that the budget would provide one-time funding for capital improvements, including $68 million to the expansion and improvement of UND’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences and $29 million for a new building at North Dakota State University.

The post North Dakota University System to Request Higher Education Funding appeared first on 91��Ƶ.