By Michael Falcone
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Legislation currently sitting on Gov. Gray Davis’s desk
could guarantee Cal Grants to all qualified applicants in the state
by 2006, but speculation persists about whether the governor will
sign or veto the bill.
If enacted, Senate Bill 1644, sponsored by Deborah Ortiz
(D-Sacramento) would increase the number of Cal Grant recipients to
100 percent of those who qualify ““ a marked increase from the
18 percent of eligible applicants who received grants for the
upcoming school year.
“We’re creating a promise, an assurance, and an
entitlement to students who have come from poor families that
financial assistance will not be an obstacle to attending a
university or community college,” Ortiz said.
Cal Grants are a form of renewable need-based financial aid
distributed by the California Student Aid Commission to students
attending public institutions of higher education in
California.
Between 7,500 to 8,000 UCLA students have received Cal Grants
each year, and that number has been rising.
Eligibility for Cal Grants fluctuates from year to year and is
based on a number of factors, most importantly a student’s
financial situation and grade point average.
Based on the amount of money the program gets from the state
budget, the CSAC sets certain GPA criteria for each type of Cal
Grant. SB 1644 would set unchanging GPA standards, not based on
state funding.
But the legislation comes with a substantial price tag, and the
governor and the bill’s supporters are at odds about the
long-term financial impact of one of the bill’s major
provisions, the “Cal Grant Guarantee Program.”
The State Department of Finance estimates predict the cost of
the grant guarantee program will top $2 billion each year by the
fourth year, but supporters say that number is actually around $321
million.
Proponents of expanding the Cal Grant program are also asking
for more money following the state Student Aid Commission’s
July 10 report of a 41 percent increase in the number of new Cal
Grant awards for 2000-2001.
Cathy Staples, Cal Grant coordinator and a senior analyst at the
UCLA Office of Financial Aid, said while the number of UCLA
students receiving Cal Grants next year is not known ““ since
students have not yet released financial aid information to the
university ““ she is anticipating an upward trend in the
number of grants awarded.
“I’m hoping that we see a large percentage increase
as the state projected,” Staples said.
In a statement, the CSAC attributes the statewide spike in new
grants to increased budget allocations for the program. This year,
Cal Grant funding inched closer to the state-mandated goal of
providing grants to 25 percent of eligible applicants.
“This is the first year we have even come close to the
statutory budget 25 percent number,” said Steve Arena, a CSAC
spokesman.
“If you can never reach that figure, and if it’s a
moving target, you get concerned that you are going to get further
behind if the (applicant) pool mushrooms,” he added.
While Arena acknowledged that state budget provisions for the
Cal Grant program show a commitment by the governor and state
legislature to help some of California’s poorest students
with their higher education costs, he said more steps need to be
taken since “Tidal Wave II looms on the horizon.”
The term Tidal Wave II signifies the influx of tens of thousands
of new students ““ the children of the baby boomer generation
““ by 2010.
Ortiz said the funds Gov. Davis provided in his current state
budget is just a drop in the bucket compared to the real financial
commitment it will take to achieve the 100 percent goal her
legislation would mandate.
“The governor sees the 25 percent number as a ceiling, we
see it as a floor,” Ortiz said. “It still does not
begin to address the huge need.”
The governor has until the end of the month to take action on
the bill, but even in the event of the veto, there is a chance the
Cal Grant Guarantee could be enacted by a rare veto override, which
takes a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature.
Ortiz would not comment specifically on the chances of a veto
override before Davis has taken action on the bill, but said SB
1644 passed the State Assembly and the Senate by unanimous
votes.
<</table> STUDENTS RECEIVING CAL
GRANTS The number of students awarded with Cal Grants has
increased over the past five years. SOURCE: California Student Aid
Commission
Original graphic by ADAM BROWN/Daily Bruin
Web adaptation by CHRISTINE TAN