By Andrew Edwards
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
[email protected]
California and other states facing deficits may increase fees at
state schools next academic year, making paying university costs
even more difficult for many already hurt by an unstable
economy.
According to a report written by Congressional Democrats,
college students across the country may find themselves paying more
for school next year, as states look for a way to balance
budgets.
“The State Budget Crisis and Higher Education” finds
that as states face budgetary difficulties resulting from the
post-Sept. 11 economic downturn, they have cut $5.5 billion in
higher education spending and are proposing increases in student
fees. The report also claims that current federal aid levels are
insufficient.
At UCLA, most students find ways to pay for their education with
or without aid.
Still, financial aid is “crucial,” said fourth-year
political science student Michelle Mizrachi.
A correlation between recessions and tuition hikes at
state-funded universities is a conclusion of “Losing
Ground,” a report issued by the National Center for Public
Policy and Higher Education, a San Jose think tank.
The report found that increases in tuition outpace those in
financial aid.
Also, 41 states have experienced higher rates of increase in the
costs of four-year public schools than rates of increase for family
incomes between 1992 and 2001, according to “Losing
Ground.”
The Democrats’ report warns that potential double-digit
fee increases in 10 states, including California, could make
college education a financial impossibility for 110,000
students.
At this point, however, no increase in fees has been approved
for the UC.
Though Gov. Gray Davis did not change student fees in his budget
proposal, the State Legislative Analyst has proposed a 10 percent
increase.
The university supports the governor’s original budget,
said Brad Hayward, spokesman for the University of California.
He added that any future decisions concerning fee increases
should be more “rational and predictable.”
The university will know more about any changes in fees when the
governor’s revised budget is released next week, Hayward
said.
In Washington, meanwhile, Democrats charged the Bush
Administration with not doing enough for education.
Bush’s budget allocates $1.4 billion less than is needed
to sustain federal financial aid, the report said.
But not all on Capitol Hill agree with the Democratic
assessment.
“First and foremost, Republicans, led by the president,
have a budget for education this year, which the Democrats
don’t have,” said Dave Schnittger, spokesman for the
Republican-controlled House education committee.
Republicans have historically funded Pell grants more generously
than Democrats, and say Democrats are “late to the
game” to realize that college costs are rising, he said.
He admitted that there is a $1.3 billion shortfall in Pell grant
funding this year, but added that the president has proposed an
appropriation of $1.3 billion to cover the gap along with an
additional $500 million annually for Pell grants.
The office of Senator Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., chairman of the
Senate education committee, was unaware of the president’s
proposal to fund Pell grants, said Stephanie Cutter, a spokeswoman
for Kennedy.
She added that she did not know where Republicans would find the
money, and denounced proposals to switch federal student loans from
fixed to variable interest rates to raise revenue as “robbing
Peter to pay Paul.”
As Washington and Sacramento continue to debate, students may
have to figure out how to pay for school on their own.
“Financial aid is barely a minimum because the housing
cost has skyrocketed the past couple of years,” said Michael
Hann, a fourth-year economics student.
Hann, whose aid was cut, works two jobs.
“Free time is no such thing anymore,” he said.