Fees may jump

Unit fees may be raised from $26 to $40

Sienna Jackson/ Roundup

An advisory office of the California State Legislature has made a recommendation to raise student tuition fees from $26 to $40 per unit, according to Sacramento officials.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), a nonpartisan office that provides fiscal and policy advisement to the legislature, recommended the raise in February of this year—submitted as part of the encompassing LAO analysis of Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget.

California’s state budget is still being debated by the state Legislature, which has been locked in stalemate since returning from its summer recess nearly three months into the 2010-11 fiscal year.

The recommendation was made by the LAO in response to a 2.2 percent growth in enrollment in the California Community College (CCC) system since 2007, according to statistical data from the LAO and the California Department of Education.

CCCs are currently educating more students than the state has funding for over 200,000 students enrolled in the CCCs are unfunded, according to Paul Steenhausen, principal fiscal and policy analyst for the LAO in Sacramento.

This unpaid growth will cost the state $126 million to cover, according to Steenhausen.

According to the LAO, the $126 million enrollment growth fund, in turn funded by an increased tuition, would only manage to cover approximately 60,000 of the 200,000 currently unfunded students.

While a raise in unit fees hasn’t been voted on by the legislature, Senator Bob Huff (R-29 District) discussed the LAO’s recommendation to raise the fee in June, to the state’s bipartisan Budget Conference Committee, of which Huff is a member.

It is this committee that is tasked with balancing California’s near $20 billion deficit, which includes covering the over-enrollment in CCC.

Huff was unavailable for comment, so his Chief of Staff Junay Gardner Logan in provided the following statement Sept. 14:

“Senator Huff brought up as a discussion item the fact that the LAO suggested an alternative - to raise student fees from $26 per unit to $40 with the revenue going to fund additional enrollment growth.”

The release goes on to state that:

“It was merely a discussion of the alternative to allow for more students to enroll. The LAO’s fee increase would pull in another $150 million for enrollment growth. Even if this fee increase had gone into effect, California students would still be paying the lowest community college fees in the nation,” she said.

At Pierce College, Nick Naczinski, Associated Students Organization (ASO) President, was briefed on the proposed fee increase over the weekend.

“This is being proposed by Senator Bob Huff,” he said in a phone interview. “I’m against it absolutely, I can see their argument, but I’m against it.”

Naczinski also said the financial aid programs would continue to remain available to students even with the increase in tuition.

The ASO will be launching a letter-writing campaign to their representatives to protest a unit fee raise and will also try to raise student awareness about the proposal, according to Naczinski.

Indeed, news of the proposed fee increase came as an unwelcome surprise to many students, who had not been aware of the proposal.

“That’s horrible,” said Ryan Middleton, a 21-year-old business administration major. Middleton transferred to Pierce from Wagner College in New York. “It’s very hard, difficult for commuters. I’m from out of state. There’re a lot of students who’ll stop going [to Pierce],”

Ryan McMurren, a 24-year-old general studies major and Iraq war veteran, shared stronger sentiments.

“I think it’s [expletive] since we’re already struggling to pay twenty six,” said McMurren.

“That makes it very hard for us.”

For some students, the fee increase will not pose a problem. as Sacramento officials and politicians have assured student financial aid will remain untouched.

“I guess I’ve never really felt it because I get financial aid,” said Sandy Moreno, a 22-year-old latin american studies major. “But for the students who do pay, it’s a lot, community college shouldn’t be that expensive. We’re here to save money, right?”