Governor's Proposed Budget Cuts to Imperil Students' Chances at Higher Education

Gov. Jerry Brown's plans to slash $500 million from the California State University system will cripple higher education — making it harder for students who struggle the most, with grades and money, to pursue a college degree. At , approximately $8 million will be cut from the annual budget, according to Susan Kashack, associate vice president for marketing and communications.

Statewide, Gov. Brown plans to cut $1.4 billion dollars from the University of California, California State University and community college budgets combined.

“Painful but honest,” as he put it, doesn’t even begin to cover it. That's the general consensus among students on campus right now.

The state budget cut is the latest in a string of disheartening news for college students. In November, a five percent mid-semester tuition increase was approved along with another 10 percent increase scheduled for the fall.

“It’s just such a high, awful number,” said Jill Gerig, a senior with a major in Communications. “For the past two to three years, we just keep hearing more and more about the budget cuts.” 

According to Interim Provost Saeid Rahimi, Governor Brown’s $500 million cut to the CSU is only the best case scenario. Everything could take a turn for the worse in a couple of months, he said.

Lack of funds could cut departments campus-wide.

“As it is now, the school’s programs aren’t getting enough money for students to benefit from them,” said Alora Fowler, who worked for two years with SSU’s Join Us Making Progress volunteer group. “We aren’t getting our full education.”

This time, to try to avoid raising fees for students, Chancellor Charles B. Reed said in a press release, instructors will be cut, employees will be forced to furlough and enrollment and the amount of classes offered will be reduced across the 23 campuses. 

"This is going to be a very challenging year for students , their families, employees and the State of California," Kashack said.

Rahimi said he doesn't expect a new tuition hike as a result of the budget cuts. "But, many students will be turned away from Sonoma State instead."

“If there is a reduction in our enrollment, we will have to lower the size of the number our first time freshmen, transfer, graduate and post baccalaureate students for 2011-2012. It is possible that we will have to go back to the enrollment limits of 2009-2010,” Rahimi said.

For the 2009-2010 academic year, Sonoma State enrollment totals reached roughly 7,500 students. With the $2 million dollars granted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in early October, SSU’s plan was to increase enrollment by 102 full-time students, a trend not likely to be continued next semester.

In addition, it is likely that the already reduced class offerings will continue to shrink, costing more professors and lecturers their jobs.

“It’s unfortunate that we can’t tenure the good professors and now it looks like we won’t be able to in the future,” Fowler said. “Some of these professors are wonderful and really deserve more work.”

But, the availability of classes is foremost on students' minds.

“Students are already upset enough,” Gerig said. “We just keep hearing fee increases and less classes.”

“It’s going to suck paying more while getting less,” said Brian Evans, a junior.

He isn’t surprised that Brown cut so much from higher education. 

“Arnold laid the groundwork for pissing off CSU students, and now Brown is just following in his footsteps.”

It appears that prospective students weary of the potential budget cuts. Evans leads tours throughout campus for those interested in attending Sonoma State, and is often asked how difficult it is to get classes.

“We can’t tell them the 100 percent truth,” Evans said. “We have to sugarcoat everything.” 

Instead of telling them just how difficult of a time he’s had enrolling in necessary classes, it becomes “not impossible.”

Despite this, Rahimi feels the demand for higher education won’t disappear.

“I expect that the students' demand for higher education will not decrease,” he said. “Rather, we expect that there will be a significant number of students who will not be able to enter our campuses despite their interest to continue their studies.”

When the final state budget is released, Sonoma State will be able to see the full impact of the cuts, but for now, the university doesn't want to get into specifics or numbers. Until then, students will just have to wonder and wait to see which of their classes, teachers and programs will be cut next.

Editor's note: In fiscal year 2009-2010, over half of Sonoma State's budget was paid for by state funds, a total of $51 million out of a total budget of $86 million. This year, it's the same story. The state funded more than $56 million — approximately a two thirds of the total budget.

Angela Hart contributed to this report.