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SAN FRANCISCO >> College students and faculty in California and other states on Wednesday planned to protest state budget cuts to higher education that could lead to higher tuition, larger class sizes and lower enrollment.
Rallies, marches and teach-ins were scheduled at all 23 California State University campuses.
Similar events are planned at campuses in Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and other states where legislators are slashing education spending to close huge budget shortfalls.
In California, deep budget cuts during the height of the recession two years ago led to sharp tuition hikes, employee furloughs, course cutbacks and reduced enrollment at the CSU and University of California systems.
The state restored some of that funding last year, but California’s public colleges and universities face another round of painful cuts as Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature seek to close another massive budget deficit.
UC and CSU would lose $500 million under the governor’s budget proposal, but his plan depends on voters approving temporary increases in sales, vehicle and personal income taxes. So far, Brown hasn’t secured the Republican support needed to hold a special election to even allow a vote on the tax question.
Without that tax revenue, the state’s public colleges and universities could see much deeper cuts, which could lead to soaring tuition bills, fewer undergraduate seats and other drastic measures.
Faculty leaders say the cuts threaten to reduce student access to Cal State, sometimes called the People’s University, which serves large numbers of low-income students, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college.
"What’s at stake is really the future of the California State University and the ability of this whole generation to get a college education," said Lillian Taiz, president of the California Faculty Association, which is working with students and workers to organize the demonstrations. "We feel the students deserve better and the state deserves better."
