Op-Ed: Cuts to Education

By Op Ed

Tom Heng, a transfer student at Santa Ana College, is one of the many students, workers and teachers affected by the California budget cuts to the state’s public education. As Tom said, “Classes and majors are getting cut…Some people drop out or make other sacrifices because of the tuition hikes. People with busy schedules, such as many of us who have to work as well as go to school, will have a much harder time getting classes they can attend.” The cuts to the California education budget have not only resulted in the loss of jobs, but real day-to-day effects for the lives of many students, teachers and families.

Equal access to education is a crucial component of a just, democratic society. The state’s reaction to the recent economic crisis, however, threatens this access. In February 2009, The state of California cut $5.3 billion from K-12 education, $800 million from community colleges and $2 billion from the California State University System (CSU) and the UCs . Consequently, CSU will cut enrollment by 40,000 in the next two years and community colleges by 250,000.

Cuts like these demonstrate the low priority given to the education of our youth. A comparison of education with other aspects of the budget serves to further illustrate this. Consider the following: In the last three years, education spending in California has been reduced by 42%. California’s funding of Criminal Justice (prisons and police), however, has grown by 126% since 1984. Funding for higher education has shrunk over the same period by 12%. The state legislature cut $9 billion from education for 2009-2010, but the state would be $8.4 billion richer if its corporate tax rate were what it was in 1981. During the most recent budget crisis, the state legislature passed even further tax giveaways to Californian mega-corporations at a cost of $2.5 billion in lost tax revenue per year. This is not an issue merely of a lack of money, but also a policy over time that prioritizes corporate profit over equal access to quality schools, incarceration over education.

Equal access to quality public education is prevented by two other main problems besides reduced spending on education. The first is that the budget cuts in K-12 education unequally affect poor school districts. The use of property taxes to partially fund public primary and secondary education has left districts that have lower property values much less able to cope with cuts in services than more affluent neighborhoods. For example, 66% of principles in “high-poverty” schools have recently reported layoffs of teachers compared to 15% of principles in middle-class and upper-class districts. On the college level, another issue of concern is that access doled out according to ability to pay is inherently unequal access. Put simply, public education is getting more expensive and thus becoming less viable for a percentage of our population. For example, CSU fees have increased 32% over the past year and a total of 182% since 2002. Community college fees have increased 30% this year and UC fees have increased 44% since Fall 2009. These cuts will make it even harder for many low-income students to get a four-year degree.

Many students and affiliated workers and teachers have risen in resistance to these threats to education and many students are now facing expulsion. As Stanford students who value education and currently live in California, we should do our best to, at the very least, educate ourselves about what is going on in this state. As current residents, we are all implicated to a certain degree in the state’s actions.

Jenna Queenan ’11

Mary Jo Kopechne

>Cuts like these demonstrate the low priority given to the education of our youth<

You are an idiot. This state spends more on 'education' than anything else, with questionable results. Throw your own money down a rathole, stop digging into my wallet to salve your conscience.
Stephanie Gooding

Please share this message. We need to vote for Peter Schurman on June 8 for Gov because he is in favor of tax and regulate, and is a bare knuckles fighter who made such a difference as the founder of Moveon.org. Jerry Brown, at 72 yrs old, is and has been, very much a part of the problem. Schurman is a democrat. Let’s help him
Eric R

Jenna:

I think you make some interesting points in your piece, but you fail to mention the most critical point that concerns education spending in California: Proposition 98. This ballot measure guarantees a funding level, despite the current economic issues. And, yes, the Governor has attempted–and to some extent–worked around the provisions of this law, but it is largely still an issue. I think this point should have been explored a bit more. I would also add that your comments surrounding property taxes (which do fund school districts) also lacks the necessary information to give this piece more substance. Here, a critical part of the argument is Proposition 13, which now prevents the state from increasing property taxes–so, as property values have increased all around the state, people are paying the same rates from the 70s. A more modern way of looking at Proposition 13 is to consider the Governor’s decrease in car fees. At the time, (2003-04) it seemed like such a great idea. Now, seven years later we have come to realize that the revenue that these fees would have brought in could have been used to offset a good chunk of the budget (at least half the amount the state requested from the federal government and did not get).
Lastly, the state budget is roughly divided as follows: education, prisons, and social services in large chunks. Going back to your point about “Tom Heng,” most of the issues concerning students attempting to work and transfer to a four-year university are fundamentally different than those who are already at a CSU, UC, or private school. What Mr. Heng’s support networks really are about are social services. Yes, CalWorks, subsidized childcare, nutrition supplements, are all items that students can receive while going to community college and once they actually transfer. The only problem is, community colleges must often eliminate these programs (they are the first to be cut). Social services is also the one item in our budget that is not guaranteed, and that’s why you’ll hear about it in the next few months. Education, like I said, is covered mostly by Proposition 98 and the California teachers union; Prison’s were a hot topic, but after the federal government appointed a receiver, there is very little wiggle room and most of the cuts are made to the counties (who arguably should have more money to ensure that recidivism rates are lowered); social services has no real constitutional protections (by way of something like Proposition 98 that can be summoned immediately) and so it is fair game. Most of the recipients of these programs cannot afford high powered lobbyists; so they must rely on unions, which are already stigmatized for representing the proverbial “state worker.” Plus, the programs are mostly “optional” or “demonstration” programs that the state has signed up for. And although I don’t agree, this programs can be cut because we simply opted to participate in programs that would enable us to match each state dollar with a federal dollar. So, as the budget mess continues, pay particular attention to social services and how exactly those cuts are going to affect men and women who are attempting to receive an education–i think this would be more helpful. At any rate, I am truly happy to see students like yourself taking an active interest in civic affairs. Keep up the good work! ER
Lance

California’s budget woes started in 1999 when Gray Davis signed SB 400. That represented the largest issuance of non-voter-approved debt in the state’s history. The bill granted billions of dollars in retroactive pension boosts to state employees, allowing retirements as young as age 50 with lifetime pensions of up to 90% of final year salaries.

Until this bill get reversed, money for road, schools, etc. will continue to be a problem in California.