Students rally outside Capitol for increased education funding

By Laurel Rosenhall
lrosenhall@sacbee.com

Published: Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 4A

Last Modified: Tuesday, Mar. 23, 2010 - 9:31 am

Demonstrations for increased education funding continued Monday as roughly 5,000 students and employees from community colleges and California State University descended on the state Capitol for a noisy but peaceful rally.
They came from around California, wearing shirts representing their campuses: Humboldt, Northridge, Fresno, West Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco. And they said cuts to education in recent years are hurting their odds for the future.
Lee Cha, 23, a student in Sacramento State's teaching credential program, said he's been hit two ways by cuts to education funding. It's become harder to get classes he needs to complete his university studies, while the demand for new teachers in K-12 school districts has fallen.
"I'm studying to be a teacher, and it's really looking tougher for me to get a job," Cha said.
Monday's demonstration was the latest in a string of protests that began in early March with students up and down the state speaking out against rising fees and reduced courses at California's colleges and universities.
Community college Chancellor Jack Scott said the state could make money by spending more on education. For every dollar the state spends on education, it gets $3 back in increased tax revenue, Scott said, because educated workers earn bigger salaries.
"Education is not a cost, it's an investment," Scott said. "And it's California's best investment."
Many demonstrators spoke out in favor of raising taxes. "Close loopholes, not schools," read some signs they carried. Others said, "Tax oil, not students" – a reference to Assembly Bill 656, which would tax oil extraction to pay for higher education. The bill is sponsored by the California Faculty Association, the union that represents CSU professors.
As demonstrators rallied outside, legislators inside the Capitol held a hearing on the state's Master Plan for Higher Education, which is being reviewed this year on its 50th anniversary.
"Fifty years ago in this very building, California set a standard for the whole world," Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-Gardena, said to the crowd on the north steps of the Capitol. "We have to find new revenue for higher education."
Last year, the Legislature cut higher education spending by 20 percent. The universities responded by raising fees for students, slashing courses and furloughing workers.
This year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed increasing higher-education spending by 12 percent – restoring some of the money lost in last year's historic budget cuts but still giving colleges less than they received in 2007-08.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office has suggested more modest increases to higher education to offset proposed cuts in other areas of state government.
In response to Monday's demonstration, Schwarzenegger's secretary of education put the burden of budget decisions on lawmakers. In a statement, Bonnie Reiss said:
"I urge the Legislature to listen to these students and adopt a budget that shares the Governor's commitment to fully fund education in the state."

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