State may ax its Cal Grants
FONTANA - Four years ago, they received a promise from the state that if they get good grades, they wouldn't have to worry about paying for college.
Today, students from A.B. Miller High School will receive their high school diploma, and more than 120 of them are counting on the state to keep that promise.
But if the Legislature signs off on budget cuts FOR higher education funding and accepts Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to phase out Cal Grants, students in Fontana, and throughout California, will be left to fend for themselves.
"Kids have already gotten their financial aid packages," said Susan Harriger, a counselor at Miller. "They just can't afford it otherwise. Now, after four years you say 'sorry'. It's a horrible thing. You need to support the kids who are going places."
The state has been offering grants to college students since 1955, said Diana Fuentes-Mitchel, executive director of the California Student Aid Commission.
To qualify for Cal Grant A, maximum annual income for family of four cannot exceed $47,000 a year and for Cal Grant B the limit is $20,000.
Cal Grants' annual budget is $880 million. Phasing out the program would save $215 million over the first two years and $415 million the following year as each class is eliminated.
This fall, about 118,000 new students are at risk of not having access to aid for the 2009-10 academic year, Fuentes-Mitchel said.
John Santia, counselor at Chaffey High school in Ontario, worries that there will be a generation of students who will not be able to go to college even though they fulfilled all its requirements.
"This was their pot of gold at the end of the road," Santia said.
But there may be a silver lining to the dark cloud of budget woes.
Phasing out Cal Grants may ease the pressure on Cal State universities facing possible enrollment reduction.
Awaiting further cuts, Cal Poly Pomona is considering rescinding its acceptance offers to some incoming freshmen. If there are fewer students who can afford the tuition, less offers will have to be taken back.
"It will help us if fewer students attend the university," said Cal Poly President Michael Ortiz. "I'm not sure what will happen. We may not have money to educate them all."
CSU has more than 450,000 students attending its 23 campuses. Its budget includes almost $2.7 billion in state general fund and $1.5 billion in student fee revenue. According to the Chancellors' Office, the governor has proposed additional cuts to the CSU budget of as much as $375 million for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years, on top of the $410 million reduction proposed on May 14.
"It's almost comical that we would be expected to provide quality education to students with the budget that state provides," Ortiz said.
Cuts would have profound and negative long-term consequences, said Albert Karnig, president of Cal State San Bernardino. There will be no way of getting around layoffs either, when 85 percent of CSU system's payroll is personnel, "We are chasing strong faculty away from state of California," he said.
CSU system is based on idea of access for all, and Ortiz said he is upset because the cuts will have an impact on human lives, especially on underprivileged groups. Many of his students are first generation to attended college.
"Education is a key to middle class," Ortiz said. "We will be eighth (largest) economy in the world but a third world country (in education)."
If passed, cuts will have an impact on community colleges as well, Ortiz said. Students who are not able to afford a four-year college may opt to go to a two-year school instead.
"We will have a huge mess," Harriger said. "Community colleges are busting at the seams already."
Karnig said he understands the budget situation and knows that everyone has to tighten their own belt, but higher education is the only solution for state budget situation.
"If you have a significant fire in your house you need to put it out," he said. "But you don't want to destroy the house in order to save it."
mediha.dimartino@inlandnewspapers.com
Today, students from A.B. Miller High School will receive their high school diploma, and more than 120 of them are counting on the state to keep that promise.
But if the Legislature signs off on budget cuts FOR higher education funding and accepts Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to phase out Cal Grants, students in Fontana, and throughout California, will be left to fend for themselves.
"Kids have already gotten their financial aid packages," said Susan Harriger, a counselor at Miller. "They just can't afford it otherwise. Now, after four years you say 'sorry'. It's a horrible thing. You need to support the kids who are going places."
The state has been offering grants to college students since 1955, said Diana Fuentes-Mitchel, executive director of the California Student Aid Commission.
To qualify for Cal Grant A, maximum annual income for family of four cannot exceed $47,000 a year and for Cal Grant B the limit is $20,000.
Cal Grants' annual budget is $880 million. Phasing out the program would save $215 million over the first two years and $415 million the following year as each class is eliminated.
This fall, about 118,000 new students are at risk of not having access to aid for the 2009-10 academic year, Fuentes-Mitchel said.
John Santia, counselor at Chaffey High school in Ontario, worries that there will be a generation of students who will not be able to go to college even though they fulfilled all its requirements.
"This was their pot of gold at the end of the road," Santia said.
But there may be a silver lining to the dark cloud of budget woes.
Phasing out Cal Grants may ease the pressure on Cal State universities facing possible enrollment reduction.
Awaiting further cuts, Cal Poly Pomona is considering rescinding its acceptance offers to some incoming freshmen. If there are fewer students who can afford the tuition, less offers will have to be taken back.
"It will help us if fewer students attend the university," said Cal Poly President Michael Ortiz. "I'm not sure what will happen. We may not have money to educate them all."
CSU has more than 450,000 students attending its 23 campuses. Its budget includes almost $2.7 billion in state general fund and $1.5 billion in student fee revenue. According to the Chancellors' Office, the governor has proposed additional cuts to the CSU budget of as much as $375 million for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years, on top of the $410 million reduction proposed on May 14.
"It's almost comical that we would be expected to provide quality education to students with the budget that state provides," Ortiz said.
Cuts would have profound and negative long-term consequences, said Albert Karnig, president of Cal State San Bernardino. There will be no way of getting around layoffs either, when 85 percent of CSU system's payroll is personnel, "We are chasing strong faculty away from state of California," he said.
CSU system is based on idea of access for all, and Ortiz said he is upset because the cuts will have an impact on human lives, especially on underprivileged groups. Many of his students are first generation to attended college.
"Education is a key to middle class," Ortiz said. "We will be eighth (largest) economy in the world but a third world country (in education)."
If passed, cuts will have an impact on community colleges as well, Ortiz said. Students who are not able to afford a four-year college may opt to go to a two-year school instead.
"We will have a huge mess," Harriger said. "Community colleges are busting at the seams already."
Karnig said he understands the budget situation and knows that everyone has to tighten their own belt, but higher education is the only solution for state budget situation.
"If you have a significant fire in your house you need to put it out," he said. "But you don't want to destroy the house in order to save it."
mediha.dimartino@inlandnewspapers.com
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