Price hikes loom large: Teachers, students decry budget plan
RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Chaffey College students have plenty of reasons to worry before classes start next Tuesday. They have to secure funds for those expensive textbooks and figure how they can squeeze into an already full class.
But on Tuesday, they also wondered whether the Legislature will pass a budget proposal that calls for a $10 increase per unit for community college students.
That would mean an extra $170 added to the $442 Pomona resident Diane Butler is paying for her classes this spring.
"It would be a struggle," said Butler, who has been unemployed since 2008. "I would still continue because it's my solution."
Butler, who is enrolled in Chaffey's radiology program, is returning to school after 20 years. Her husband is also unemployed and is considering enrolling at Chaffey but she doesn't think they can afford tuition for two.
Chaffey College is one of many victims in a state budget plan outlined by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday. The proposal, pending Legislature approval, calls for slashing $400 million to the state's community college system and increasing student fees from $26 to $36 per unit.
There are 112 community colleges in California serving 2.76 million students every year.
Brown's proposal for community colleges is part of $1.4 billion in cuts that affect higher education including the University of California and California State University systems.
It's a plan that Chaffey College Superintendent Henry Shannon said would equate to higher costs and fewer course offerings for students.
"For our students, it's a double whammy," Shannon said. "This is not good for California."
The latest proposal comes after three straight years of budget reductions. It leaves schools like Chaffey College, which is 91 percent state funded, in a bind.
"California was once the envy of the world in terms of four- year and two-year education," Shannon said. "We're going in the opposite direction right now. I thought it couldn't get any worse than it has, but it did."
Alda Wightman of La Verne is about to start a nursing program at Chaffey next week after leaving University of Phoenix due to its higher fees.
"It's almost impossible to get ahead in California," Wightman said.
The part-time student said the potential fee hike would hurt but she would still continue with her education.
"You get cornered, you have to pay the dues," she said. "But it's still the cheapest way to get an (associate degree)."
California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott anticipates up to 350,000 students will be turned away if schools have to deal with the proposed cuts.
Chaffey student Eric Zywicki of Hesperia said he'll be able to afford a $10-per-unit increase but as a single parent, it'll be difficult. Zywicki already has a bachelor's degree but is studying nursing for a career change.
"Most kids at community college come here because they're hindered by money. Otherwise, they'd be going to a four-year school," he said. "It's probably wrong for them to cut here. You don't tax the poor to make them even poorer."
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