California lawmakers tout big college spending, but key items get zero dollars this year
The $515 million to create a debt-free grant for lower- and middle-income University of California and California State University students? The budget deal for the 2021-22 fiscal year dedicates not one dollar to it but will next year, “subject to an available and sufficient appropriation.” The $149 million to fund 15,000 extra seats in 2022-23 for California residents at the UC and CSU? Not a dollar either… the money for the UC still falls short of how much of its core funding for student academics used to flow from state support. Just over a decade ago, 60% came from the state’s general fund. Lately, it’s closer to 40%, meaning the system has relied more on tuition hikes.
Read full article [here].
by Mikhail Zinshteyn, CalMatters.