Kate Clark,
President of the Academic Senate for California
Community Colleges
Ken Snell, Chair, Legislation and Governmental
Relations Committee
Dear Colleagues,
This Friday, December 5th, is
the deadline for the Legislature to approve a
bond measure and a spending cap proposal so that
it can be placed on the March ballot for a statewide
vote. As newspapers around the state are reporting
today, this proposal is subject to on-going revision
during these next few days. We urge you to share
with your local legislators your concerns and
provide information about the consequences--today!
A little background: On Monday, November 24th,
the Governor's administration released its plans
for a spending limit, which appears to contain
a structural flaw that could seriously damage
education funding in years to come. The proposal
would undermine the state's guarantee that public
schools share revenue when the economy is good
and are protected when the economy is bad.
While, the Academic Senate has not yet evaluated
the proposal, the Chancellor's Office believes
the spending cap contains an inadvertent error,
given the Governor's strong support for education.
The proposed structure specifically interferes
with the future maintenance factor and will prevent
restoration of education funds in times of strong
economic growth. There has already been some discussion
about how the stability of education funding could
be maintained by designing the spending cap in
a manner that places a limit on non-Proposition
98 funding only and thus would not interfere with
the Governor's commitment. Without such a change
there would be the potential for an unintended
squeeze on non-Proposition 98 funds should there
be a shift or deceleration in property taxes.
Further, if spending cuts are enshrined in a
ballot measure, and future budgets are locked
into that reduced 2004-05 budget, recovery for
the community colleges will be protracted and
uncertain.
Proposed cuts to other segments, UC and CSU,
may also have dire consequences for our students'
transfer plans. If passed as proposed, UC colleagues
indicate that their system must eliminate outreach
efforts including MESA and PUENTE, the piloted
Dual Admissions Program (DAP), as well as ASSIST--the
lifeline for students and counselors needing information
about articulation and major preparation. Such
cuts elsewhere would prove disasterous for our
students and for our genuine shared efforts to
improve transfer rates.
Be assured that the Senate will be monitoring
this proposal and the Legislature's action. We
will provide more information as it becomes available.
In the meantime, we ask you to reach out now
to others in your community so that they fully
under the ramification of the Legislature's important
decision this week.
