RBUSD Decries CSU, UC Tuition Hikes

The Redondo Beach Board of Education unanimously passed a pair of resolutions Tuesday opposing further tuition increases in the California State University and University of California systems.

According to Redondo Beach Unified School District Superintendent Steven Keller, Redondo's school board may be the first to pass such a measure.

Both systems have raised tuition costs over the last year after Gov. Jerry Brown's 2011-2012 state budget slashed funding for higher education. On Nov. 17 of last year, the CSU Board of Trustees approved a 9 percent tuition fee increase after the CSU budget was cut by $750 million, or 27 percent. The UC regents hiked tuition by 9.6 percent last July after suffering a $750 million cut—about 25 percent of the state funding it receives—in 2011.

The proposed state budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year keeps funding flat for the CSU and UC systems—but only if a measure that would raise income taxes on high-income earners and increase the state sales tax passes. If the measure does not pass, $200 million will be cut from each system's budget.

"It's depressing as heck," said Keller.

Nevertheless, on Friday, Assembly Speaker John Perez, D-Los Angeles, introduced the Middle Class Scholarship Act, which would fund scholarships for students at California state colleges whose family income is less than $150,000 annually and who are not eligible for financial aid grants. The scholarships—which could save CSU students about $4,000 per year and UC students about $8,200 per year—would be funded by closing a billion-dollar tax loophole for out-of-state corporations.

"I think the mere threat of our resolution has spurred the Assembly into action," joked Redondo board member Todd Loewenstein, who added that the district should try to get other local school districts to pass similar resolutions against tuition hikes.

"One school district (signing on) is one thing, but if you've got a bunch of school districts … (it) shows that school boards really do care about this," he said.

The RBUSD resolutions note that 60 percent of California community college students who transfer to four-year institutions attend a school in either the CSU or UC systems.