Governor Jerry Brown released his 2014-15 budget proposal earlier this month, indicating that total CSU funding will increase 6.3 percent from last year. Still, the California Faculty Association has made a call for more funds since the release of the new budget plan.
“His proposal still leaves tens of thousands of California students out in the cold, clamoring for the university education that will help ensure a more prosperous future for our state,” said Lillian Taiz, president of the California Faculty Association, in a press release.
$2.47 billion is the proposed allotted amount of CSU funding for 2015 according to Mike Uhlenkamp, a representative of the CSU system. As of the 2013-2014 academic year there was $2.33 billion granted to CSU funding. In 2012, roughly $2 billion was allotted towards CSU funding.
There has been a lot of focus on what the governor can do to improve the quality of the students’ academic experience. In these past years, there has been a roughly $100 million increase each year in education funding.
In 2010-2011 there was a restoration of $199 million to theCSU funding and an increase in enrollment. It was the first since the peak of $2.9 billion in 2007.
Brown’s new budget proposal outlines plans to get rid of the debt caused by cities borrowing money.
“Cities will be receiving their payback this year,” said Brown in a news conference in Sacramento on Jan. 9. The budget will aim to improve the educational system.
Though the budget has brought an increase in funds, students are still investing more money into this university than they will make back in the future, as evidenced by Sonoma State’s ranking of 16th in Return on Investment compared to other CSUs.
By gaining enough funds to help add more staff and faculty to the payroll, a higher number of teachers can work in the university. The more the classes, the fewer students there are packed in each class. A professor can get the time for individual focus on students and offer them better advise so as to ensure they get a quality education.
It drives the attention toward other questions and such as the worth of a college education.
“It’s a depressing issue, and it is the reason I decided I never wanted to enroll in a college,” said Cotati resident Jesse Rames. “Let’s say that the person with the bachelor’s degree makes an extra twenty grand more than the person with the high school diploma. And don’t forget about all the loans that need to get paid off first. Also it is future money that has yet to be lowered by inflation,” said Rames.
