Close to Home (opinion)
Keeping a promise to California's students
by Carl Wong & David B. Wolf
Santa Rosa Press Democrat | Close to Home | August 21, 2007
The dispute between Sonoma State University faculty and President Ruben Armiñana, as reported in The Press Democrat, is really a symptom of a deeper problem affecting the state of California: the historic decline in the state's financial support for public higher education.
In 1970, fully 17 percent of the state budget was invested in higher education. Today, that figure is only 11 percent.
In fact, recent projections show that as early as 2012-13, as the prison population grows and costs soar, California is projected to spend more money on prisons than it does on higher education.
This for a state that was once the country's -- and indeed the world's -- leader in higher education. The creation of the University of California was one of the first acts of the young state in the middle of the 19th century. The establishment of the state colleges (which became the CSU) and the creation of the first community colleges 100 years ago were the accomplishments of our state's early leaders.
In 1960, California education and political leaders took another bold step forward: they adopted the Master Plan for Higher Education, committing a spot in community college or university for every student who prepared and sought the opportunity.
Nowhere in the world had such a commitment ever been made.
How are we, as the citizens of the state and the elected officials who represent us, upholding that legacy? How are we strengthening it for the next generation of young Californians?
By any measure, we are not living up to the standard set by previous generations of Californians.
And we will all suffer the consequences illustrated. Major recent studies warn of a population less educated, tax revenues in decline, and a workforce lacking the skills or education to compete in the global economy.
One simple yet important part of the solution is SB 890 ("Early Commitment to College") by state Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena. This bill renews the commitment of the Master Plan for Higher Education -- a spot in college for any student who prepares and seeks the opportunity - but for the first time, it makes that commitment directly to young people and families.
Given the growing income inequality and persistence of poverty, SB 890 goes one step further. It commits to low-income youth and their parents in middle school financial aid so they can afford to go to college.
The bill is now pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, chaired by San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno. Because SB 890 builds off the state's existing programs and commitments, it will not cost anything more than our future investment to send these additional students to college.
The program will not reverse all the problems facing higher education, but it takes one important step in rebuilding the connection between the people of California and our institutions of higher learning. It deserves the support of Assemblyman Leno, his colleagues in the Legislature and the governor.
Carl Wong is Sonoma County superintendent of schools. David B. Wolf is president of the Sonoma County Board of Education. |
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