Sacramento comes up with another way to make matters worse
Managing Editor
dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
209-249-3532
UPDATED April 12, 2010 1:04 a.m.
There is little doubt that State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, means well.
He is the politician that authored a bill now making its way through the California Legislature to establish student fee caps starting in 2010-11 and cap increases at 5 percent in future years at the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges.
The proposed law would also assure students that their fees would not rise during their learning career. The annual increases would only apply to new students.
In short, Florez wants to flat-line what is essentially tuition for all students so students and their families can have stability in terms of costs. The idea sounds noble enough in concept but there is one little problem - reality.
You can’t very well artificially cap the cost of a product - in this case higher education that has a financial value in future earning power and isn’t mandated for people to partake in unless they make a decision to pursue a particular career path - when you don’t cap expenses.
Of course, Florez said the problem is lack of state funding. Hello, that is the problem for everything the state does today. There is a $20 billion plus budget deficit casting its shadow over the State Capitol in case Florez hasn’t noticed. There won’t be any huge increases in state support coming any time soon unless you want to intentionally steer the weakened economy into the rocks. Higher education is a priority for California’s future but there are some things that are of higher priority - public safety, public education, making sure struggling people don’t starve to death just to name a
He is the politician that authored a bill now making its way through the California Legislature to establish student fee caps starting in 2010-11 and cap increases at 5 percent in future years at the University of California, California State University, and California Community Colleges.
The proposed law would also assure students that their fees would not rise during their learning career. The annual increases would only apply to new students.
In short, Florez wants to flat-line what is essentially tuition for all students so students and their families can have stability in terms of costs. The idea sounds noble enough in concept but there is one little problem - reality.
You can’t very well artificially cap the cost of a product - in this case higher education that has a financial value in future earning power and isn’t mandated for people to partake in unless they make a decision to pursue a particular career path - when you don’t cap expenses.
Of course, Florez said the problem is lack of state funding. Hello, that is the problem for everything the state does today. There is a $20 billion plus budget deficit casting its shadow over the State Capitol in case Florez hasn’t noticed. There won’t be any huge increases in state support coming any time soon unless you want to intentionally steer the weakened economy into the rocks. Higher education is a priority for California’s future but there are some things that are of higher priority - public safety, public education, making sure struggling people don’t starve to death just to name a