Governor Pledges Funding to Cancel College Fee Hike

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Pete Wilson sought to steal a major issue from the Democrats on Wednesday by pledging to provide money that would cancel a scheduled fee increase at California colleges and universities this fall.

Wilson said his action to avert major fee increases scheduled for the 1996-97 school year was made possible by a cash surplus--estimated to be $1 billion--generated by an unexpected surge in the state’s economy. It also came as GOP lawmakers signaled Wednesday that they will jump on the education bandwagon by bowing to a Democratic plan for a statewide school bond issue.

“The promise of affordable, accessible and high-quality college and university education, which was made to past generations of Californians, is being kept and renewed,” said Wilson, who will include his plan in the state budget proposal he is scheduled to release next Wednesday.

The plan also would freeze fees at community colleges. The governor’s proposal was welcomed by recession-weary university and college officials.

“This comes as welcome news to the university, UC students and their parents who endured the state’s most difficult economic period since the Great Depression,” said UC President Richard Atkinson. “It is fitting that they now benefit from California’s improving economy.”

Late last year, Democrats began a drumbeat of complaints about a series of fee increases for higher education in California. Led by Democratic Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, Wilson critics complained that since the governor won office in 1990, fees have gone up 134% at University of California campuses and 103% at the California State University system.

Wilson officials countered that fees for California schools still compare favorably with those of other institutions nationally. But when the issue struck a chord with the state’s electorate, Davis launched a campaign last month for a proposed ballot initiative that would freeze student fees for three years.

Davis and Democratic leaders such as Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles), who championed the issue in the Legislature and as a candidate in the 1994 governor’s race, argued that the fee increases were essentially a tax on middle-class parents.

“In many ways, the governor’s proposal validates the importance of this issue,” Davis said Wednesday. “The governor is a smart politician and he had to know that middle-class families felt hard-pressed and underappreciated.”

Hayden also said that if Wilson did not act to eliminate the scheduled fee increase, the issue would be a major stumbling block to winning passage of his budget proposal, as it was last year.

“He had to face the fact that it was becoming an issue where the Democrats were getting a popular advantage and it was a stumbling block to resolving the state’s annual budget,” Hayden said.

Wilson’s office rejected the notion Wednesday that the governor’s action was in response to Democratic pressure. During an impromptu sidewalk news conference, the governor added that he was “not surprised that they are trying to take credit for it.”

He said it was a product of the state surplus and his belief that “the university and the entire system of higher education is one of California’s major assets.”

Wilson’s office did not reveal how much money it would distribute to the UC and Cal State systems in order to cancel the scheduled fee increases. Officials insisted that it will be enough to cover the amount of money the Cal State and UC systems would have raised through the fee increases.

H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the state Finance Department, said the amount is estimated to be $57 million. Palmer said the additional funds would come from a state budget surplus that some officials expect to exceed $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year in June.

The unexpected surplus has been generated by a surging California economy that has produced more revenue for state coffers than economists had predicted when they calculated the budget in May.

Wilson’s proposal was for one year, covering the 1996-97 school calendar. It also called for a freeze on any fee increase for community colleges.

Palmer said the decision about tuition and state funding beyond June 1997 will have to be made later.

For that reason, Davis said he and other Democrats will continue to push their plan for a three-year freeze on fees. “I believe members want to go beyond fiscal year ‘96-’97,” he said.

The fee increase that would be eliminated by Wilson’s proposal at UC schools this fall amounts to about $270 per year for California students. That hike would bring the total annual fees paid by an undergraduate to $4,409.

At Cal State schools, the trustees adopted a 10% fee increase last year that would be affected by Wilson’s plan. The increase would have raised students costs to between $1,584 and $1,740.

Wilson won bipartisan applause last summer from education officials pleased with parts of the budget he signed in August.

Elementary and high school officials cheered a $1-billion increase in their budget representing the first cost-of-living increase in five years.

UC and Cal State officials were also grateful for an agreement they reached with state lawmakers outlining the minimum budget commitment for the next four years. Previously, higher education officials said they were severely hampered by the inability to confidently prepare long-range budgets.

The agreement called for a 2% increase in the current year’s $9.2-billion budget, followed by an average of 4% the next three years. When Senate Democrats held out their support for the overall state budget, the current-year budget was increased about 3.5%.

Wilson officials said the governor’s decision to increase funds to universities and colleges reflects his dedication to the quality of California’s schools, especially in preparing students for the work force.

“It’s a demonstration of his commitment to education,” said Sean Walsh, the governor’s press secretary. “He gave over $1 billion last year to [kindergarten through 12th-grade classrooms] and this year he is continuing to add resources to education. This is above and beyond the agreement.”

CSU Chancellor Barry Munitz said he was “delighted and grateful” that the governor will hold the line on fees for the second straight year. He said the move will give the university time to analyze the need for future fee increases.

“There remains very serious questions about California’s ability to keep college prices so low and comprehensive university subsidies to students so high,” Munitz said.

On the proposed school bond measure, Assemblyman Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga) emerged from a GOP caucus meeting Wednesday to announce that Republicans were prepared to change their stand and vote to place a $3-billion bond for school construction on the March ballot.

Republicans in the Assembly had killed the bill at the end of the 1995 legislative session. “It is our intent to support that bill,” Brulte said. “The caucus made a collective decision.”

But the measure still could be in for tough going with only days left to make the final decision. A bill to put the bond measure on the March 26 statewide ballot must be signed by Wilson by Monday.

Previously, some GOP lawmakers had made their support for the Democrat-sponsored school bond contingent on the simultaneous approval of a ballot measure for prison construction. Brulte said Republicans intend to make another run at winning Democratic support for a $1.9-billion prison construction bond, to be placed before voters in November. Democrats have opposed the prison measure. Both bills would require a two-thirds vote.

The bond issue would provide money for school construction and renovation in elementary and secondary schools as well colleges and universities. CSU spokesman Stephen MacCarthy said the money for construction is “absolutely critical for us.”

MacCarthy said almost all of CSU’s money would be used to modernize buildings to allow computers to be installed and to retrofit buildings for earthquake safety.

Lesher reported from Sacramento and Colvin from Los Angeles. Staff writer Dan Morain contributed to this story.