Passage of School Tax Prop. 30 Sparks Protests, Promises For Fee Reductions

Voters approved Prop. 30 tax increases to fund schools on Tuesday.

 

But on Thursday, students at California State University and the University of California at Berkeley were out protesting - despite the call for no midyear budget cuts - because they want a rollback in tuition and insurance that they will get a piece of the Prop. 30 pie.

 

Students at Cal and San Jose State University, for example, chanted about  the overall trend in rising tuition fees and reduced courses and services. Many were demanding a rollback in tuition. And despite Prop. 30 saving them from higher costs this year, the students, many who campaigned for Prop. 30, said  they don't want increases to be added in the years to come.

PhD student Charlie Eaton said: "A centerpiece of the campaign for Prop. 30 was that it would stop tuition hikes. That's not enough. We've got to roll tuition back."

 

Since Prop. 30 was approved, California's state sales tax will increase by .25 percent and income taxes on people making over $250,000 will also go up. The taxes are estimated to raise as much as $6 billion for the state's public schools. Passage of Gov. Jerry Brown's tax increase kept the CSU and UC systems from losing $250 million each in state funding. That means CSU students will receive a $249 tuition-hike refund, and UC undergraduates will not have a double-digit tuition increase, according to the Bay Area News Group.

 

But universities aren't expected to see a windfall of tax money, only that they won't see severe cuts. They plan to show up at a UC Regents meeting next week to make their voices heard.  It's also possible that CSU trustees next week might approve new student fees.