California's weakened community college system stands to benefit if voters approve the Budget Accountability Act, a state proposition on the March ballot. If passed, Proposition 56 would lower the number of votes necessary to pass a budget and require the Legislature to pass the budget on time.
"Prop. 56 is a permanent solution for California's budget crisis," said Community College Association President Cathy Crane-McCoy at a San Francisco news conference kicking off the campaign to pass Prop. 56. Joined on the platform by other education leaders, Crane-McCoy said the measure "allows everyone to profit in this reform of our state's budget process."
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Explaining how Prop. 56, the Budget Accountability Act, would help colleges are Community College Association President Cathy Crane-McCoy and San Francisco College Federation of Teachers President Alan Fisher. CCA and CFA are CTA affiliates representing faculty at community colleges and California State University.
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The initiative is a comprehensive reform package designed to end partisan gamesmanship and hold legislators accountable for passing a responsible budget on time. If the state budget is not passed by the constitutional deadline, the governor and members of the Legislature would permanently forfeit their salary, per diem expense allowance and car allowance for each additional day it takes to adopt the budget and sign it into law.
Perhaps more importantly, Prop. 56 reduces the vote threshold needed to pass a budget from two-thirds to 55 percent. Currently, California is one of just three states, with Rhode Island and Arkansas, that routinely require a vote of two-thirds or more to pass a budget.
Noting that California's chronically late budgets have hurt everyone, but have had an especially devastating impact on community colleges, Crane-McCoy said that the Budget Accountability Act will go a long way in reforming the state's budget process.
"Last year, community colleges were cut in midyear by more than $161 million over six months after their budgets were developed and adopted," said Crane-McCoy. This current year community colleges were cut again by approximately $87 million.
The midyear shortfall brought cuts in classes and courses, layoffs of full-time faculty, dismissals or cuts in hours for part-time faculty, increases in tuition of 67 percent this current year and statewide enrollment reductions of approximately 170,000 students, she said.
The Budget Accountability Act, she explained, would enable community colleges and K-12 school districts to develop their budgets in a timely manner without having to second-guess what's coming.
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California Faculty Association Treasurer Kim Geron
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The California State University system also "took a hit of $300 million" during last year's midyear cuts, said Kim Geron. A political science professor at CSU-Hayward, he serves as treasurer of the California Faculty Association, a CTA affiliate that represents more than 23,000 faculty members in the CSU system.
"We had to deny students coming in for the spring and summer semesters for the first time ever," he told the news media. "This has had a huge impact and it is students who are being sacrificed."
"We need rational budget planning," he added. "Late budgets don't allow us to plan."
The Budget Accountability Act is sponsored by the Service Employees International Union and supported by a coalition of organizations, including CTA, the League of Women Voters, California State PTA, California Professional Firefighters and the Peace Officers Research Association of California.
Dale Martin
