Ed roundup: Florez seeks to limit college fee hikes
| Tuesday, Feb 09 2010 05:45 PM
Last Updated Tuesday, Feb 09 2010 05:46 PM
Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, D-Shafter, has introduced a bill that would cap college fee increases, which rose an unprecedented 32 percent last year for California university students.
"The university has got to stop looking at our students as walking ATM machines," Florez told The Californian on Tuesday, the day he unveiled the bill.
The bill, SB 969, called "The California College and University Fee Stabilization Act of 2010," aims to lock fees throughout a student's college career, much like graduation requirements are locked based on year of admission, Florez said.
It is impossible, he said, for students and their parents to have a clear picture of what a college education will cost because of unpredictable fee spikes. A two-thirds vote is needed to raise taxes, but there is currently no rule in place to stop the university system from raising student fees, Florez said. The bill will put a 5 percent cap on fee increases.
In November, officials approved a 32 percent increase in student fees. Students system-wide protested.
The bill, which he said is feasible even in light of state budget woes, would force colleges and universities to "live within their means."
Responding to criticism from Bakersfield College students and staff about her most recent pay raise, Kern Community College District Chancellor Sandra Serrano said Tuesday her $20,000 pay bump was in line with salary schedules and does not affect the college's budget situation or goals.
During an open forum in November, Serrano said district trustees adjusted her salary to stay competitive with other chancellors' salaries throughout the state. She said she was the lowest paid, according to Bakersfield College's The Renegade Rip. The raise bumped her salary to $282,450, not including retirement contributions.
But, according to The Rip, at least two chancellors received less than Serrano.
Serrano said the decision was the trustees', who granted the raise in order to keep in line with salary schedules and to "retain talent."
Stuart Witt, district board president, said the raise was necessary because the state is experiencing a void of qualified leadership.
"Given the extraordinary times we face, the Board of Trustees felt compelled to retain the leadership team and compensate our chancellor based on exceptional performance in the most difficult of times," Witt said in an e-mail. "Given the uncertainty of state funding, it is not a time to take a chance of losing exceptional talent to another district. It is time to maintain and ensure retention of what we have."
Throughout the college, however, students and faculty say administrators should not be asking for raises, and instead volunteer for pay cuts in light of budget cuts. According to The Rip, 106 class sections were cut from the spring 2010 schedule.
In responding to criticism, Serrano said, "I don't feel there is a response that will ever satisfy everybody."
Bessie Owens Primary School kindergartners, about 150 of them, will each receive six books this year thanks to donations by Dd's Discounts in east Bakersfield, according to teacher Joyce Victor.
It's part of the FLASH program at the school, which received nearly $2,300 worth of books.
Victor founded the FLASH program in 2003 with grants from Chevron and Bakersfield Education Foundation. It provides take-home kits, books and CD sets, videos, DVDs and learning games for families.
FROM THE BLOGS...
Recently I visited a few journalism classrooms for a story on high school newspapers. I talked to dozens of students at East High School and Liberty High School. A few things stood out during my visits.
One was that most of the students do not plan on pursuing a degree related to communications or journalism. I met some who were going into engineering and business. Still, they said, they see value in the newspaper.
The other thing that stood out was a staff writer at East High's The Kernal.
Jose Vargas, a senior, moved to the United States from Michoacan, Mexico, three years ago. He knew no English, but learned quickly, he said.
He approached his teachers about the possibility of writing for the school newspaper.
Why?
"I wanted to give my friends, who don't know English, something they could read and learn from at school," he said in Spanish.
He now writes stories in the paper in English and Spanish. His stories written in both languages are laid out side-by-side. He's written on standout athletes and featured faculty members, he said.
The newspaper, he said, has given him, and others, a voice.
For more education news, go to The Californian's education blog, The Grade, at www.bakersfield.com/blogs, or follow The Grade's Twitter at twitter.com/TBCTheGrade.
