Published 2011-11-29T19:01:00Z”/>
Andre Byik and Kacey Gardner
A few days before Chico State students went on Thanksgiving break, the California State University board of trustees approved a $498 tuition hike for the 2012-2013 academic year.
The tuition increase was passed in a 9-6 vote.
The board’s meeting Nov. 16 in Long Beach, where the 9 percent fee increase was approved, was disrupted by protesters, said Erik Fallis, a spokesman for the CSU Chancellor’s Office.
Members from Refund California, a coalition involved in the planning of the Long Beach protest, spoke during the meeting’s public comments portion, but after the comment time concluded, protesters began shouting down speakers and the trustees, Fallis said. The board took a 10-minute recess as police removed the protesters from the meeting room.
After protesters were moved outside the building, an unknown person broke a glass door at the front of the building, Fallis said. Three officers were injured in the scuffle to remove the demonstrators and one required medical transportation.
At least three CSU students were arrested, one from Cal State Long Beach and two from San Diego State, Fallis said.
About 45 percent of CSU students would not pay the fee increase due to financial aid and grants, according to a press release from the CSU.
Earlier this month, Robert Turnage, CSU assistant vice chancellor of budget, said the workings of the CSU’s budget request could provide opportunities to address the other 55 percent.
The fee increase would bring in an additional $138 million in revenue to the CSU system, Turnage said.
Chico State students had mixed reactions to the approved tuition increase.
Ben Day, a senior theatre major, doesn’t mind the fee hike because his parents pay his tuition, he said.
“I would rather have tuition stay up and get a good education than have tuition go down or God forbid have furlough days again,” he said.
Rebecca Banuelos, a freshman communication sciences and disorders major, is concerned about her ability to afford college, she said.
“You need an education to develop and grow up and be something in this country, and if they keep adding more money, people aren’t going to be able to afford going to college getting the education they need,” she said. “I just think it’s ridiculous.”
The trustees also removed a clause in their budget proposal to the Legislature that would have asked legislators to buy out the tuition hike, Fallis said. In addition, the trustees approved an increase of $471 million in its budget request compared to the 2011-2012 academic year.
The removal of the buyout language and the increase in the board’s request to the Legislature represented how the board wanted to approach lawmakers in Sacramento, Fallis said. Instead of asking legislators to buy out a fee increase, the trustees chose a route that addresses all of the CSU system’s financial needs.
Requesting a $471 million increase in state funding, compared to $333 million outlined before the meeting, could better leverage the CSU’s interests, Fallis said.
In a press release from the CSU, Chancellor Charles Reed said, “While there is still so much uncertainty in the state’s fiscal condition, we wanted to provide students and parents with as much notice as possible that tuition will go up in the fall.”
The CSU has already seen a $650 million cut in state support this year that could rise to $750 million if California misses its revenue goals.
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<strong>Andre Byik can be reached at</strong>
<em>[email protected]</em>
<strong>Kacey Gardner can be reached at</strong>
<em>[email protected]</em>
