Latest news with #JesseTorres

Politico

Deferral or default? In budget deal, California universities left to wait and hope

And the megabill passed by the Republican-controlled Congress that Trump signed over the weekend includes cuts to student loan programs that could do more damage. Amid the headwinds, the ten UC and 23 CSU campuses, which together enroll more than 750,000 students and have annual budgets surpassing $65 billion, find themselves with less political leverage than they'd like as lawmakers and voters have been consumed by other budget battles. A June survey by the Public Policy Institute of Policy found that just 4 percent of likely voters picked higher education as their highest priority for state spending. 'I think it's warranted to have a degree of concern,' said Jesse Torres, who serves on the board of the California Coalition for Public Higher Education. 'We don't want to see deferrals turn into defaults. We trust the Legislature and the governor will do what they can to make sure those funds go back to the institutions, but it's hard not to be concerned in light of the external conditions that are facing higher ed today.' Much of the consternation is rooted in a 2022 agreement Newsom reached with university leaders that was meant to establish a more stable funding stream. Under the 5-year deal, the UCs and CSUs pledged to raise enrollment by 1 percent each year in exchange for a five percent annual boost in funding. That should have sent an additional $240 million into UC coffers and $252 million to CSU this year, but lawmakers held back the money as part of their budget scheme, promising to deliver it next year. School officials have reason to doubt such assurances: The state didn't honor its end of the deal last year while continuing to pressure the universities to admit more students. 'The compact is dead,' said Trevor Griffey, vice president of legislation at UC-AFT, a union that represents non-senate faculty and librarians. At a legislative hearing earlier this year, UC and CSU leaders both expressed doubt about their ability to continue following through on their end of the agreement without the additional cash infusions.