The UC Riverside Faculty Association endorses Proposition 30.

As President Mark Yudof noted in his recent letter to the University, this election and Proposition 30 “could prove pivotal to the University of California and its immediate future.”

We believe Proposition 30 is essential to the continued position of the University of California as a leading institution of higher education and research.  If it fails, UC will be subject to unsustainable budget cuts that could eviscerate its core mission to educate all qualified Californians.

Proposition 30 would increase income and sales taxes on a temporary basis and thus avoid an assortment of prospective “trigger cuts” that were written into the current State budget, pending the election outcome.  Last summer, The Regents took the extraordinary step of endorsing Proposition 30, stating that “the ability of the University of California to ensure the high-quality education that Californians have come to expect will be jeopardized….” if it does not pass.  They noted that should it fail UC’s budget will be reduced by $250 million and an additional $125 million currently in the budget to ensure no increases in tuition through fiscal year 2012-13 will be forfeited.

The Regents have indicated that they will be forced to raise tuition by 20.3% ($2400) in January if Proposition 30 does not pass.  Such an increase is unsupportable after years of drastic tuition increases and could force students to drop out of UC or take on more debt.

We urge all California voters to educate themselves about Proposition 30 and encourage them to vote for it.

 

For more about Proposition 30: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/28244