A “Little Story” That Speaks Volumes About California State Budget Cuts and Our Twisted Priorities

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Frank D. Russo

As I was about to write an article about yesterday’s events in Sacramento, I decided to first complete my news and opinion digest for the monring. In this morning’s LA Times, I ran across an article, that caused me to keep saying to myself, “Tell me this isn’t true. It can’t be.”

Take a moment to read the Times article: “Cal State moves up application deadlines: Officials hope students will miss deadlines, easing the effect of budget cutbacks.”

Is this what the great state of California is coming to? I thought, apparently naively, that we celebrated and cherished the desire of our young wanting to further their education and attend institutions of higher learning. Instead, because of the budget proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger for next year, and difficulties the California State University (CSU) system expects to have with cut backs, they are, with premeditation (but propbably without malice aforethought) advancing the deadline for applying and hoping that many students miss the deadline.

Read on in this article and you will see that among the potential students affected are those who want to pursue a career in nursing and other occupations the state has shortfalls in and desperately needs. All this in the “Year of Education,” mind you.

We should be bursting with pride as a state that a record number of kids want to attend CSU. Many high school teachers are busting their butts to do whatever they can to instill a love of education. Parents are telling their children that in order to have a decent future and be able to compete for jobs and careers, they must get a good education. No Child Left Behind? Get ahold of this passage from the article:

"An effort was made to try to slow down what was otherwise going to be a record year in enrollment," said Jim Blackburn, director of enrollment management services in the chancellor's office. Blackburn did not know of another time when Cal State sought to curtail students in this fashion.”

Here’s one concrete example of how we are not planning for our future. This affects many who would otherwise be the first in their families to go beyond high school. The American dream—the California dream? How in the world are they to be able to afford those yachts? They’ll need more than a tax loophole.