California State University trustees Wednesday approved a 10% increase in undergraduate and graduate student fees for the coming school year, with one board member saying it was the only way to absorb deep funding cuts without turning away thousands of students and eliminating teaching posts.
"Until California changes its priorities . . . we only have bad choices," Board of Trustees Chairman Jeffrey Bleich said before the 17-2 vote.
The hike of $306 a year for undergraduates will boost Cal State's average annual basic fees to $3,354, beginning in the fall. For students pursuing their teaching credential, the increase means an additional $354 a year, and for other graduate students, an extra $378.
With room, board, books and additional fees imposed by each institution, the total cost of attendance for an undergraduate living on campus will now range from $16,752 a year at Cal State Bakersfield to $22,158 at San Francisco State, according to CSU estimates.
It was the sixth basic fee increase in seven years for the 23-campus university system, which educates 450,000 students a year. University leaders said the higher fees will offset state cuts in the system's $2.6-billion budget, including $96 million in 2008-09 and an additional $57 million for 2009-10.
University officials said Cal State fees remain below those of similar institutions in other states, although critics said the comparisons discount California's high cost of living.
Voting against the fee increase were Lt. Gov. John Garamendi and student trustee Curtis Grima, who attends Cal State Sacramento. Garamendi asked the board to reject the hike and instead to support AB 656, a proposed oil and natural gas severance tax whose revenues would go to the state's higher education systems.
"The Legislature and the governor are pushing off on the board a tax increase on students and student families," Garamendi said, calling the fee boost "a foolish and stupid tax." His motion died for lack of a second.
Chancellor Charles B. Reed warned of possible further cuts to Cal State's budget after Tuesday's special election, which includes education funding measures that are widely expected to fail.
"I've been in government service for 45 years . . . and I have never seen anything like this," Reed said. "It is nothing short of an economic meltdown. I don't anticipate things getting better for 18 months or up to 24 months."
