Freeze Proposed on Student Fees at State Colleges
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Announcing the first of several anticipated bills to keep down the cost of attending public colleges, Lt. Gov. Gray Davis on Monday proposed freezing student fees until the year 2000 and then limiting future increases to the growth in personal income.
The legislation, Davis said, could bring relief to lower- and middle-class students who suffered “sticker shock” in the early 1990s, when California State University fees more than doubled and University of California fees jumped 134%.
“Virtually no middle-class family can cope with these kinds of increases,” Davis said, calling for a moderate formula for fee hikes so students can budget for the future. The best formula, he said, is growth in personal income, which has been averaging 4.5% a year.
The bill, introduced on Davis’ behalf by Assemblywoman Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego), also recommends that the Legislature increase higher-education funding to keep pace with growth in personal income and enrollment in the system.
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