A future in jeopardy

California, which is known for having the strongest higher education systems in the nation, may no longer be at the top of the heap. As I report in the Weekend Pinnacle on Friday, the recent budget cuts have hit all three arms of the college educational system. Gavilan College, the local community college, announced in May it would eliminate 20 percent of their summer school programs and 10 percent of its fall offerings, as reported here.

Now that a budget has been approved - weeks after the June deadline, as always - the University of California and the California State University systems have both announced their preliminary plans to deal with the cuts. The plans include furloughs for employees and cutting enrollments. The CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed wrote in a press release that they have never had to deal with such a severe cut in one year before.

The CSUs alone plan to reduce enrollment by 32,000 students next year.

The cuts to education are likely to have long-term consequences, as less state students will have access to higher education. Only time will tell what kind of drastic effects the cuts will have in the future.