IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Gov. Brown unveiled a record $113 billion budget today that will pay some debt and provide some much-needed help to schools.
The budget, which for the second year in a row includes a surplus, also rejects a request by the University of California Board of Regents for more money to avoid proposed tuition hikes, according to multiple reports.
Brown’s spending plan includes a $1.2 billion debt payment and a $1.2 billion deposit into the state’s “rainy-day” fund. Much of the surplus will be used K-12 education and community colleges, which is required by state law.
Total spending will increase about five percent compared with the current $107.4 budget. The 2015 budget includes $120 million for the UC system and $120 million for the California State system, which has not proposed a fee hike, according to the reports.
Last year, the UC board of regents approved up to a five percent tuition hike during each of the next five years, a move Brown opposed.
UC President Janet Napolitano has said the amount of money Brown has budgeted isn’t enough to maintain the 10-campus UC system, which has more than 230,000 students and 200,000-plus faculty and staff members.
