Failure of California Budget Talks Is Bad News for State Colleges

Failure of California Budget Talks Is Bad News for State Colleges: "

In an ominous sign for California’s public colleges, negotiations broke down on Tuesday between Gov. Jerry Brown and Republican lawmakers without an agreement on how to close the state’s budget gap. Mr. Brown, a Democrat, was seeking a deal that would have put a package of tax extensions on the ballot in June that, if passed, would shield colleges and other state agencies from a new round of budget cuts. Colleges were already cut by $1.4-billion last week; without approval of the tax extensions, officials have warned that those cuts could double in size, possibly resulting in the closures of community colleges, increased cuts in enrollment, and widespread layoffs of faculty and staff members. Democratic lawmakers’ next move is not clear; they have signaled that they may ask voters to approve the tax extensions as part of an initiative on the November ballot.

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