SACRAMENTO — Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) released the following statement after voting against the California State University Board of Trustees’ fee increases:
“This fee increase, even factoring in enhanced financial aid, would be an enormous burden to roughly 170,000 CSU students. We can do better.
“The Assembly has continually pushed for and secured additional funding for the CSU. State support needs to continue to rise to make up for the cuts necessitated by the Great Recession, and programmatic efficiencies have to be examined within the system. However, I believe we can work together to arrive at a stable and appropriate funding level without overburdening students – especially those who are unable to pay their rent or maintain a consistent source of food.
“In the Assembly, we are working to make college affordable through the Degrees Not Debt Scholarship, which creates a path toward debt-free college for California’s college students.
“Rejecting this fee increase is a way to maintain affordability for students currently in the system.”
As Speaker of the Assembly, Rendon serves on the California State University Board of Trustees and University of California Board of Regents.