Fee hike at SRJC

<p>Were it not for his grandfather’s generosity, Dante Fountain, an 18-year-old lifeguard at the Healdsburg city pool, might be having a little more trouble paying for his first semester this fall at Santa Rosa Junior College.</p><p>SRJC recently announced that it would increase enrollment fees by 30 percent, from $20 to $26 a unit, a move mandated by the state budget approved last month.</p><p>For Dante, who is carrying a full load of course work, that means $72 more than he was planning to pay in enrollment fees. But his grandfather, a retired veteran, is using his military pension to help Dante and his younger sister pay for college.</p><p>On Wednesday, Dante toured the Santa Rosa campus with his mother, younger brother and his girlfriend, getting his books and trying to find his classrooms. </p><p>“It’s not a lot of money for one of the best schools in the country,” said Parish Hayes, Dante’s mother. “It’s still a good starting point to get your general education, and with the economy the way it is, it’s a lot harder, more competitive to get into anywhere else.”</p><p>The increase applies to everyone, even those students who already have paid their enrollment fees. Students are being notified by mail that added charges will be applied to students’ accounts in the next couple of weeks.</p><p>“Some people feel that this is kind of unfair, but our hands are tied,” said Doug Roberts, SRJC’s vice president of business services. “The state dictates what our enrollment fees are going to be.”</p><p>Roberts said state officials had warned them that a fee increase was likely. But they couldn’t impose the increase until state lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed off on a budget. That happened July 28.</p><p>A student carrying 12 units, the minimum for full-time status, will pay $312, an increase of $72.</p><p>Elaine Timoney, a 21-year-old nursing student, sat at picnic table next to Newman Auditorium on Wednesday afternoon with a fellow nursing student, complaining about the rising cost of education.</p><p>Timoney, who is currently taking summer course work at the Petaluma campus and will be commuting to the Santa Rosa campus in the fall, said she will carry 24 units. The increase means she will be paying $624, or $144 more than she would have paid.</p><p>She said other expenses include $800 to $1,000 for books for the year, parking permits, class syllabuses and $100 to $150 a week for gas. At least for now, she commutes to school from Fairfield.</p><p>“They have a really good nursing program here,” said Timoney. “But a $6 (per unit) increase doesn’t really help that much.”</p><p>Roberts said that because of the way the state funds the community college system, the fee increase is not likely to result in more money for the school.</p><p>He said more than 90 percent of the school’s operational funding is determined by an apportionment process that is based on what the school received in the previous year. Usually that amount is then bolstered by a cost-of-living increase and funding changes that reflect enrollment size.</p><p>When a fee increase is implemented, the state does not increase the school’s total apportionment.</p><p>Instead, the state cuts back on its contribution to the school. This year, the school will receive no funds to cover cost-of-living increases or growth in enrollment, he said.</p><p>“The students wind up paying a portion of what the state used to,” Roberts said. “It relieves the state of some of their fiscal responsibility.”</p><p>The school is currently experiencing an 8 percent increase in early enrollment, he said. Part of the reason is that students were told they need to schedule their classes earlier while slots are still available.</p><p>Because of the budget crisis, the school has cut back on expenses, including reducing class offerings and asking employees to take a 3 percent pay cut.</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com.</p>