Governor Jerry Brown will hold students hostage in this year’s budget negotiations as he proposes a higher income tax on individuals who make $250,000 or more yearly and a half-cent increase on sales tax statewide.

The measure will be presented to California voters in November—voters who have not approved a tax increase on themselves for quite some time. The tax increase is expected to raise $6.9 billion for education and public safety by the end of the fiscal year.

The governor remains hopeful, raising $1.7 million of a targeted $4 million for his ballot committee to gather signatures. No committee has been formed to oppose the measure.

Should the initiative fail, the governor’s budget includes $5.4 billion in triggered cuts, of which $4.8 billion will effect Prop 98 funded entities. These include K-12 and community colleges.

Community colleges make up about 11 percent of Prop 98 funding, which means if the triggered cuts are made, SRJC will suffer a 5.6 percent work load reduction.

Enrollment fees cover about 10 percent of the cost of classes; about 40 percent is covered by state property taxes and the other half is from state funding.

The state pays SRJC $4,565 for each enrolled full time equivalent student (FTES), up to a point. Right now, that point is approximately 19,200 FTES. A 5.6 percent work load reduction will decrease that number by 1,070 FTES, which means a loss in revenue of about $4.6 million.

“When the state gives us a work load reduction, they’re basically dictating to us that you will now be a smaller college,” said SRJC Vice President of Business Services, Doug Roberts.

Students are not the only ones affected by budget cuts. “Corresponding to [the work load reduction] would be about 80 full-time equivalent faculty who will be let go,” said Board of Trustees Liaison Warren Ruud. “The adjunct faculty gets hit the hardest on this. We’re going to be laying off people and reducing income.”

Full time faculty members have taken concessions in previous years to help the district meet ends, and the district will probably ask for that help again.

“The real problem is getting quality faculty. The average age of our faculty is something like 58, which means in the next few years we’re going to be hiring,” Rudd said. “If we keep taking cuts that are greater than other schools, we won’t have a competitive salary schedule and competitive benefits in order to attract good people. On all surveys, we always finish on top as the best faculty in California and that’s something we need to protect.”

The biggest problem the school faces is that scheduling for the spring semester will happen before the state budget problem is resolved.

Mary Kay Rudolph, vice president of academic affairs, said by the time the vote comes in, SRJC will have issued job offers for the spring semester. If she plans classes under the assumption that voters will approve Governor Brown’s tax measure, and then the triggered cuts hit, classes will be slashed and faculty who counted on having jobs will be laid off at the last minute.

Chancellor Jack Scott has recommended that SRJC’s plan to receive the triggered cuts and budget accordingly. The only way SRJC can make this work is to tailor course offerings to generate the number of FTES for which the state will provide funding, said Vice President Roberts.

SRJC currently offers around 2,400 sections. This number will be reduced by about 400. When asked what students should expect, Rudolph recommended if you have priority registration, use it. Don’t miss your window, because if you wait until open registration, the likelihood of finding an extra seat is small.

Pressure is put on students in other ways as well. As of Jan. 1, students are allowed a maximum of three enrollments in any given class. That means students who have received a “W” an “F” or a “no pass,” three or more times in any one class, no longer have the option of repeating that class for a passing grade. The new policy is retroactive to 1981.

“The budgeting process is not over by any means,” Roberts said. “But this governor has shown that he sticks with what he says. We’re hoping for some kind of miracle. The next time we hear anything is in May.”

The most important thing students can do to avert these changes is register to vote. If every student voted to pass Gov. Brown’s tax measure, the result would be a landslide in our favor.

On March 5, thousands of students will march on the state capitol to protest budget cuts to education.