Group fights campus budget cuts, Fresno Bee
Business, government, labor and student advocates announced the beginning of the nonpartisan statewide Coalition to Save CSU campaign at the close of the California State University Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday in Fresno.

Alcohol abuse expert offers Chico advice, Sacramento Bee
City and college officials hold forum in their efforts to curb excessive drinking.

CSUSM-affiliated preschool's future clouded, North County Times
Parents of the more than 50 children at a preschool affiliated with Cal State San Marcos were told Wednesday the school's future is in doubt.

Cal State union effort confirmed, Press-Enterprise
First Step: A majority of the student workers signed cards, a state board reports.

Regents labor to uncover options, Contra Costa Times
Graduate students won't get hit with the 40 percent fee increase the governor proposed if officials at the University of California can help it.

UC Officials Say 10% Fee Hike Too Low, Los Angeles Times
They say undergraduate rates may need to be raised even more to offset a newly projected shortfall from graduate students' payments.

UC regents told to reject fee-hike plan, San Francisco Chronicle
University of California administrators urged the regents Wednesday to reject the nuts and bolts of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to dramatically ratchet up graduate student fees.

UC is 'on the edge,' president says, San Diego Union-Tribune/AP
Four years of state budget cuts are putting the University of California in danger of losing ground as one of the nation's leading institutions, leaders of the nine-campus system warned Wednesday.

UC tries to spread pain from major fee increases, San Jose Mercury-News
Undergraduates at the University of California may be asked to pay at least 15 percent higher fees so the university can scale back the 40 percent fee increase that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed for graduate students.

At UC-Davis, E-Mail Mistake Means Having to Say You're Sorry 6,000 Times, Chronicle of Higher Education
In its first attempt at sending e-mail notifications to scholarship recipients, the University of California at Davis erroneously delivered good news to 6,000 prospective students on Monday, telling them they had each won a prestigious $7,500 merit scholarship

UC still tweaking plans for fee hikes, Oakland Tribune
Acceptance letters will soon arrive in the mail for students heading to University of California campuses in the fall, but the tuition those students will pay remains a great unknown.

Students rally against fees, Salinas Californian
Thousands of community college students from Salinas and across the state on Monday returned to the Capitol for a second year to complain that state policymakers continue to tarnish the Golden State's promise of higher education.

Teaching an Old Design College New Tricks, New York Times
The Art Center College of Design, with an enrollment of about 1,500, has long been contained within a single building in the Pasadena hills: a long, thin Miesian box designed by Craig Ellwood in 1976.

Claremont Hate Crime Called Hoax, Los Angeles Times
Police say a professor damaged her own car, but she denies it. Last week's incident sparked anti-racism rallies.

Mexico joins hands with LAUSD, Los Angeles Daily News
Hoping to boost academic performance and lower dropout rates among Latino students, the Mexican government and Los Angeles Unified School District officials announced a joint outreach program Wednesday targeting Spanish-speaking families.

Bill Gates gives Oakland schools $9.5 million, Oakland Tribune
The charitable organization started by Microsoft founder Bill Gates has written another huge check to help Oakland turn large, factory-like high schools into smaller learning hubs.

Health care costs put crimp on classrooms, CNN/AP
The struggle over surging health care costs is hitting the classroom as schools increasingly cut teachers to textbooks to pay for insurance.

Subsidies May Be Cut for Student Loans, Washington Post
House Republicans are considering legislation aimed at reducing government subsidies for a federally supported student loan program, a step that critics say could lead to sharp increases in the long-term cost of going to college.

More Students Passing Regents, but Achievement Gap Persists, New York Times
Despite increasingly tough requirements, more students are passing the Regents exams, state education officials said yesterday as they released high school report cards.

Student-Loan Consolidation Policy Generates Heat, in U.S. House and on Campaign Trail, Chronicle of Higher Education
Republican and Democratic lawmakers locked horns on Wednesday over a proposal that would diminish the appeal of a program that allows borrowers to combine and refinance their federal student loans.

Community Colleges Expect Loss in Job-Training Funds Despite Bush's Promises, Chronicle of Higher Education
During his State of the Union address in January, President Bush announced a new job-training proposal that would give $250-million in federal funds to community colleges.

Editorial: Keep college promise, Sacramento Bee
Link higher fees to increased aid.

Opinion: Public Schools, Minus the Public, New York Times
Two years ago, the State Legislature gave Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg nearly unlimited control of New York City's public schools.

Daniel Weintraub: Highway robbery: Another Davis legacy bites the dust, Sacramento Bee
In the final desperate weeks before last fall's recall election, then-Gov. Gray Davis agreed to a five-year labor contract with the state's highway engineers, who had been big contributors to his campaigns and who were at the time a major donor to the committee fighting to keep him in office.

Opinion: State can't afford to ignore Tidal Wave II, Eureka Times-Standard
All across California, schools and agencies, cities and counties, universities and public facilities are building and rebuilding budgets, trying to anticipate the final result of a legislative process still under way.

George Skelton: Funding Community Colleges Is Crucial to California's Prosperity, Los Angeles Times
State law calls for community colleges to receive a 10.9% split of Proposition 98 funds. But the Legislature each year cuts them a smaller slice so K-12 schools can get more.

Editorial: Wrong Education Reform, Los Angeles Times
After years of defending every detail of the federal accountability law for schools, Education Secretary Rod Paige finally is bringing some much-needed flexibility to the No Child Left Behind Act.

Gov. says counties must cut, Long Beach Press-Telegram/AP
Leaders say $900M loss too large, but like being included in process.

NOTE: For additional political coverage, visit the Rough & Tumble website.

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