SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will announce today a budget deal with California's higher education community that addresses the state's immediate need to cut spending but guarantees public universities more money in the future.

Democratic reaction to the agreement was swift and furious, with Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Jackie Goldberg accusing Schwarzenegger of forcing the California State University and University of California systems to accept a host of proposals detrimental to low- and middle-income students in exchange for an insignificant increase in funding.

"This is not acceptable," Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, said late Monday. "This governor ran on the fact he's tired of backroom deals, and here's another backroom deal. We're not happy about the process, but mostly we're not happy about him dealing away the class of 2004."

Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is scheduled to release details of the agreement at an 11 a.m. Capitol news conference, with Cal State Chancellor Charles Reed and UC President Robert Dynes by his side. Dynes' office did not return a call requesting comment, and a spokeswoman for Reed said she was under orders not to discuss the deal.

The Governor's Office declined to discuss the specifics of the deal, but a higher-education lobbyist familiar with the agreement said two major components involved increasing state funding for public universities on at least two fronts.

The "base," otherwise known as the money the Cal State and UC systems get each year in the form of a lump sum to cover the cost of various operations, would increase, as would funding for enrollment growth. Student fees and financial aid are also expected to be addressed in some fashion.

"An increase in base funding and enrollment funding would be significant, because that's what (Cal State and UC want) -- they want the state to recognize the cost of running the universities," the lobbyist said.

Schwarzenegger's January budget plan for the 2004-05 fiscal year that begins July 1 included a host of proposals opposed by higher-education officials and legislative Democrats.

Among them were enrollment caps, which are forcing many students who would otherwise be admitted to Cal State and UC campuses this fall to attend community colleges, and a fee increase of 10 percent for undergraduates and 40 percent for graduate students.

Goldberg said the minimal funding and enrollment increases that would begin in 2005-06 would hardly counter the damage done by Schwarzenegger's other recommendations. She and a handful of her Democratic colleagues will publicize their opposition to the deal in a news conference scheduled to follow the governor's.

The problem, Goldberg indicated, is Schwarzenegger's opposition to tax increases. "No new taxes and (car-tax) rebates for the rich, so that the kid at a UC will subsidize the guy with a $40,000 car. ... Is that what we really had in mind? I don't think so."

The governor's administration described today's announcement as a "status report" on Schwarzenegger's ongoing discussions with the higher-education community with his goal to protect funds for classroom instruction.