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Governor Schwarzenegger Proclaims September As College Savings Month

Posted on: Tuesday, 5 September 2006, 12:00 CDT

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proclaimed September as College Savings Month in an effort to encourage all Californians to plan for their children's future education.

"The Governor and I both support the idea that a college education is attainable if that is the path you choose to take," said Secretary of Education Alan Bersin. "For those families whose students choose to pursue a college education, saving early and often is important to ensuring that a college education is achieved."

There are a variety of savings options available to residents of California including "529" college savings plans, which are tax free when spent on a qualifying educational expense, or personal savings. Even saving as little as $25 per month towards a child's education can add up significantly over time.

The Governor has also made higher education more attainable through provisions in the 2006-07 State Budget. It provides a total of $19.1 billion from all sources to support higher education in California. That investment will support reduced student fees and an investment in career technical education at community colleges and a buy-back of previous student fee increases at CSU and UC colleges to ease the financial burden on students and their families. The budget also provides a $38.8 million increase in the CalGrant program.

Key provisions for higher education in the 2006-2007 State Budget include:

-- $811.1 million for the CalGrant Program, an increase of $38.8 million.

-- $40 million in one-time funding for career technical education equipment and minor facility reconfigurations on community college campuses.

-- $40 million to reduce fees at community colleges from $26 to $20 per unit.

-- $20 million to support expansion of career technical education course offerings.

-- $2.5 million increase for apprenticeship instructional program support to address increasing demand from industry for trained workers.

-- $1.1 million, including $652,000 in one-time funds to expand the Science and Math Teacher Initiative.

-- $75 million to backfill proposed fee increases at University of California.

-- $2 million to provide funding to University of California campuses on a one-time basis for start-up costs associated with the expansion of undergraduate nursing programs.

-- $54.4 million to backfill proposed fee increases at California State University.

Source: Business Wire

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