Directed Action to Prevent the Increase in Early Childhood Education Program Full-Fee Rates for Student Families

Authored by Yael Allweil, Gilad Arnold, Frank E. Cruz, Joanna Doran, Sarah Martin-Anderson and Robert A. Peckerar

WHEREAS

• providing affordable childcare for student families is recognized as a crucial factor for the academic success and well-being of current student parents, and also essential for recruitment and retention of top tier graduate students;

• student parents (especially graduate students) face economic hardships due to their inability to both work full-time and fulfill their academic duties on behalf of the University;

• many student families in the UC Berkeley Early Childhood Education Program (ECEP) benefit from full or partial childcare subsidies administered by the California Department of Education (CDE), approximately 20% of student families do not qualify for this subsidy—for example, a family of two graduate students with one dependent child, both parents having 50% GSI appointments and receiving a parent grant, does not qualify for subsidy;

• unsubsidized student families are charged a student full-fee rate that is 37% below the full-fee rate paid by faculty and staff and ranges between $775–1,000/month per child (depending on age). This is already a significant amount higher than subsidized fees and does not vary with the level of income (see Figure 1(a));

• early in 2008, ECEP was instructed to prepare for a 7–14% cut in registration fees that are allocated by the University;

• on April 10, ECEP announced the elimination of the discounted (unsubsidized) student rate beginning Fall 2008, requiring students to pay fees equal to those paid by faculty and staff, namely $1233–1654/month per child (depending on age). In effect, this is a 60% increase in childcare fees for unsubsidized student families. The fee hike also dramatically increases the already substantial gap between subsidized and unsubsidized childcare costs, creating a two-tiered system of daycare that is affordable only to the most economically disadvantaged or the most privileged students (see Figures 1(b) and 1©);

• the late notice to students made efforts to find alternative, budget-manageable solutions for child care impossible, as daycare waiting lists are closed well before April. This forces students either to reduce their income in order to qualify for a CDE subsidy (become under-employed), or to increase their income in order to afford the new rates (become over-employed), or even to take a leave of absence from the University. The only suggestion for accommodating the fee hike is to apply for need-based scholarships (only marginally higher than the state subsidy requirement) that will be distributed by lottery;

• together with the elimination of part-time daycare options, the anticipated 5% increase in student family housing (an approximate 30% increase over a 5-year period) and the lack of dependent health coverage, Berkeley becomes a campus far less attractive to prospective students and cost-prohibitive for student families;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED

• that the proposed fee increase for unsubsidized students in ECEP be immediately frozen for the academic year 2008–09; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

• that ECEP be exempted from the proposed University wide budget cut; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

• that a representative working group will be formed to revise University childcare funding and create a new fee structure for student families implemented by 2009–10.

Figure 1: Childcare expenses of student families depending on gross monthly income, before and after the increase in full-fee rates, optionally with the proposed scholarship award: (a) the actual cost of childcare; (b) the percentage of childcare expenses from the monthly income; and © the residual monthly income after deducting childcare expenses. The diagrams describe two prototypical student families, on the left-hand side a family with two parents and one child in the toddler age group, and on the right-hand side a family with two parents and two children in the infant and preschool age groups.

(1)

(2)

(3)

Dear Chancellor Birgeneau,

We would like to bring to your knowledge a troubling process in UC Berkeley, directly affecting some of its promising students. We write to you as graduate student parents from several academic departments, since we have heard of your commitment for securing equity in access to higher education.

In response to university budget cuts, the Early Childcare Education Program (ECEP) has decided to cut completely childcare subsidy for student parents, leading to a 60% hike in childcare fees starting next semester. This hike will affect about 25 student parents who are not poor enough to be subsidized by the state. The new fees are 1570$ p/m for a toddler, and 1650$ for an infant. We enclose the formal letter sent to us by ECEP.

What ECEP offers us as way of a solution is to find out how we can be poor enough to qualify for state subsidy, washing itself from any responsibility for student parents. State subsidy lines are very low, and so two parents holding 50% GSI positions are already above state subsidy. If they have a toddler they will pay 47%?? of their income for childcare, and if they have an infant they will pay 62%?? of their income for childcare. Enclosed are graphs indicating the fee increase in relation to income, for families of three and of four.

This hike has direct affect on the next generation of young scholars aspiring for academic careers, leading them to make decisions like dropping out of school, refraining from considering an academic career or considering not having children. The burden of this decision will be harder on graduate students, who may reconsider their interest in academic careers.

The proposed elimination of subsidized student childcare is likely to save the University $ 20,000 per month, but comes at the larger cost of creating a childcare system accessible only to the very poor or very rich. The greatest cost of this decision, however, is the loss of the University's hard-gained values of equity in access to the academia and of commitment to a family-supporting environment.

We, the students leading the campaign against ECEP's decision, would greatly appreciate the University's support in our fight against the elimination of subsidized childcare. We are certain that UC Berkeley values and legacy are its most important assets and should be protected.

We are aware of the budget deficit affecting ECEP, and are more then willing to work with ECEP creatively in order to locate funding sources to support the program financially. However, ECEP's decision was announced so late in the semester, leaving no time for such actions.

We are asking for a one year freeze in childcare fees, in which we will work together with ECEP and the University in order to find funding sources for childcare and secure its financial situation. We are certain that solving the financial problems of ECEP is possible - but reject solving them by policy of rolling the deficit on the students.

We turn to you for support, trusting in your commitment and leadership in light of the University's world known values of equity and accessibility. Hoping for a resolution for this dramatic crisis for student parents across the university.

Sincerely, …

Dear Chancellor Birgeneau, Interim Vice Chancellor Le Grande, and Dean Szeri,

On behalf of the Graduate Assembly (GA), I request that the university reverses a proposed increase in childcare rates for student families. I also request that the university designate a joint task force of student parents and administrators to construct a more equitable and sustainable fee schedule for student families, to be implemented by 2009-10.

On April 10th, the UC Berkeley Early Childhood Education Program (ECEP) unilaterally announced a 59–65% increase in full-fee student rates for childcare beginning Fall '08. For student families earning more than the monthly income ceiling for eligibility for subsidy—e.g., $3,769 for a family of 3, $4,188 for a family of 4—this means up to 70% of a family's gross monthly income paid toward childcare. This sudden elimination of the “student full-fee” in favor of a single fee schedule—ranging $1,233–$1,654/month depending on the child's age1)—will affect about 25 student families out of the 120 that are served by ECEP. It will result in a two-tier system that only families earning a monthly income that is either very low (less than the aforementioned subsidy cutoff) or reasonably high (more than $5,500–7,000 depending on family size) are likely to afford. In conjunction with an additional increase in fees since Fall '07, unsubsidized student rates will have risen by 59–113% within a period of 1 year.2)

Continuing full-fee families are facing an immediate crisis, with the notice given too late to arrange for alternatives. Several in this group have planned their family, academic, and career future based on the sustainability of childcare rates. For example, an unsubsidized family with one preschooler in the program that is expecting to enroll a newborn the following year would have to pay $1,112 more than they had expected to pay per month. In the longer term, however, this increase magnifies an already existing problem with ECEP's fee structure for students, now posing an insurmountable leap in childcare expenses as families cross the state subsidy cutoff: in effect, it forces families to stay subsidized throughout their studies at Berkeley, prohibiting them from accepting better GSI positions, grants and awards, and preventing their spouses from improving their job situation.

The stated justification for this increase is an anticipated 7% cut in ECEP's funding from registration fees. Additionally, ECEP already operates under an ongoing $400,000 deficit since the opening of the Child Development Center on Haste St. ECEP is also subject to full costing surcharges administered by the university towards every “revenue generating” unit on campus, representing an additional $110,000 annual decrease in its revenue.

Continuing attempts by student parents to collaborate with ECEP, RSSP, and the Student Affairs office led to some conversation toward finding partial solutions for affected families, but otherwise left students with no guarantee about the future of their academic pursuit. One proposal is to allocate and raise new funds for sponsoring childcare for continuing unsubsidized families, which is likely to involve a lottery due to shortage. Another idea was to increase the amounts that are administered by the Graduate Division Parent Grant to US residents, so as to compensate for the increase. None of these was committal in any way and neither appears to be remotely concrete at this point.

It is widely accepted that affordable childcare is central to the success of different groups in the university and to the campus community at large. Keeping the university's childcare system accessible to all student families—subsidized as well as unsubsidized—is a cornerstone to equity and inclusion, a well-celebrated theme at Berkeley. It is also central to recruitment and retention of top graduate students.3) This has been a foundation of the mission statements of both UC Berkeley and ECEP, and will be abruptly breached if no immediate action is taken.

Sincerely,

Joshua R. Daniels
President, 2007-08