In his revision of the 2009-2010 budget, Governor Schwarzenegger proposed eliminating the Cal Grant program. Members received a
postcard at the annual WACAC Conference and an
email encouraging them to take action by visiting the
NACAC Legislative Action Center. WACAC/NACAC members urged California senators and representatives to vote against the measure, which would cut all new Cal Grants for students at public and private colleges and reduce the value of Cal Grants to current recipients at University of California and California State University.
Gina Aguirre, senior assistant director of transfer admission and multicultural recruitment at California Lutheran University and WACAC Governement Relations Committee chair, led the advocacy effort. 475 members sent 964 messages to Sacramento, leading to a big success for WACAC. The Joint Budget Committee reached the decision to fully fund the Cal Grant program.
For more than 50 years, this program has demonstrated California's committment to college access and affordability. The Institute for College Access and Success estimates that more than 200,000 students would be affected, with 118,300 students losing up to $9,708 in financial aid and 90,000 students seeing reductions of up to $600.
Great job, WACAC members!