Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi moderated a panel that included teachers’ groups, and representatives from Cal State and U.C.… He says the cuts would mean teacher lay-offs, bigger classes and fee hikes for University students.

 “The door to education is going to slam shut on tens of thousands indeed hundreds of thousands of community college students if this budget goes forward as proposed…”

The Governor is proposing nearly five-billion in reductions for K-through-12 and community colleges. Sophomore Robert Small says he’s concerned.

“Tuition—if that goes up, that means my classes might have to come down. There’s already people here struggling to get three or four classes…”

Education groups want to eliminate some tax breaks and will hold rallies next month. Governor Schwarzenegger has said ten-percent across the board cuts are the fairest approach.