Hastings Law School May Lose State Support

Hastings Law School could lose its entire state funding under a proposal by Gov. Schwarzenegger.

Incoming Chancellor Leo Martinez says the school may lose about 20 percent of $10.3 million of its budget which would raise its tuition and cut programs, according to KCBS.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week proposed cutting off nearly all state support for the 131-year-old school The college is an independent arm of the University of California system.

“The elimination of 100 percent of our state funding is basically inequitable and certainly unfair,” said Martinez. State funding represents 25 percent of the school’s budget, said David Seward, Hastings’ chief financial officer. The loss of that money could cause severe problems for the fall semester, which begins in August, he said.

Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, a Hastings alum, says he’s very disappointed about the proposed cut.

“To do it at this point is very challenging in that a number of students have already accepted,” Elsbernd said. “They’ve put out their financial aid packages.”

The Hastings cut is one of several proposed by Schwarzenegger as a means of closing a state budget deficit now estimated at $24 billion.

Tuition at Hastings is nearly $29,000 a year.

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