Parents whose kids attend California's public universities or who one day will enroll ought to ask themselves: What is the meaning of a tax increase?

Importantly, they should ask that same question of their legislators, and demand answers.

The California State University Board of Trustees will convene on Tuesday to vote on the latest tuition increase. On Thursday, the University of California Board of Regents will do the same.

The outcome was all but preordained when Gov. Jerry Brown and legislators approved the new state budget that included $1.3 billion in cuts to UC and CSU.

Republican legislators helped bring about coming tuition hikes by blocking the governor's proposal to allow a statewide vote on whether to extend income, sales and car tax rates at their 2010 levels.

Now that rates have fallen, Republicans proclaim that Californians will save on average about $1,000.

California's tax system is a mess. Its rates are high, and there are too many loopholes. But this year's tax cut is illusory for anyone who pays or expects to pay tuition at UC or CSU.

If regents approve the latest tuition hike, University of California tuition will reach $12,200 a year in the coming school year, double what it was in 2006-2007. Housing and other expenses come on top of that.

At state universities, tuition will reach $5,472 next year, up from $4,230 last year, and double what it was five years ago.

The California Community College system is taking it on the chin, too, being cut by $400 million. The state will spend $3.88 billion on community colleges, down from $4.45 billion five years ago, forcing an all-time high charge of $36 per unit, up from $26 last year.

Here's a math lesson: The tax charged when motorists register a vehicle has dropped by 0.65 percent as a result of this year's budget. If you buy a $30,000 car, you'd pay $500 less than under the old rate.

This year's budget also resulted in a sales tax rate decrease of a penny on the dollar. Say you are rolling in money and purchase $50,000 on items subject to sales taxes. You'd save another $500 on sales taxes on those other purchases.

That combined $1,000 in tax savings would be less than the proposed $1,242 tuition at CSU campuses.

Wealthy Californians will weather tuition increases. Lower-income students are eligible for financial aid, which helps defray increases. But for vast numbers of middle-class parents and their children, the tuition increase amounts to a tax hike, pure and simple.

When Gov. Ronald Reagan took office in 1967, the state spent 8 percent of its budget on the University of California and 4 percent on the prison system. This year, the state will spend 3 percent of its $86 billion general fund budget on UC, and roughly 10 percent on prisons.

California lawmakers and voters need to focus on priorities. The tax system needs a serious overhaul. But this state's prosperity depends on a well-funded college and university system that is accessible to the middle class.

The UC system enrolls a higher proportion of students from families in which neither parent attended college than other highly selective universities. According to UC, 58 percent of people who earn doctoral degrees at UC remain in California. We all benefit from an upwardly mobile and educated populace.

When regents and trustees meet this week, they will almost certainly raise tuition. They won't have much choice if they hope to maintain quality. But make no mistake. Higher tuition is another word for tax increase.

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