Volume 32 Number 10
From the President's Desk
Welcome Back
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I hope everyone had a joyful and restful break. Gloria and I had a great time in Canada with our family.
In my last column I brought you up to date on the budget situation and promised that I would keep you abreast of any significant developments. I also indicated that we would have a better idea of what was in store for the CSU once the governor gave his State of the State speech and provided us with a detailed budget. We now have his proposed budget. This is what we know at this point:
1. The state still seems to be faced with a $12.4 billion shortfall.
2. Through creative bookkeeping and through agreements with a number of entities, including PERS, the governor has managed to reduce this staggering amount to a more manageable figure. This means, however, that part of the debt will be pushed forward to be paid during the next fiscal year.
3. To our great surprise and delight, the governor’s budget is much better than we could ever have anticipated. It contains the following:
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a) $37.7 million for a 1.5 percent increase to the university’s State General Fund. b) $78.1 million for a 4 percent growth in enrollment. For CSU, Chico, this means that we will receive full funding for an additional 95 FTE. Our total budgeted enrollment for 20022003, therefore, will be 14,345 FTE. c) $1.1 million to fully fund year-round instruction at the Chico campus. There are six campuses which have not yet converted to year-round operation. Chico is one of them. The governor’s budget provides funding for conversion only at the CSU, Chico campus because, of the six, ours is the one closest to impaction. d) the $1.4 million cut we were required to take for this present academic year, which was meant to be a one-time reduction, will become a permanent cut. There are some other cuts to the system, but I don’t know yet what impact, if any, they will have on our campus. e) students will be pleased to know that, for the eighth consecutive year, there will be no increases to the State University fee. f) the governor’s budget also includes the following language: “Using available partnership funding, CSU will engage in bargaining negotiations to determine appropriate adjustments to faculty and/or staff salaries.” |
Although I am cautiously optimistic, I still believe that we need to be ready for further possible reductions. Keep in mind that the May Revise generally brings forth changes to the proposed budget submitted by the governor and that these changes generally take away rather than add to the allocations. Further, every expert expects that before a final budget is signed into law, there will be political battles that will modify significantly even what will emerge from the May Revise. Needless to say, not every legislator is pleased with what the governor has proposed nor with how he expects to meet the state debt.
I have, therefore, asked the three vice presidents to continue to plan for possible cuts and to prepare for a 3 percent and a 5 percent reduction. My hope, of course, is that we will not have any further reduction. Should it occur, however, we will be ready.
In light of the relative good news, the provost and the deans will reconsider some of the decisions they made regarding the freezing of tenure-track positions. We will also analyze all the other staff and administrative positions now vacant or filled on an interim basis to determine whether we should proceed with searches.
Let us all hope that the economy will continue to improve so that the governor’s budget turns out to be the worst we will see, and we can continue our efforts to become an even better institution.
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