Dear CSULB Faculty and Staff:
There is no doubt that the budget news coming from Sacramento is of great concern to all of us. Chancellor Reed has reported to us that the CSU faces a projected reduction of $584 million, when taking into account the additional budgetary shortfall for 2008-09 along with anticipated cuts for 2009-10. While these figures far exceed those anticipated in January, the Chancellor has pointed to two important values that remain paramount as the system and its campuses move forward to deal with the severity of these cuts: first, the quality of education for our students must be preserved as best we can; and second, we must save as many jobs as possible in order to retain our highly valued workforce. These are values that we also have advanced throughout this statewide and national economic crisis.
Currently, the CSU management team is discussing the projected budget reductions with CSU labor leaders. This includes the possibility of furloughs as one of the means to mitigate the projected reduction. Applied systemwide, a two-day furlough per month for all employees, including faculty, staff, management and executives, would generate approximately $275 million in salary savings. Although the furlough plan alone will not generate enough savings, it will produce significant savings that could otherwise only be achieved through a massive immediate program of layoffs and/or non-renewal of temporary employment appointments. Approximately 80 percent of the CSU's costs are salary and benefits payments.
A furlough is a mandated period of time off without pay. Furloughs differ from salary reductions and pay cuts in that they are temporary and do not affect employment status, or health or retirement benefits. Also, employees are not required to work on furlough days.
The CSU will continue to move forward with its planning, regardless of whether the 2009-10 state budget is implemented on time. The chancellor is expected to bring a cost-savings action plan to the Board of Trustees in July.
At CSULB, the RPP Task Force spent much of the spring semester carefully considering how to address our campus concerns and provided recommendations that were based on the CSU's originally anticipated $283 million shortfall. These recommendations were distributed to faculty and staff on June 11, and will be implemented effective July 1. While the RPP Task Force was not able to predict the severity of the state budget crisis at this time, the work that was done will help us move forward in addressing our campus shortfall this year.
Currently, much is still uncertain regarding any final decisions that have to be made by the Board of Trustees, and negotiations with bargaining groups are far from finalized. Due to these uncertainties, it is difficult to predict the magnitude of the fiscal reductions that we will face in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. The Vice Presidents and I are currently reviewing all university and divisional budgets. I will continue to keep you informed as more information becomes available in order for all of us to appropriately prepare for the upcoming academic year.
I also want to thank every member of our campus community for the dedication and hard work that has made CSULB the outstanding university that it is. Our students are the ones who have most benefitted from your efforts, but it is also true that the friendships and support that grow between colleagues are what will help this institution move through these difficult times. I appreciate your continued support.
F. King Alexander
President
