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opinion:
our view
Governor setback
on CSU budget
The lights go out
without warning. California's energy crisis has hurt the economy
so much that Governor Gray Davis budget, intended for a July
1 deadline, is no longer feasible.
It was said that
California started off in good shape for the fiscal year.
But thanks to this so-called energy crisis, the governor had
to buy more power and now our budget is suffering huge setbacks.
How huge is the
setback? Let's just say, for the California State University
system, it's in the millions. Well, $58 million to be exact.
In January, we
were doing well. The CSU budget proposal reflected some $291.5
million boost for the CSUs general budget. Well, that didn't
last long. In fact, during the month of May, just five months
after the increase, the budget was down to $233.4 million.
Did someone mention that natural gas also increased to a not
so natural $34 million? It all adds up to CSU getting stiffed
once again. Several projects and services will suffer.
Why is there no
guarantee for the CSU system? Why is it that CSU always gets
hit with huge cuts that hinder the university's performance
as a leader in education?
One word answers
these questions and it rhymes with fate. You probably guessed
it right. Yes you did, and of course it's state.
Since we are a
state school, under a state system, where we receive state
money, the only answer is to take money from the universities.
Are the state universities so rich that they can afford to
just give this money up? Probably not. What's more, this energy
crisis has not been solved. Will it ever be? Who knows, but
who cares, right. The governor can find a scapegoat through
CSU and take money so the energy crunch can be avoided.
You can expect
that as long as this "energy crisis" continues,
there will be no end to the elimination of funds to the CSU
system. Though the governor has found other ways to give CSU
money in his budget, it is not the amount that was taken away.
Let's just hope
the lights don't get turned out like the governor does to
CSU when looking for money to cut from the budget.
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