Budget
cuts concern Reed
By Adrienne Figueroa
On-line Forty-Niner
State
budget cuts, the effects of Proposition
47 and the new smoking policy were some
of the key points discussed in Wednesday’s
teleconference with Chancellor Charles Reed
of the California State University system.
Reed started the conversation with his concern
about budget issues, specifically a $750
million cut that CSUs are expected to experience
after election day next month. The funds
will be cut from the state operation portion
of the budget, which includes the CSU system,
the chancellor said.
“We have no idea what may or may not happen
to us after the November election,” Reed
said.
Meanwhile, the CSU system is struggling
to accommodate its 400,000 students — the
largest enrollment the institution has ever
seen, the chancellor said. In an effort
to do so, a search of approximately 1,200
new educators has been conducted this year.
“We are continuing to grow and provide access
to students,” Reed said.
Other than hiring new teachers, Proposition
47, a measure that details a $13 million
bond for construction purposes among public
education facilities, is crucial for the
future of the CSU system, the chancellor
said. The initiative will appear on the
ballot in November.
Although passing Proposition 47 would mean
construction of additional classrooms at
CSU campuses, the project may not yield
as much space as anticipated, Reed said.
The bond would be sufficient to create about
half of the classrooms that the campuses
really need, but that number is better than
what has been granted in the past, he added.
The CSU smoking policy was another issue
that warranted the chancellor’s concern.
A recent change in the policy now grants
each individual campus to put its own version
into place.
Generated by the CSU Board of Trustees,
the policy initially required that students
could not stand within five feet of a building
while smoking. Now, Reed has given each
CSU campus president the freedom of implementing
a policy that tailors to each individual
college.
“I think that what it does is allow each
campus to consider its own circumstances,”
said Armando Contreras, executive assistant
to Cal State Long Beach President Robert
Maxson.
Maxson has appointed a committee to research
the issue of second-hand smoke at CSULB
in order to come to a decision about a policy
that tailors to specifically to the campus.
The
committee will make a recommendation by
December and the new policy will be implemented
by the spring semester, Contreras said.
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