|
news
Bill
gives cash to spend on students
By Ryan Ritchie
On-line Forty-Niner
A faculty member
at Cal State Los Angeles has introduced a bill to state legislators
that would shift the focus of the California State University
system's budget away from administration and focus more on
teaching students.
Senate Bill 1450
would require half of the CSU budget to go to general funds
devoted to instruction, Alice Sunshine, California Faculty
Association communications specialist, said.
The amount of money
allotted to teaching has been declining since 1991, but not
the amount given to the administration, according to CFA officials.
Last year, the general purpose fund was given approximately
43 percent of the budget, compared to 1991 when approximately
55 percent was given.
The bill, sponsored
by Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, would help bring that number
back to an amount that would benefit teachers and students.
The redistribution of the money would go to "teachers
and the materials used in teaching," Sunshine said.
CFA Long Beach
Chapter President Martin Fiebert said this redistribution
of money could go to everything from hiring more tenure professors
to renovating classrooms.
The CFA has been
successful recently when lobbying state legislators due to
the state's "very strong Democratic legislature and governor,"
Fiebert said.
"We're asking
for the legislators to raise the amount up to 50 percent for
the instructional budget," Fiebert said.
A larger budget
would benefit education because it would help decrease class
size and the student-teacher ratio, according to CFA officials.
The bill would also increase tenure track and possibly close
the salary gap among professors in California and those outside
the state.
"As we rebalance,
hopefully more faculty will be hired," Fiebert said.
Protection for
non-tenured professors, or lecturers, would also increase
with the passage of the bill. These professors would have
more job security, health benefits and first choice of new
class openings if the budget was shifted.
Members of the
CFA have said the decreasing budget has a direct effect on
students. In 1993, an average of $5,300 was spent per full-time
student. Currently, approximately $4,600 is spent per student.
The budget drop
has led to a delay in many students' graduation because fewer
classes are being offered and students have a hard time getting
necessary classes when they need them, according to CFA officials.
Another important
issue is the impact temporary faculty has on students.
"Part of education
is building relationships," Sunshine said.
With professors
seemingly coming and going, students don't have the opportunity
to become familiar with teachers.
In a teleconference
Thursday, Chancellor Charles B. Reed said he doesn't understand
the particulars of the CFA's argument.
"I really
don't quite know what they're interested in," Reed said.
He also said things
such as technology issues are given to the act of teaching,
but may not be counted as such by the CFA.
The bill has to
be endorsed before it can go through the legislative process.
The CFA will vote sometime within a month, Fiebert said.
|
