Budget
cuts not yet over
By Jill Thomsen
On-line Forty-Niner
Further
cuts in the California State University
system budget are an integral part of the
first attempted compromise on budget negotiations
in Sacramento this week.
Governor Gray Davis’ January budget proposal
ultimately called for a $260.7 million reduction
to the CSU budget. A Republican plan circulated
this week that was deemed a “significant
breakthrough” in the grid-locked budget
process calls for an additional $200 million
more in cuts to the CSU system.
“That amount of cutting is the equivalent
of closing a campus the size of Cal State
Fullerton or San Francisco State,” said
Chancellor’s Office spokeswoman Clara Potes-Fellow.
“It’s very bad news.”
Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach,
a Cal State Long Beach graduate, said she
is “opposed to any cuts to the CSU system
and am hopeful we’ll be able to spare a
higher-education program that has been proven
to provide a strong return on our investment.”
Oropeza is the current chair of the Assembly
Budget Committee.
The GOP proposal is simply a starting point
for negotiations that should theoretically
be completed by the June 30 deadline. The
fact that the CSU, UC and community college
system budgets were among the first items
cut is a strong indication that the final
budget passed by the legislature this summer
will call for “cuts above and beyond what
we have been anticipating” said Potes-Fellow.
The CSU system is continuing to plan for
its 2003-2004 budget by following the outline
of Gov. Davis’ January budget proposal.
Lower-than-expected state tax revenues,
however, could mean further cuts to the
CSU’s budget when the governor’s “May Revise”
is announced on the 14th.
The governor’s original proposal assumes
CSU student fee increases of 25 percent
for undergraduates and 20 percent for graduates.
Further cuts, which are appearing more likely
as the budget battle moves forward, will
likely result in another fee increase and
will definitely “threaten student access
and educational quality,” said Potes-Fellow.
CSU Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief
Financial Officer Richard P. West told the
CSU Board of Trustees’ Committee last week
“we are hopeful that the May Revise looks
like the governor’s January budget, but
we fear that there may be some reductions.
There is some risk that we may be asked
to take an additional proportional cut beyond
what we are already taking.”
Oropeza was heartened by the efforts of
Republicans to find common ground and noted
that “solving this budget crisis will require
three things: new revenue sources, an on-time
budget and a long term plan that includes
structural reform of the budget process,”
she said.
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