California State University Chancellor Charles Reed asked the governor and state legislators earlier this month to increase the CSU's 1998-99 budget by $35.6 million, to provide an additional 1-percent salary increase for all faculty, and to repair buildings, CSU administrators said.
The $2.06-billion budget was approved by Gov. Pete Wilson in January and will go into effect July 1.
If the CSU receives the additional money Reed asked for, half of the funds will go toward the first year of Reed's four-year plan to reduce the 7.4 percent salary gap between CSU faculty members and their peers.
The other half will be used toward the repair and maintenance of aging buildings, CSU administrators said.
If the governor and legislature agree to the augmentation, a 5-percent compensation pool would be available for employees through the collective bargaining process, which began last month between the CSU and two unions, the California Faculty Association and the Academic Professionals of California, CSU administrators said.
The CSU proposes that the additional 1 percent be used for performance-based pay increases, which are given to outstanding faculty, CSU administrators said.
According to CFA officials, Reed's proposal is a positive first step toward decreasing CSU's salary gaps.
The chancellor's claim that an additional 1 percent plus the usual 4 percent salary increase will help close the gap will become reality if other university faculties receive below average pay increases, CFA officials said.
Over the next three years, Reed will seek budget allocations to close the gap.