Issues for the California State University with respect to the Proposed 2008-2009 California Budget
The 2008-2009 California state budget proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger on Jan. 10 reduces funding to the California State
University by a total of $386.1 million. This reduction includes a direct cut $312.9 million and fails to fund $73.2 million necessary to avoid
raising student fees by 10 percent for the 2008-2009 academic year, bringing the total decrease to more than $386 million.
The proposed budget reduction – which comes in addition to $522 million in funding cuts between 2002 and 2005 – means that the CSU will be unable to provide access to
10,000 qualified students over the 23-campus system. All CSU campuses have closed enrollment for first-time freshmen as of March 1.
"It’s important that legislators and the governor truly understand that the CSU is a key facet of the solution to the state budget deficit,"
said CSUSB President Albert Karnig.
"The CSU drives the California economy by providing its skilled workforce. And every dollar invested in the CSU returns more than
four times that amount to the state economy. Cal State San Bernardino alone generates $4.53 in economic activity for every dollar invested,"
Karnig said. "Before any final budget decisions are made, we need to make certain that state leaders understand that a $386 million reduction
in CSU funding translates into a loss of more than $1 billion in future California economic activity."
Considered the "economic engine" of California, the CSU as a whole returns $4.41 to the California economy for every $1 invested by the state.
In addition, the CSU plays a major role in the state’s workforce in the areas of nursing, teaching, agriculture, business, public administration,
and technology. It graduates 90,000 students each year, including 87 percent of education graduates, 64 percent of nurses, 65 percent of
business professionals, 82 percent of those involved in public administration, and more than half of the state’s graduates in agriculture-related
fields. As an example of the CSU’s impact, it is estimated that California will need 47,000 additional nurses by 2010 just to keep up with demand.
Locally, Cal State San Bernardino generates more than $500 million in expenditures and supports more than 10,000 jobs in the local
region, while contributing more than $28 million in state taxes each year and producing more than $635 million annually to the state economy
from alumni earnings. For every $1 the state invests in Cal State San Bernardino, university-related expenditures generate $4.53 in additional spending.
As such, activities from CSUSB generate $532,863,097 in annual spending in California.
Cal State San Bernardino provides an important contribution to the California economy, graduating many of the region’s teachers, nurses,
business professionals and social workers to name a few.
At the California State University’s current system-wide rate of economic return, the proposed budget cuts to the CSU would remove more
than $1 billion from the state’s economy as California leaders grapple with an ongoing budget deficit. The cuts would mean larger class sizes,
less student support, and less course sections, resulting in students taking longer to graduate.
The negative impact on student access would fall disproportionately on students from underrepresented communities, erasing recent gains
made in college enrollment by students from these communities. For 2008, freshman applications to the CSU for Latinos are up by 21 percent
and African Americans by 11 percent over previous years.
Although it is not yet known what the specific budget impact would be on Cal State San Bernardino, a 10 percent budget reduction would
be an $8.1 million cut to the university’s current budget. This would affect every aspect of the campus, from compensation to student rates of
graduation.
The proposed cut comes only three years after the CSU budget was reduced by more than $500 million, and the CSU is still recovering from
its effects. "During the previous budget reductions, we managed to make necessary cuts without impacting the classroom," Karnig said.
"However, there’s no place left to trim without turning away qualified students, limiting course options for current students, increasing class size,
reducing student support services and potentially increasing student fees."
Of special concern to CSUSB is its leading role in graduating many of the region’s teachers, nurses and other health specialists, business
professionals, social workers and many others.