2008 Woodie Awards
Delayed state budget denies Chico State adequate funding
By: Ellen Walrath
Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: News
The California State University system is short about $100 million under the 85-day-late state budget, and students will likely feel the cuts.
While it was good the budget was signed, it's not all good news for the CSUs, said Charles Reed, chancellor of the CSU system.
Students will feel the effects with fuller classrooms and fewer services from their campuses, he said.
"The bad news is that CSU didn't get fully funded for the compact or for all our students," he said.
The compact, between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the CSU board of trustees, aims to cap fee hikes to 10 percent per year, while still providing enough funds for the 2.5 percent annual CSU system enrollment increase.
The money allotted for CSUs won't cover new costs including the 2.5 percent pay raise faculty received in July, $8 million in rising energy costs or 10,000 extra students who were admitted this year, Reed said.
The unfunded students will still be able to attend, but campus budgets will have to stretch to accommodate them, he said.
The system is being funded at essentially the same level as the 2007-2008 school year, Reed said.
The fall 2009 priority application period opened today and will close for most students and CSUs on Nov. 30.
Stephen Irving, coordinator of the Student Employment Office, said the full effects of the cuts aren't known yet. But he made one prediction.
"When there are budget cuts, the first group to get shot are the student employees," he said.
Student jobs are funded through state money and federal student aid, he said. The federal aid isn't affected by state cuts.
With the budget finalized, Irving expects a "flurry" of job postings in the next two weeks, he said.
Allison Nopel, a senior and art education major, already has an on-campus job, but because of budget cuts her hours went from 17 a week to 15, she said. She makes $9.05 at her job at the admissions office.
That money goes mostly toward food, she said, and it isn't stretching as far as it used to.
Her parents live nearby, so she plans to save money by eating dinner at their house more often than she has before, she said.
But she worries about the students who don't have that option, she said.
"It's sad because it's education, and our money should go toward that instead of other things," she said. "I just hope it doesn't get worse."
It will likely be worse in 2009, Reed said.
"These are tough times because we have to deal with uncertainty," he said, mentioning the financial situation on Wall Street, falling home prices and rising foreclosure rates. "We're facing some bleak and harsh times."
Ellen Walrath can be reached at
ewalrath@theorion.com
While it was good the budget was signed, it's not all good news for the CSUs, said Charles Reed, chancellor of the CSU system.
Students will feel the effects with fuller classrooms and fewer services from their campuses, he said.
"The bad news is that CSU didn't get fully funded for the compact or for all our students," he said.
The compact, between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the CSU board of trustees, aims to cap fee hikes to 10 percent per year, while still providing enough funds for the 2.5 percent annual CSU system enrollment increase.
The money allotted for CSUs won't cover new costs including the 2.5 percent pay raise faculty received in July, $8 million in rising energy costs or 10,000 extra students who were admitted this year, Reed said.
The unfunded students will still be able to attend, but campus budgets will have to stretch to accommodate them, he said.
The system is being funded at essentially the same level as the 2007-2008 school year, Reed said.
The fall 2009 priority application period opened today and will close for most students and CSUs on Nov. 30.
Stephen Irving, coordinator of the Student Employment Office, said the full effects of the cuts aren't known yet. But he made one prediction.
"When there are budget cuts, the first group to get shot are the student employees," he said.
Student jobs are funded through state money and federal student aid, he said. The federal aid isn't affected by state cuts.
With the budget finalized, Irving expects a "flurry" of job postings in the next two weeks, he said.
Allison Nopel, a senior and art education major, already has an on-campus job, but because of budget cuts her hours went from 17 a week to 15, she said. She makes $9.05 at her job at the admissions office.
That money goes mostly toward food, she said, and it isn't stretching as far as it used to.
Her parents live nearby, so she plans to save money by eating dinner at their house more often than she has before, she said.
But she worries about the students who don't have that option, she said.
"It's sad because it's education, and our money should go toward that instead of other things," she said. "I just hope it doesn't get worse."
It will likely be worse in 2009, Reed said.
"These are tough times because we have to deal with uncertainty," he said, mentioning the financial situation on Wall Street, falling home prices and rising foreclosure rates. "We're facing some bleak and harsh times."
Ellen Walrath can be reached at
ewalrath@theorion.com
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