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No New Cuts at Fresno State Despite More CSU
Budget Reductions
Posted on Wednesday, December 14, 2011 |
State
funding support for the California State University
will be cut by an additional $100 million for this
school year, on top of a $650 million reduction
already in place, as a result of
lower-than-projected state revenues.
Photos and slideshow by JoAnne Green
The
additional cut reduces CSU funding to $2 billion and
represents a 27 percent year-to-year reduction in
state support to the 23-campus system.
Fresno State’s share
of the new cuts is approximately $5.4 million, said
Cynthia Teniente-Matson, the Vice President for
Administration/Chief Financial Officer. However,
because the campus had anticipated the budget-cut
triggers, money was set aside from tuition increases
and carry-forward funding to bridge the gap.
“There will be no
additional cuts to campus units this fiscal year,”
Teniente-Matson said, but the state’s precarious
fiscal situation means there still is uncertainty at
Fresno State about 2012-13 and future fiscal years.
"It is disheartening
to say the least when your budget is cut by an
initial $650 million, but to face an additional $100
million reduction mid-year makes things extremely
challenging," said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed.
"We were aware that this was a possibility, and our
campuses have been planning accordingly. However,
the uncertainty of the overall fiscal outlook for
the state is not encouraging, and the CSU has run
out of good options."
The $2 billion in
state funding allocated to the CSU for the 2011-12
budget is the lowest level of state support the
system has received since 1997-98, but the
university currently serves an additional 90,000
compared to that year.
The CSU had
previously announced that it will not raise tuition
mid-year, even with the additional $100 million cut.
To get through the remaining months of this fiscal
year, campuses will need to take short-term measures
such as drawing on one-time reserves, delaying
equipment purchases and facility maintenance work.
However, starting with the next fiscal year,
extremely difficult longer-term tradeoffs will have
to be considered, including the possibility of
additional cuts to academic programs or further
increases in tuition.
For the past three
years, CSU has instituted a number of cost savings
measures including decreased enrollment, employee
layoffs and furloughs, deferred maintenance, travel
restrictions, better use of information technology
and other efforts.
In two of the last
four fiscal years, state funding to the CSU has been
dramatically reduced, forcing the board to approve
sizable tuition fee increases. However, increases in
revenue from tuition hikes – after setting aside
one-third for financial aid – have not kept pace
with state funding cuts. For the current fiscal year
2011-12, tuition increases raised approximately $300
million, but CSU's budget has now been cut by $750
million.
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