A budget forum on Thursday, March 13, at California State University, Fresno will inform faculty, staff and students about the governor’s proposed budget cuts to the California State University system and Fresno State in particular.

The forum begins at 11 a.m. in the Satellite Student Union and is open to the public.

Using the theme “CSU is the Solution,” the forum is an effort to educate the campus community about the dire nature of proposed budget cuts to CSU totaling $386 million and to urge those on campus to collectively fight to have funding restored. The impact on Fresno State could be a $24 million budget cut.

The forum is sponsored by a campus coalition that includes President John D. Welty, the Joint Labor Council, the Academic Senate, the Staff Assembly and the Associated Students, Inc.

Dr. Michael Botwin, chair of the Academic Senate, will moderate the session. Participants comprise a cross-section of the university community including:

  • President Welty
  • Associated Students President Juan Pablo Moncayo
  • Faculty representatives Dr. Lisa Weston (English) and Dr. Diane Blair (Communication)

Members of the Joint Labor Council
Fresno State Alumni Association president Valerie Vuicich

The speakers are expected to encourage attendees to join a CSU-wide grassroots effort to prevent the Legislature from adopting the proposed cuts by contacting their state representatives and stressing the CSU’s value to the local and state economy.

A question-and-answer time will follow the presentations.

Organizers said the CSU is still hurting from funding cuts of $522 million between 2002 and 2005. The new proposed cuts will limit student access to higher education, affect the CSU’s contribution to the state’s workforce and limit the gains made in helping students from underserved communities get to college.

In particular, the proposed cuts will have a devastating impact on student access, which is of particular concern for Fresno State, where many students are the first in their family to attend college. Concerns include:

  • The proposed budget means an estimated 600 qualified students won’t be able to attend Fresno State because of enrollment limits.
  • Without the revenue, state fees that students pay likely will have to be increased under the proposed budget.
  • 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 CSU for Latinos are up by 21 percent and African Americans by 11 percent over previous years

In addition to access, the proposed cut to the CSU would hurt the state’ s economy.

“The CSU is the economic engine of California and represents the future of our state,” said Welty. “Every dollar cut from CSU translates into more than four dollars removed from the California economy.”

Fresno State, for example, graduates more than 700 teachers, 150 nurses and 200 engineers each year.

A Fresno County Workforce Investment Board 2006 survey of employers showed about 4,000 high-paying job openings were going unfilled in Fresno County, largely because of a lack of qualified applicants

Locally, Fresno State has a total impact of $800 million to the regional economy. This impact sustains 15,300 jobs in the region and generates more than $44 million per year in tax revenue.

For more information on the California State University budget, go to http://www.calstate.edu/BudgetCentral/