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California State University, Fresno President John D. Welty told staff and faculty the decline in state support for higher education is “a broken promise to students of the state of California.”
Welty convened a town hall meeting Thursday, July 23, to explain plans for Fresno State’s response to its $44.6 million budget reduction – its share of a $584 million shortfall faced by the 23-campus California State University system during the 2009-10 fiscal year.
That deficit will be met through a combination of student fee revenue, 24 furlough days without pay for each university employee whose bargaining unit agrees to it and cuts to such things as strategic planning, graduate augmentation, technology and public relations.
The student fee revenue results from the CSU Board of Trustees’ decision on Tuesday, July 21, to raise fees students pay for classes by 20 percent on top of a 10 percent increase in May.
Furloughs are the equivalent of about a 10 percent reduction in pay for Fresno State employees at all levels, but they do not affect benefits or contributions to retirement. Fresno State has proposed a calendar for furloughs that has not yet been approved by the CSU.
However, Welty said he anticipates those in August will be on the 3rd and 10th and that the campus would be closed on those days. He said that some administrative furlough days are proposed on instructional days during the academic year. So while classes would meet, there would be no administrative services available.
The Fresno State furlough proposal includes campus closures where possible during the winter and spring breaks that would help realize some additional savings, Welty said.
In his strongest public remarks since the budget crisis began to affect campus operations more than a year ago, Welty spoke directly to state elected leaders: “It is time to look beyond today and the next election and plan for our future.”
Failure to do so, he added, means “our state is on its way to
Welty pointed out that even with those actions and adjustments already in the works, Fresno State will have to make other cuts or find other revenue to make up an additional $16.3 million shortfall. And that figure is dependent on all employee groups agreeing to furloughs – a decision that will not be finalized until Tuesday, July 28.
Among the proposals to make up the $16.3 million anticipated shortfall are a combination of layoffs, attrition, retirement and elimination of vacant positions equivalent to 135 management and staff personnel, Welty said.
He said nearly 1,200 class sections have been eliminated for the fall 2009 semester, which begins Aug. 24. “Through a combination of course cancellation and reduction in faculty assigned time, we have reduced the faculty as of today by an estimated 200 full-time equivalent positions,” Welty said.
Part of the budget-cutting plan includes a reduction in student employment, possibly by one-third, Welty said. The Henry Madden Library will close earlier during the week and have sharply reduced weekend hours, he added, and a $1.9 million reduction in technology investment also is anticipated.
“These are not easy decisions to make and this is not what we want to do. It is what we must do,” Welty told the 800 gathered in the Satellite Student Union.
“We know the times ahead for those impacted employees will be very difficult, but our decisions are necessary to meet our budget reduction,” he added. “All our employees are valued and appreciated.”
Welty said that in the face of unprecedented fiscal cuts wrought by dwindling state support, “I ask that we strive to continue our tradition of working together to make the best of this difficult challenge.”
“Our students are our fundamental responsibility,” Welty said, “so I urge you all to step forward and to reach out to our students and assist them in every way possible.”
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