Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger predicted another cut of at least $765 million to the University of California at a budget-revision conference last Thursday. The announcement arrived just three months after the state Legislature approved a $115 million funding cut to the university.
The budget revisions come in response to a predicted budget shortfall of $15.4 billion, which Schwarzenegger said led him to propose further funding cuts and short-term borrowing.
Under the governor’s proposed changes, the UC and California State University systems would face a total of $1.1 billion in funding cuts. The UC system would lose $510 million in the current 2008-09 fiscal year and $255 million in 2009-10 ‘mdash; a total of $765 million in cuts.
The shortfall would be eased slightly with $640 million in federal stimulus money, but the university will still be left with a net reduction of $125 million from the current budget.
Schwarzenegger warned that the university will face an additional $50 million cut in state funding and a $31 million cut from academic-preparation programs in 2009-10 if Propositions 1A-1F ‘mdash; which would supply the state with $5.9 billion in general-revenue funds ‘mdash; fail to pass in California’s special election on Tuesday.
According to UC President Mark G. Yudof, if these cuts were implemented, the university would be forced to increase student fees and class sizes, while subsequently decreasing enrollment, the availability of campus services and academic program offerings.
In addition, university employees would face pay reductions and furloughs.
‘Additional budget cuts of this magnitude would have a devastating effect on the students, the faculty and the staff of the University of California, and ultimately, on the service we provide to the state,’ Yudof said. ‘The severe reductions envisioned in these scenarios, especially if the ballot measures fail, threaten a dramatic change in the quality and accessibility of the university.’
He added that if the state Legislature continues to cut from higher education, it will eventually lead to a weaker workforce.
‘I am concerned that this new round of cuts for the state’s entire public education system comes at a time when the Public Policy Institute of California has warned us that the state’s workforce will face a shortage of nearly one million college graduates by 2025, unless state leaders implement policy changes to enroll and graduate more students,’ Yudof said. ‘The consequences of these budget proposals for academic preparation and student accessibility are daunting.’
Schwarzenegger acknowledged the severity of the cuts, but said they were necessary at this time to keep the state’s deficit from worsening.
‘To solve our immediate cash crisis, we simply cannot avoid deep and painful cuts in spending,’ Schwarzenegger said. ‘Some of these solutions are things I would never have considered in the past, but unfortunately, our state could be in a worst-case scenario if the propositions fail.’
Schwarzenegger said he announced his budget revisions over a week before the election to show California residents the severity of the state’s current fiscal situation and to urge voters to pass all six measures.
‘People need to know how this election will affect them,’ he said. ‘I think this is what the upcoming election on May 19 is all about. It’s about California’s future and California’s legacy, so this is the question about this election: whether we continue to tumble down the path of financial ruin and despair or whether we stand up and dust ourselves off and start the slow but steady march back towards prosperity.’
Readers can contact Joyce Yeh at [email protected].
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