Biweekly news digest from the California State University Employees Union
If you would like to receive CSUEU E-News directly via email, please sign up at the CSUEU site.
GOVERNOR PROPOSES FLAT CSU FUNDING FOR 2012-13
LAO ADVOCATES MORE HIGHER EDUCATION OVERSIGHT
VOLUNTEERING AS A WAY OF GIVING BACK
KIPLINGER’S CITES 4 CSU CAMPUSES AS BEST VALUES
CALPERS RETIREMENT SEMINAR ONLINE
* * *
Governor Proposes Flat CSU Funding for 2012-13
In a press conference last Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown outlined his proposed 2012-13 budget, which calls for no change from this year’s level of state support of the CSU, provided that his tax initiative slated for the November ballot is passed by voters.
The proposed $2 billion in state support for the CSU is the lowest in 15 years and reflects the continuation of a $750 million reduction in funding made in 2011-2012.
The governor estimates that the state faces a $9.2 billion general fund deficit through June 2013, which he proposes to bridge with mostly cuts and taxes. He’ll ask voters to pass a $6.9 billion ballot measure in November that raises taxes on sales and income, starting with single filers earning $250,000 per year.
If the measure is not approved by voters, the governor’s budget proposal includes a series of trigger cuts that would go into effect, including an additional $200 million cut to the CSU. That would bring CSU’s state support to $1.8 billion, which would be the lowest level of state funding since 1996-97, even though CSU enrolls 95,000 more students today.
Many state programs will take big hits if the governor’s budget goes through, even without trigger cuts. It includes a total of $4.2 billion in spending reductions, including a $946.2 million reduction to the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Program and deep cuts to Medi-Cal, In-Home Supportive Services, childcare, and Cal Grant programs.
“This budget avoids further deep cuts to the CSU budget in the short term while correctly putting the focus on finding new revenues,” said CSUEU President Pat Gantt. “It proposes some technical changes in the CSU budget that we are reviewing closely for long-term impacts. Hopefully there’s a brighter future for the CSU system, its students and its employees as the economy slowly rebounds.”
“With our tax program, we’ll finally eliminate the budget deficit after years of kicking the can down the road,” said Gov. Brown during last week’s press conference. “If we don’t get our tax revenues, trigger cuts will hit the courts, the universities, and the state’s public safety services. The good news is that California is recovering, and the fiscal health of the state is improving.”
Read a summary of the budget’s higher education section (PDF).
Read the full budget summary (PDF).
Read the California Budget Project’s analysis of the full budget (PDF).
Read an informative editorial about the budget from yesterday’s Los Angeles Times.
Legislative Analyst’s Office Advocates More Higher Ed Oversight
In a report published last Friday, January 6, the state’s independent Legislative Analyst’s Office stated that California’s public colleges and universities are changing too many rules unilaterally and should be more accountable to the public.
Among problems cited across California’s public higher education systems, CSU is setting its own rules for raising executive salaries. To fix the problem, according to the report, the state should create a system for higher education oversight.
For years there was such a body, the California Postsecondary Education Commission. But it was eliminated in a round of budget cuts last year, and, with it gone, CSU is choosing its own comparison schools, which will be considered for approval by its Board of Trustees later this month.
Read the LAO report (PDF).
Read a January 8 San Francisco Chronicle article detailing the report.
Volunteering as a Way of Giving Back
by Steve Wiener, Chapter 321 BU9 Rep and Cal State San Marcos information technology consultant
Steve Wiener tabling for Amnesty International at the Vista Farmers Market
 |
During the recent holidays, I spent much of my free time donating my time and energy to three different charities in addition to my CSUEU chapter responsibilities—so much so that I found myself reflecting on the reasons why I’ve become such a strong booster of volunteerism over the years.
Certainly the influence of my progressive parents, both of whom were proud union members, has played a role. Bottom line, I think it’s important to give back to the union that has helped me with my own grievances and reclassifications, and it’s equally important to help society by lending a hand to people and animals in need.
I’m a 22-year founding member of Amnesty International’s Group 471, just one of many chapters of the Nobel Prize-winning human rights organization. I help organize and run fundraisers and annual human rights walks and have given guest lectures about the organization in political science and critical thinking classes at CSU San Marcos.
One of our key campaigns involves support for Prageeth Eknaligoda, a Sri Lankan cartoonist, political analyst and journalist who was reported missing two years ago this month, just two days before the presidential elections in Sri Lanka. Members of his family believe he has been abducted by pro-government supporters.
More recently, I’ve started volunteering with the Vista Boys and Girls Club in San Marcos, tutoring and coaching games with local children. I’ll soon be using my audio/visual skills to videotape public service announcements and other promotional messages for this vibrant community center.
Greyhounds up for adoption at a recent Greyhound Connection picnic
 |
I’ve also started volunteering with Greyhound Connection, a local greyhound rescue charity. Having owned a retired racing greyhound 10 years ago, I enjoy participating in meet-and-greet events at pet shops to encourage adoption of these wonderful dogs, which, unfortunately, are bred to be abusively exploited for racing or hunting.
At the campus, I run the media equipment checkout department at the Student Technology Help Desk, lending film/TV tools to students, staff, and faculty, as well as providing training. I started working in the library as an equipment tech in 1992, when the campus first opened, and I later received reclassifications to media production specialist and ITC.
Soon after joining CSUEU, I became a steward, then was elected Unit 9 rep, chapter president, chapter vice president, and again Unit 9 rep, my current post. I’m looking forward to helping the union any way I can in the year ahead and encourage everyone to volunteer their talents to help further the union’s mission during these difficult times.
Kiplinger’s Cites Four CSU Campuses as Best Values
Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine has named four CSU campuses to its annual list of the top 100 best values in public colleges for 2011-12: San Diego State University at No. 77, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at 83, Cal Poly Pomona at 91, and Cal State Long Beach at 98.
The ranking each year recognizes four-year public institutions that combine excellent education with affordability. Coming in at No. 1 this year was the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, followed by the University of Florida, Gainesville, and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
The top institutions were selected from a pool of more than 500 colleges and universities. They were ranked according to academic quality, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and graduation rates.
The annual public school rankings will appear in Kiplinger’s February 2012 issue and are now available online.
CalPERS Retirement Seminar Online
A two-hour CalPERS webinar for those one to three years away from retirement is now available for viewing online. The webinar, entitled “Planning Your Retirement,” is presented by CalPERS staff members Jim Cale and Laurie Daniels, who have years of experience explaining the retirement process to CalPERS members. A video, transcript, and slideshow of the November 10, 2011 webinar is now available.
* * *
See back issues of CSUEU E-News, distributed every other Thursday.
— End —