L.A. Times columnist and San Jose State grad Steve Lopez answers that question in this scathing December 6 essay on the short-sighted nature of budget cuts across the CSU system.

On December 3, the State Auditor’s Office published an investigative report detailing more than $152,000 in improper expense reimbursements made by the Chancellor’s Office to a former high-level CSU official. “Accountability of our public servants is increasingly important as tax dollars become more precious,” commented CSUEU President Pat Gantt. “Thanks to a whistleblower’s courage, today’s report draws back the curtain on wasteful spending at the CSU. We call on CSU management to provide transparency in its operations as we move forward into the difficult next year of CSU budget planning.”

As this November 29 Los Angeles Times article points out, budget cutbacks are severely hampering the CSU's ability to fulfill its academic mission.

As this November 23 Sacramento Bee article outlines, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has announced the membership of a joint committee tasked with reviewing the state's long-term plan for ensuring public colleges offer affordable, accessible and high-quality education.

An update on recent fact-finding hearings conducted as a part of contract negotiations for Bargaining Unit 13, representing English Language Program instructors at CSU Los Angeles.

CSUEU members made impassioned comments to the CSU Board of Trustees at its two-day meeting, November 17-18, 2009.

In response to a November 8 feature article in the Sacramento Bee highlighting the fun that young Sacramentans are having on their furlough days off, CSUEU President Pat Gantt wrote a letter to the editor pointing out the serious side effects that furloughs are having on family finances across the state. An edited version of the letter (it's the third letter down the page) was published on November 15; read the entire letter as it was originally sent.

As this November 18 Sacramento Bee article explains, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office has published a report projecting that California now faces a $20.7 billion deficit through June 2011. That includes a $6.3 billion problem in the current fiscal year, largely because the budget approved by lawmakers and the governor contained risky assumptions unlikely to come to pass.

CSU budget battle looms, ballots for the CalPERS board election are in the mail, CSUEU-endorsed Garamendi wins Congressional seat, Californians are worried about higher education cuts, and more...

A new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California reveals that Californians are worried about deep cuts in higher education funding, fearing that qualified people will not be able to attend college. As outlined in this November 11 Sacramento Bee article, the survey finds that state leaders get record low approval ratings for their handling of higher education: 21 percent for Governor Schwarzenegger and 16 percent for the state legislature.