Fresno State President John D. Welty had a strong message when he addressed faculty and staff on Friday August 17 during his state-of-the-campus address.
The speech he gave addressed his concerns with the budget and the potential loss we as a college could be facing.
“There is much uncertainty ahead,” Welty said at the meeting. “The only thing that I can assure you of is that if the November tax initiative fails, we will become a much smaller and leaner University.”
Much of the budget as it stands now, Welty said, is only possible if California voters approve Proposition 30 in November.
According to the Official Voter Information Guide, Proposition 30 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would increase the California sales tax by .25 cents as well as the income tax on those that make more than $250,000 a year. The sales tax increase would last four years and the income tax increase would last seven years. The funds that would be raised are estimated to be roughly $6 billion. Those that would be affected by Proposition 30 include California school systems ranging from elementary through the college level as well as public safety. Proponents to Proposition 30 include Governor Jerry Brown, the League of Women Voters of California, California teachers and the California Police Chiefs Association.
If the bill passes, Welty said, Fresno State would have the same amount as the 2011-2012 budget, $228.7 million. Also added was a budget trailer signed by the governor stating that if the California State University system dropped the $498 fee increase, an additional $125 million would be given to the CSU system in the 2013-2014 year, said Welty, reiterating that this is only possible if Proposition 30 passes.
Should the bill not pass, the CSU system will lose $250 million from its funding mid-year. Fresno State would lose approximately $13.2 million from its budget. To prepare for this the school has set aside certain funds to help deal with the sudden shift in budget.
However, in the long term, Welty said, the school will need to find a way to address the decreased budget.
“The CSU Board of Trustees began discussions in July with regard to the long-term alternatives for adjusting to this draconian reduction,” Welty said. “Two options are on the table for filling the budget gap if the proposition fails. Both scenarios pose significant, unpleasant consequences for us.”
One proposed plan would increase tuition by 5 percent in January 2013, a cut in employee pay and benefits, a larger fee increase for students taking 16 units or more as well as a rise in out of state tuition.
The second proposed option for absorbing a cut in the budget would result in a cut in the 2013-2014 enrollments by 1.5 percent, a reduction in Fresno State employees, a higher reduction in salaries and benefits for faculty and an increase in tuition for students taking more than 16 units.
President Welty urges every California voter to raise awareness as well as push those who are not registered to do so.
“As we go forward it is important for us to focus on the importance of convincing the citizens of this state that there is a pressing need to reinvest in higher education,” Welty said.
However not all think that Proposition 30 is a sound way to approach the budget situation. According to the arguments against Proposition 30 in the Official Voter Information Guide, voting yes on Proposition 30 does not guarantee new funds will go into schools.
“They can take existing money for schools and use it for other purposes and then replace that money with the money from the new taxes,” is stated in the arguments against Proposition 30 in the Official Voter Information Guide.
Those against Proposition 30 state that the money could end up going into other programs and not into those it’s intended for. The sentiment is that raising taxes does not solve the problem. In order to stop the problem, reform is needed to cut unneeded spending instead of handing politicians blank checks.
“The politicians would rather raise taxes instead of streamlining thousands of state funded programs, massive bureaucracy and waste,” states arguments to Proposition 30.
Rebuttals to this argument say that fiscal controls insure that the money raised is only spent on schools and public safety.
Those interested in reading the Official Voter Information Guide can visit http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/.