By Rachel Makabi
Daily Bruin Reporter
University officials presented a bleak outlook for the UCLA
budget in a meeting with the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
Steve Olsen, vice chancellor of finance and budget, said that
while he cannot determine how UCLA will ultimately be affected by
the downturn in the economy, the facts present cause for great
concern.
In order to decrease costs and make up for the loss of state
funds due to budget cuts, the University of California is
considering several options, such as instituting salary cuts,
limiting enrollment growth, returning funds earmarked for state
initiatives, and increasing student fees.
“It may be appropriate to increase fees over a period to
make up for cuts made by the state,” Olsen said during
Tuesday’s meeting at the Faculty Center. “But we want
to do this while maintaining the affordability of the
school.”
In addition, Olsen said, the UC is considering revoking the
reduced costs of summer sessions at Berkeley, Los Angeles and Santa
Barbara, and is also considering delaying this implementation at
other UC campuses.
Chancellor Albert Carnesale said though the UC will not have a
good handle on the budget situation until January, measures like
the recently imposed hiring freeze ““ which limits the number
of new positions ““ are helpful in preparing for an economic
downturn.
“We don’t want to be hiring a bunch of people from
now until June only to have to lay them off because of next
year’s budget,” Carnesale said.
“It is important for us to do this so that if things get
bad, we will be able to deal with them better,” he
continued.
According to Olsen, the UC may lose $475 million due to a new
directive by the Department of Finance, which asks all state
agencies to prepare for 15-percent reductions.
“This amount would be greater than the budget reductions
we faced from all the years of the early ’90s
combined,” Olsen said.
The expected budget cuts are coming after five years of steady,
brisk growth, during which the state doubled the amount of money
spent on K-12 and higher education.
Yet unlike K-12 education, the UC does not have specific
constitutional laws protecting it from budget cuts, which leaves it
more vulnerable, Olsen said.
Academic Senate Chair John Edmond said he is fearful the cuts
imposed on the university will decrease the quality of education at
the school, citing that maintenance, repairs and general upkeep of
the school has been ignored.
“Times are going to be stressful,” Edmond said.
“Unless a miracle takes place, we are going to have budget
cuts of some size.”