The Associated Press California Gov. Gray Davis
points to a pie chart showing how he proposes to close the
projected $23.6 billion state revenue shortfall, during a Capitol
news conference in Sacramento, Tuesday. Click Here
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By Kelly Rayburn
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
[email protected] The University of California felt the
fiscal crunch Tuesday, as Gov. Gray Davis’ May budgetary
revisions called for more than $160 million in cuts to the
university’s general fund in the next fiscal year. UC
outreach programs took the biggest hit of all, and if the budget
passes as is, they will go forward with only 60 percent of the
state funding they had last year, according to the UC Office of the
President. Also, funding for university research was cut by more
than $30 million. It wasn’t all bad ““ the governor
aimed his cuts so as to avoid having direct negative effect on core
classroom instructional needs, Davis said, and the proposal did not
call for a raise in student fees. The recommended UC cuts were only
one tool Davis used to address a near $24 billion budget shortfall
““ one caused by a nation-wide recession, dot-com crashes and
a slow tourist industry and increasing security costs in post-Sept.
11 California. Besides the UC cuts, the governor also recommended
modest tax hikes, more than $7 billion in cuts from other state
programs and reliance on future billions from an unsettled tobacco
lawsuit to fill in the budget hole. The UC receives about $3.2
billion from the state every year, according to UCOP. If the cuts
remain, the approximate 5 percent cut by which the UC’s state
funds will decrease is still lower than the 15 percent cut Davis
asked all the state agencies to prepare for before he released his
initial proposal in January. His proposal now goes back to the
state Legislature, which has until June 15 to send it back to Davis
via a two-thirds vote in both the Assembly and Senate. The governor
then has until July 1 to sign the budget and has line-item veto
power. Budgetary deadlines are weakly enforced, however, and the
budget is almost always signed late in tight fiscal years.
Furthermore, Davis is likely to face bitter battles throughout the
rest of the budget process, particularly from Republicans who said
they will not support a tax increase, especially given that Davis
for months has said he had no plans for higher taxes. Davis did not
know how dire the state’s outlook really was when he made
such statements. The state became increasingly aware of exactly how
dark its fiscal situation is since Davis put forth his first budget
proposal in January. “I was prepared to offer a budget of
cuts, but $24 billion crosses the line,” Davis said Tuesday.
Given the circumstances, Davis stands by his budget, saying in a
statement Monday that he proposed “responsible, balanced
budget.” “Closing this budget gap has been an extremely
difficult process,” he said. But the governor realizes
he’ll have to fight in the next month, as the legislature
reviews specifics of how he closed the gap, said Davis spokeswoman
Hilary McLean. “The governor proposes, the legislature
disposes,” she said of the budgetary process.
The Associated Press Members of Gov. Davis’ staff listen as
Davis unveils his revised 2002-03 state budget at a news conference
in Sacramento, Tuesday. Click Here to See Larger
Image
The UC: One of many looking for funds
On the UC side, officials understood the difficulty Davis is
facing, and some were satisfied that cuts were not deeper. One
state official even called the May budget a “huge
victory.” Most were, nonetheless, upset that the university
will have to endure such cuts. “The proposed reductions are,
of course, very disappointing,” Larry Hershman, UC vice
president for budget, said in a statement. “The state is
facing an extremely serious budget problem, and we know that the
university must play a role in the solution.” UC spokesman
Brad Hayward said the UC expected cuts to research and outreach,
but that the “depth of the reductions was a surprise.”
“It’s very clear there were significant budget cuts for
the university,” he said, analyzing the potential impact of
the May revisions. Among other recommendations, the May revisions
call for: “¢bull; $5.4 million to funds for 600 new full-time
equivalent students at the UC. “¢bull; $2.8 million to increase
health and dental benefits for UC employees. “¢bull; $32.08 million
in cuts to reduce funding for research. “¢bull; $29 million in cuts
to reduce funding for information technology, instructional
equipment, library materials and deferred maintenance. “¢bull; $8.4
million in cuts to eliminate funding for the UC College Preparatory
Initiative, which provides online honors and Advanced Placement
courses for students who do not have access to them in high school.
“¢bull; $12.01 million in cuts to eliminate funding for K-12
School-University partnerships. “¢bull; $1.94 million in cuts to
eliminate funding for Central Valley Outreach programs. “¢bull;
$4.7 million in cuts to reduce funding for graduate and
professional school outreach. Senator Jack O’Connel,
D”“San Luis Obispo, who serves on the Senate’s Education
Committee, said that “the magnitude of the reductions is
staggering.” But modest funding increases to account for
enrollment growth is one of the good signs, he added. As for bad
signs, numerous state, university and campus sources stressed that
the proposal was only a proposal, and that the UC and many in the
state Legislature will continue to fight for funds ““
especially on outreach.
Outreach cuts “severe”
“The cuts the governor proposes in outreach are extremely
severe,” said Max Espinoza, consultant to the Assembly Budget
Committee, who was the 1998-99 student regent when he was a UCLA
undergraduate. “No way we’re going to agree with those
kind of cuts,” he continued. Espinoza said Davis’ cuts
in outreach “do not recognize that there continues to be a
diversity crisis within the UC.” When SP-1 and 2
““Â policies which banned the consideration of race in
university admissions and hiring ““ were passed by the UC
Regents in 1995, the UC simultaneously committed itself to increase
outreach efforts to address under-performance in high school of
certain groups of students, especially those attending underfunded,
overcrowded schools. Percentages of blacks and Latinos attending UC
schools declined after the passage of SP-1 and 2, but have since
increased, with many people in the UC community pointing to
outreach as a prime reason why. But with outreach cut, some
advocates for increased diversity in the UC are upset.
“Outreach is the university’s primary contribution to a
healthy, vibrant, democratic public,” said Jeannine Oakes, a
UCLA professor who serves on the UC’s outreach advisory board
and called the cuts a “shock.” “It’s
terrible that it will now appear that the university does not value
diversity,” she continued. Cuts to eliminate outreach efforts
in the Central Valley particularly sting UC Merced, the 10th UC,
scheduled to open in 2004. The Merced site was chosen in part with
hopes of recruiting more Central Valley high schoolers to the UC.
“This is quite unfortunate,” James Grant, spokesman for
UC Merced, said of the cuts. In the big picture, he said,
Davis’ recommended budget is “bittersweet.” While
outreach endured cuts, $4 million in the budget was allocated to UC
Merced to hire faculty. As for outreach, he added, “Just
having a UC near valley kids could get them to apply here.”
McLean, meanwhile, said the governor’s cuts do not reflect a
lack of commitment on his part toward diversity. She noted that
Davis supported a plan by the regents to accept the top 4 percent
of students from every graduating high school class, even if
students within that group do not fall in the top 12.5 percent
state-wide, which the UC is required to take. This “4 percent
plan” also helps increase diversity, supporters say. When
making cuts, the governor simply had to make difficult choices,
McLean said. “There’s always competing
priorities,” she said.
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Student fees down ““ for now
One priority for Davis is keeping student fees at current levels
““ which the revised budget still recommends. In-state student
fees have not increased since Davis took office in 1999. Paul
Mitchell, consultant to the Assembly Committee on Higher Education
““ the official who called the current proposal a “huge
victory” ““ said the lack of a fee increase was the
UC’s “greatest victory” of all. UCLA students can
thank the UC Students Association, which lobbied the state
government in Sacramento last week to keep fees at their current
level, Mitchell said. But just because the current budget does not
call for an increase in fees, that does not mean an increase is out
for good. Espinoza said Monday “everything is on the
table,” speaking about the May revisions. But really,
everything is on the table until the budget is signed. The
Legislative Analysis Office, which before the revisions presented
an increase in student fees as an option to fill in the budget
hole, along with closing prisons, raising taxes, and eliminating a
state holiday ““ said an increase in fees may still be an
option. “At this point, it’s really going to depend on
what the Legislature says,” said LAO spokeswoman Sona Nagar.
For now, raising fees seems to be unpopular in the Legislature.
Elaine Alquist, D”“Santa Clara, has said she will sign no
budget that includes an increase in student fees. Evan Okamura,
external vice president for the Undergraduate Students Association
Council, serves as liaison between USAC and UCSA and was in
Sacramento to lobby last week. UCSA will continue to lobby for
outreach and will not offer an increase in student fees as a way to
fund those programs, Okamura said. “UCSA has been very
adamant. We don’t want student fees increased,” he
said. For now, that goal is secure.
With reports from Robert Salonga and Andrew Edwards, Daily Bruin
Senior Staff, and The Associated Press.