After months of back-and-forth over the $167.6 billion budget for California, state legislators have come to an agreement over how to best split the bill.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s new budget deal Tuesday afternoon promises $96 million more for the California State University system compared to his January proposal – almost $216 million in total. The 2014-2015 budget included an ongoing General Fund increase of $142.2 million.
“This investment in CSU’s students, faculty and staff serves the public good as a wise investment in the fabric and future of our state – which depends on a knowledge-based economy to provide social mobility for all Californians,” CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White said in a statement.
The required trade-off for the budget deal is that more in-state students must be enrolled across all of the CSU’s 23 campuses. The added funds will help the CSUs to push more students to earn bachelor’s degrees in four years.
“The system’s 23 campuses are tremendous assets to the communities they serve,” California State University, Long Beach President Jane Close Conoley said in a statement.
Conoley cited that nearly 65 percent of CSULB’s 300,000 alumni are located within 35 miles of the campus.
“[They provide] a wealth of knowledge to every segment of the greater Los Angeles and Orange County economies, capacity for innovation, artistic accomplishment, health care and civic engagement,” Conoley said.
The California Faculty Association are “pleased” at the steps the California Legislature is taking to restoring the funding, according to a press release.
“In all the arguments over dollars, a simple fact can be lost,” said Jennifer Eagan, CFA president and professor of philosophy and public affairs and administration at CSU East Bay. “The California State University, with its 23 campuses, has put college degrees in the hands of three million Californians so far and provides quality education to hundreds of thousands more each year.”
Eagan also noted that rebuilding is necessary after years of heavy funding cuts for public higher education in California. The increased funding will help California is to
produce enough college-educated people for a healthy economy and democracy, Eagan said.
“The faculty of the CSU wants everyone to remember that this kind of education is an investment, not a cost,” Eagan said. “When we invest in our people, we invest in our state’s future.”
The final budget will be implemented July 1 at the start of California’s fiscal year.