President discusses budget, campus improvements

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In his spring address to the campus community Tuesday, Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez said the University will do everything it can to protect students and the campus during the state’s fiscal crisis.

For the California State University system, the governor’s proposed budget would make permanent $66.3 million in reductions for the 2008-09 fiscal year, and compact funding of $217.3 million for operating costs and enrollment growth would not be funded.  The governor has also proposed a 10 percent increase in student fees, and the state has frozen $600 million in bonds for campus constructions projects.

Gonzalez said Sacramento State is in relatively good shape because the University has spent months preparing for possible budget cuts. He worked closely with the University Budget Advisory Committee (UBAC) to develop a plan to preserve educational quality while prudently saving money.

“We closed the campus’s structural deficit, and as a result, we don’t have to deal with a problem that is $7.2 million larger than it could have been,” Gonzalez said.

Construction of the new 600-bed suite-style residence hall and the student-approved Recreation and Wellness Center is proceeding as scheduled because they are not being built with state money. The University also is offering its full complement of classes for the spring semester. 

“It’s a sad reality that the same economic forces that jeopardize our state funding also put tremendous pressure on our students,” Gonzalez said. “So while our budget is shrinking, our commitment to improving what we provide our students must be stronger than ever.”

Sacramento State is complying with cost savings ordered by the CSU Chancellor’s Office, including restrictions on travel and hiring. Gonzalez said he will meet regularly with UBAC as the state continues the budget process.

“Now our work gets even more difficult,” he said.