Message to the Campus from President Alexander Gonzalez (7/2/09)

To All Members of the Campus Community:

The new fiscal year has arrived, and the state’s budget deficit remains unsolved. In the meantime, the California State University system is preparing for a reduction in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

To address the cut to the 2009-10 budget, the CSU system has proposed furloughs for all employees (except public safety). This includes management and executives.

Furloughs are different from salary reductions because they are temporary and do not affect employment status, eligibility for health benefits, pay rate or retirement benefits. Employees are not required to work on designated furlough days.

So far, the California State University Employees Union (CSUEU) and the Academic Professionals of California (APC) have agreed to discuss furloughs. If furloughs were adopted by all employees, the CSU would save approximately $275 million in salary expenditures. Other options are being discussed to address the remainder of the deficit, but we will work to maintain the quality of our academic programs and protect as many jobs as possible.

In my message next week, I will update you on the results of the July 7 special meeting of the CSU Board of Trustees, which was called to consider options for dealing with the budget. On July 21 at the Board’s regular meeting, the trustees may adopt specific budget actions at the systemwide and campus levels. 

All budget news will continue to be posted on Public Affairs’ Budget Central page at http://www.csus.edu/pa/budget.

Again, I thank you for your patience, hard work and input.

Sincerely,

Alexander Gonzalez
President