Senator Mike McGuire’s Letter to the Chancellor Puts Faculty Participatory Budgeting First at Sonoma State

Last month, on October 27, Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire sent a letter to Chancellor García that set expectations for how the Legislature wishes the 2025-26 State Budget be used to support a long-term turnaround plan at Sonoma State University. He included three main directives for faculty participatory budgeting: 1) the funds be used for academic mission, not administrative spending; 2) the funds be transparent, and involve CFA and CSU Academic Senate-selected faculty, and 3) funds spent on student enrollment must include faculty.

CFA members at Sonoma State and our member leaders encouraged McGuire to write the letter after learning that the chancellor had plans to misuse how funding would be allocated to the campus.

McGuire’s letter addressed the $45 million earmarked in the fiscal year 2025–26 state budget to help grow and stabilize Sonoma State’s key programs. It also noted an additional $5 million to assist low-enrollment campuses. The Chancellor’s Office pledged an additional $45 million to the campus in August 2025, just two months after the initial $45 million was announced.

First, about the fund purpose, McGuire said, “The Legislature is committed to ensuring that the allocated resources directly support the institution’s academic mission, enrollment and student success.” He continued, “To that end, it is critical that the funding be spent in a thoughtful, consultative and effective manner… These funds should not be used to support preexisting administrative costs, including those associated with the CSU Chancellor’s Office or the campus president’s office/administration.”

Second, his letter stressed transparency through genuine faculty consultation, including CFA members. The faculty involved in decision-making must be selected by CFA members and the CSU Academic Senate—not by the campus president. We agree with his demand for shared governance: We must create an equitable and accessible university system that reflects and uplifts the communities they were created for and intended to serve.

Third, funding to increase enrollment must include faculty-led recruitment efforts. Faculty hold meaningful relationships with students; we mentor them, inspire them, and understand the real value that Sonoma State can offer. We are thereby uniquely positioned to understand what education ought to look like in the CSU system.

The letter also calls for regular and transparent check-ins with the Legislature and legislative staff on how funds are being spent and used to fulfill the desired outcomes on program offerings, recruitment, enrollment, as well as retention.

There is no question that McGuire, a Sonoma State alum himself, wrote the letter with CSU and community stakeholders in mind. “Ensuring the administration’s decisions are made in collaboration with the campus community and community leaders, will usher in more effective policies and expenditures for the long-term,” he said.

CFA members have been at the frontlines of this fight, including our testifying at state hearings to revert the terrifying cuts. We know the budget mismanagement at Sonoma is part of a trend across universities that has led to mass layoffs. At Sonoma, we know that faculty and staff positions were cut and intercollegiate and athletics programs were discontinued, including the elimination of 27 coaches’ jobs and the displacement of 227 student athletes at the close of the last academic year.

We also know that Chancellor García’s close ties with outside consulting groups—one of which she was previously president and CEO of, and which the current Sonoma State interim president is now a consultant for—leads to serious conflicts of interest. These private consultations—none of which involved faculty, staff, or students—led to the elimination of six departments and nearly two dozen degree programs.

García also came under heavy scrutiny by legislators earlier this year for refusing their request for transparency and shared governance when creating a proactive plan for Sonoma State. When pressed on the issue, García doubled-down and asserted that the plan would be shared with—not created alongside—CSU stakeholders.

CSU management’s ongoing failure to be transparent has significantly damaged the reputation of our university and harmed the very people it was intended to serve.

We support our Legislature’s commitment to CSU faculty, students, and staff and call on García and her administrators take them seriously. We have the power to make meaningful change to the system, and this letter continues to give genuine opportunities to participate in budgetary decisions that shape our students and the broader community.

Join us in holding the chancellor and the CSU Board of Trustees (BOT) accountable at the November 18 BOT meeting and make your voices heard. Our members and union siblings will be holding a rally outside, while others will be giving public comment inside. Register with us here and sign up for public comment here.