What's next - Keep the Pressure Up!

The recent student vote on the Student Success Fee increase failed by a three-to-one margin. Students told us loud and clear; they can’t afford further fee increases. Solving the problems of manufactured austerity by asking students to pay more was always wrong-headed. We know the CSU has the funds; they just don’t ever have it for academic instruction. Because manufactured austerity remains, we need to keep the pressure up!

What does a 3% budget cut mean?

It means we won’t be fully funded next year. It means the budget is still $143.8 million less than it should be. It means people could still lose their jobs. We have heard from many lecturer colleagues who are anxious about work in the fall semester – some departments have not even made offers yet. It means our fellow faculty members who remain will carry a heavier workload. 

It means another opportunity to witness the Chancellor deprioritizing our educational mission: providing quality instruction for our students. What matters most is reflected in the administration’s spending habits, rights? According to the a recent CFA report, the CSUs data revealed that since 2018 the state legislature has increased appropriations for the entire system by over 50%. During the same time, the CSU decreased funding on instruction by more than 11%, while increasing cash investment (+69%) and planned capital investment (+80%). Instruction accounts for less of the budget each year. It’s clear the system is getting enough money, but it is being mismanaged.

We need to keep the pressure up on CSU administration to get our priorities straight. We need to increase funding for instruction, not build the CSUs investment portfolio. Chancellor Garica: Release the reserves! 

What can I do to Keep the Pressure Up?

Chancellor Garcia’s priorities are just wrong, morally wrong, ethically wrong, and logically wrong!! Our confidence in her is waning, if not already lost. State leadership and CSU administrators across the hierarchy need to know how these cuts will impact real people. Our continued pressure through letter writing and legislative advocacy has been working. We need to increase our advocacy in the state legislature to have the most impact.

What does it mean to tell my story?

We need to keep the pressure up on administration across the system and on the legislators in our capital. So, tell your story! Tell everyone how even the 3% cut will be detrimental to our livelihoods.

1. Think about it! What does a 3% cut represent to your livelihood? How will this cut impact you? How will it impact your students? How will the cut impact things in your life outside of the classroom? Get specific! Write your thoughts down!

2. Post about it EVERYWHERE!! Post to all your social media! @your local state representatives! @thecsu ON EVERY PLATFORM!

3. Tell everyone/anyone what will happen if these cuts take hold. Encourage others to do the same!

We need to keep the pressure up! We need to keep telling our stories! Without the pressure, those legislators won’t know the negative impacts they have on very real people when they force cuts that aren’t necessary.

How else can I Keep the Pressure Up?

Stay informed!

• Keep looking for future CFA actions you can take to show our displeasure with leadership.
• Show up to Chancellor Garcia’s town hall (if she ever has one!) and ask what reductions will come from the 3% budget cuts?
• Reach out to your local state legislators in the Senate and in the Assembly directly (Find your CA Representatives) and tell them that they need to full fund the CSU.

Tell them all:

• Students clearly can’t afford the cuts, but the CSU has the money.
• $143.8 million cut still removes classes, reduces our workforce of committed quality faculty, librarians, coaches, and counselors, and decreases the core function of the university – to educate.
• Get the spending priorities aligned with our mission and mean it with a budget that fully funds the CSU.

We need to keep the pressure up on our legislature and Chancellor’s Office to get CSU fully funded. We can create the change we seek if we work together!

No cuts! No fees! No corporate universities!

When we fight, we win!