SDSU Budget Cuts

We would like to correct an impression given by an article in the Los Angeles Times on Aug. 23 (“Faculty Praised as SDSU Kicks Off a Yearlong Salute to Its Professors”). We read that San Diego State University was doing just fine and had avoided threatened budget cuts. The writer based the article on a talk by Al Johnson, vice president of academic affairs, at a faculty convocation held the previous day. The article and his words provoked great wonderment in us.

The article and Johnson failed to note that operating budgets throughout the university are shamefully low. Those of us in the College of Sciences are particularly hard hit. Some science departments were cut up to 30% below last year’s meager, budget-deficit levels. We will have to pass on many costs (for example, class handouts) to students, just to stay in business. This is grotesque when we are giving lip service to recruiting and retaining students in traditionally under-represented groups, students who are scraping for every dollar to come to school.

The effects of operating-expense budget cuts on quality of instruction have an immediate deleterious impact and are, in the long run, ruinous. Over the last 12 years, the operating expenses budget in the College of Sciences has progressively fallen behind inflation; the accumulated shortfall now stands at 40%. Meanwhile, all departments have tried to keep up with technological progress by accumulating more complex and sophisticated equipment, largely with the help of lottery funds.

It takes money to maintain this equipment, but the state has failed to recognize this growing need. The chemistry department predicts that it will have virtually no operable instructional equipment within five years unless the department is allotted more money for maintenance. Every department has a similar story. Unless we receive more realistic budgets for operating expenses, we will soon be unable to accept new equipment because we can’t maintain it.

All of this would gall us under any conditions, but it’s worse when we read that the state “found” $2.5 billion unexpected dollars, but still gave the California State University system an “unallocated cut.” What’s an “unallocated cut?” It means, “I can’t find any place to take the money away, so take it away from yourself wherever you like.”

San Diego State University’s share of the cut was $750,000, which had to be taken from the operating expense budget.

The trustees, the governor and the Legislature ought to come by and visit San Diego State sometime. The faculty and students could show them the consequences of an unallocated cut from an underfunded budget. The visitors might like to try an unallocated cut themselves; we bet they’d decide that we should get the money that is required to run a quality institution.

DEPARTMENT CHAIRMEN

College of Sciences

San Diego State University