Campus coalition invites all to special budget forum scheduled for March 17
The following was sent to the campus community on Monday, March 10, 2008.
On Monday, March 17, from 12:10 to 1:30 PM, we will be holding an all-campus meeting in McKenna Theatre to discuss the California State University budget situation and how it affects San Francisco State University. At that meeting, the San Francisco State community can get the latest information on the proposed $386 million -- 10 percent -- cut to CSU's 2008-09 budget, learn what is being done to change that and how we can organize effectively to fight these cuts. Along with a panel including the chair of the CSU Board of Trustees Roberta Achtenberg, we will answer questions regarding the CSU budget situation and plan our efforts to maintain the CSU's capacity to serve California.
Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed 2008-09 budget for CSU would deeply cut into SF State's resources for providing quality education and could sharply increase student fees. For current students, the cuts in education funding could mean longer waits for graduation and more crowded classrooms. For University staff and faculty, the cuts could threaten jobs. For the state of California, these cuts could seriously undermine the capacity of the CSU system to support the state's economy. Our ability to train teachers, engineers, health care workers and others who broadly support California's industries could be damaged.
To keep you informed as we get new information in the weeks ahead and to let you know how to reach our legislators, we encourage you to check periodically on the university's new Budget Central Web site at http://www.sfsu.edu/~news/budgetcentral/
The upcoming March 17 meeting is of the utmost importance to SF State and the CSU as a whole. We urge everyone in our campus community who can do so to join us at McKenna Theatre. We hope that the turnout will be large, demonstrating to our elected officials how deep the concern is about the proposed CSU budget and how devastating its impacts would be.
Remember: at this time, there is no CSU budget for 2008-09. The Governor and the Legislature have not yet enacted one. It's up to us to make sure that the final budget leaves the CSU system, including SF State, with the ability to play its historic role supporting the people and the future of California. We look forward to seeing you Monday, March 17 in McKenna Theatre.
Collegially,
Robert A. Corrigan, President, San Francisco State University
Ramon Castellblanch, President, CFA Chapter/SEIU 1983/AAUP/NEA
Russell Kilday-Hicks, President, CSUEU Chapter 305/SEIU 2579
Jim Kohn, Chair, San Francisco State University, Academic Senate
Abtin Forghani, San Francisco State University CSSA Representative, ASI VP of External Affairs
