Call for Reconsideration of Trustees' Proposed Budget

AS-2588-02/FA/FGA - November 7-8, 2002

ATTACHMENT 1 TO AS-2588-02/FA/FGA
ATTACHMENT 2 TO AS-2588-02/FA/FGA
ATTACHMENT 3 TO AS-2588-02/FA/FGA

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate of the California State University (CSU) reaffirm the resolutions entitled "Short-Term Budget Priorities for 2002-2003 and 2003-2004" (AS-2572-02) and "Priorities for Strategic Budget Planning" (AS-2573-02) adopted in May 2002 (see attached); and be it further

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate CSU find that the budget proposal adopted by the CSU Board of Trustees on October 31, 2002, fails to address key budget priorities in the previously cited Senate resolutions; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the budget proposal adopted by the Board of Trustees is inconsistent with Senate budget priorities in that it:

• provides for only a 1% faculty salary increase within the partnership agreement;



• seeks funding for salary costs already funded under previous legislative allocations;



• sets the interests of faculty and university staff against each other through an attempt to achieve "salary parity";



• fails to cover first-year costs of ACR-73 in the partnership agreement; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate CSU call upon the Chancellor and the Board of Trustees to develop a budget request for 2003-2004 consistent with the priorities clearly enunciated by the Chancellor, the Senate, and other CSU faculty representatives; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate CSU encourage the Chancellor to engage in meaningful dialogue and collaborate with the Senate to develop strategies to apply Senate budget and strategic planning priorities in revising the current and devising future budgets.

RATIONALE: : Funding to adjust faculty salaries to a level that makes CSU competitive in recruiting new faculty was a high priority in both short-term (AS-2572-02/FGA) and long-term (AS-2573-02/FGA) budget goals of the Senate adopted in May 2002. In response, Executive Vice Chancellor David Spence stated that "The resolutions received are important views that influence CSU budget decisions and recommendations to the board of Trustees, and they are appreciated for articulating the view of the CSU faculty."

The CPEC gap continues to grow under the deficit budget conditions that exist today and in the foreseeable future. ACR-73 has challenged the CSU to raise full-time tenure track faculty to 75% of total faculty. Below-market starting salaries, meager raises, heavy workloads, and high living costs make faculty recruitment and retention difficult. Experience shows that requests within the partnership portion of the CSU budget proposal have a much higher likelihood of being achieved than items, however worthy, in the augmentation portion, "below the line." The Chancellor has stated publicly that improving faculty salaries by closing the CPEC salary gap is one of his top priorities; this gap currently stands at 10.6 %. The Chancellor, moreover, has called for a culture of unity and trust within the CSU. A first step in establishing this trust is to engage in sincere efforts to implement the Senate budget priorities.

The Board of Trustees on October 31 rejected an amendment to the Chancellor's proposed budget request that would have given high priority to compensation increases for all employees, including faculty.

APPROVED - November 7-8, 2002