True to his promise to upholding educational standards, last week Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the 2007/08 state budget after nearly two months of debate within the legislature to bring forth a balanced budget. While the Governor had to promise the legislature and the state that he would line-item veto over $700 million in funding to put forth a budget with “no net operating deficit” for the state, he did not cut funds from the California State University system.

The path to get the budget to the Governor’s desk was a twisted one, with the Senate finally passing a budget on a 27-12 vote with Senators Ackerman and Maldonado joining the Democrats for the two-thirds votes needed for passage. The Senate also passed the following budget trailer bills: SB 79 - transportation; SB 80 - education; SB 81 - corrections; SB 82 - courts; SB 84 - human services; SB 85 – environment and SB 86 - state administration, all of which had been previously approved by the Assembly.

Thanks in great part to the assistance of the campuses and their advocacy, the final signed budget included full funding of the compact dollars to the CSU budget, as well as restored $7 million in Outreach funding, and augmented the CSU budget for K-12 Math and Science Teacher Preparation ($2 million) and Nursing Programs ($3.6 million).