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May 20, 2002
Governor's 'May Revision' includes deep cuts to UC
By Brad Hayward, UC Office of the President
Gov. Gray Davis has issued the May Revision to his 2002-03 budget proposal, calling
for reductions in state spending to address a shortfall of almost $24 billion in
the state of California's nearly $80 billion General Fund budget.
The governor's revised budget proposes substantial cuts at the University of California,
though it avoids across-the-board cuts and reductions in the core instructional program.
It also proposes no increase in mandatory systemwide student fees for the eighth
consecutive year, and it maintains the governor's original proposal of funding for
an average merit increase of approximately 1.5 percent for eligible faculty and staff,
subject to applicable collective bargaining requirements.
The revised budget includes the following changes to the governor's January proposal:
- A $5.4 million augmentation allowing UC to enroll 600 more students than assumed
in the governor's January budget, resulting in total enrollment growth of 7,700 students
next year. UC requested the additional funding after seeing high application volumes
for fall 2002.
- A $32 million, or 10 percent, cut in state funding for UC research programs.
The governor's proposal would give the university the authority to reduce spending
on individual state-funded research initiatives by between 6 percent and 30 percent.
- A $28.4 million cut in state funding for K-12 outreach. This reduction, when
coupled with a $4.2 million outreach cut proposed in January, would result in a 40
percent reduction in state funding for UC outreach programs in 2002-03. The proposal
includes elimination of state funding for the School-University Partnerships program
($12 million); elimination of state funding for the UC College Prep Initiative, which
offers online access to Advanced Placement courses ($8.4 million); a $4.7 million
cut to graduate and professional school outreach, leaving $1 million for the program;
elimination of state funding for the ArtsBridge outreach program ($750,000); and
elimination of state funding for UC ACCORD, an outreach-related research program
($500,000). Also proposed is elimination of $1.9 million in special augmentation
funding for outreach efforts specifically targeted at the Central Valley, though
other outreach programs in the region would continue.
- An $11.3 million reduction for the California Subject Matter Projects, which
provide professional development for K-12 teachers. The reduction is in addition
to a $4 million reduction proposed in January and would leave the program with $20
million in funding. In addition, the governor proposes to remove $50.9 million in
state funding for the California Professional Development Institutes for K-12 teachers,
believing that an equivalent or greater amount of federal and state funding in the
K-12 budget is available for teacher professional development activities.
- A one-time cut of $29 million from the university's $150 million budget for equipment,
library materials, deferred maintenance, and instructional technology. The governor's
proposal indicated that this funding would be restored in the 2003-04 fiscal year.
- A $5.2 million reduction in funding provided to UC to help expand K-12 schools'
access to the next-generation Internet2. The reduction, on top of a $4.8 million
reduction earlier this year, would leave $22 million for the program.
Including some other technical changes, the May Revision proposes a net reduction
of $162 million in the university's budget. The university's state-funded operating
budget would total $3.2 billion in 2002-03.
"The proposed reductions are, of course, very disappointing," said Larry
Hershman, UC vice president for budget. "The state is facing an extremely serious
budget problem, and we know that the university must play a role in the solution.
In that context, we do appreciate the governor's protection of funding for core instructional
programs, student enrollment growth and merit increases for faculty and staff. We
will continue working with the governor and Legislature on the remaining budget issues,
emphasizing the positive long-term effects the state realizes from a strong investment
in the University of California's programs."
In addition to the General Fund proposals outlined above, the governor proposed an
augmentation of $16.8 million to UC's capital improvements budget to add two facilities
projects: fire-protection improvements for the Sinsheimer Laboratories at UC Santa
Cruz and seismic improvements for Rowland Hall at UC Irvine.
The governor's May Revision is available online.
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