Date: 03/28/2008

Administrators, Unions, Students Collaborate to Fight Proposed State Budget Cuts

Contact:
Pat Lopes Harris, 408-924-1748

SAN JOSE, Calif., -- For the first time, all California State University campuses including San José State have launched a major campaign in conjunction with labor groups to fight proposed state budget cuts. SJSU's advocacy effort will begin at noon Wednesday, April 2, in the Student Union's Barrett Ballroom, where administrators, labor group leaders and students will hold a budget forum. The one-hour event is free and open to the media.

Attendees will get the facts about the budget crisis and take action to remind lawmakers of the importance of San José State and the CSU system. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed a 10 percent CSU budget cut, which equates to $386 million. This reduction includes a direct cut of $312.9 million and the $73.2 million necessary to avoid raising student fees by 10 percent for the 2008/2009 academic year. The reduction comes in addition to funding cuts of $522 million between 2002 and 2005 and means the CSU will be unable to provide access to 10,000 qualified students.

Although the impact of the proposed cuts on San José State will not be known until the governor's May budget revision, a 10 percent budget reduction could mean up to a $15.6 million cut to SJSU's current budget. This would not only affect every aspect of the campus from availability of services to student rates of graduation, but also the region's economy. Each year, SJSU graduates more than 6,000 students, 70 percent of whom settle in the Bay Area. The university provides more engineering, computer science and business graduates to Silicon Valley than any other institution of higher learning.

The following individuals will speak at the forum and be available for interviews:

• SJSU President Don W. Kassing
• Liz Cara, SJSU Chapter President, California Faculty Association
• Sam Liccardo, San José Councilmember
• Benjamin Henderson, Associated Students of SJSU President
• Judith Lessow-Hurley, SJSU Academic Senate Chair
• Ethel Walker, SJSU Professor of Dramatic Literature
• Larry Carr, SJSU Associate Vice President for Public Affairs

SJSU community members who attend the forum will be encouraged to:

• Post "CSU is the Solution" window signs.
• Wear "CSU is the Solution" buttons.
• Write the governor, state legislators and newspaper editors.
• Join the Alliance for the CSU, a group for CSU supporters.

Read more about the CSU Budget.

Read more about the SJSU budget.

Read more about the Alliance for the CSU.

San José State -- Silicon Valley's largest institution of higher learning with 32,000 students and 5,700 employees -- is part of the California State University system. SJSU's 154-acre downtown campus anchors the nation's 10th largest city.