The Budget Crisis and the Future of California: Timeline and Important Documents
April – May, 2009:
UC President Mark Yudof submits drafts of two documents for discussion to the UC Board of Regents, the Systemwide Academic Senate, and the Divisional Chairs of the ten Campus Senates. The first is a Proposed Amendment to the Standing Orders of the Regents, which would grant to the President “emergency powers”– in the event of a natural disaster or “extreme financial circumstance”– to “implement furloughs and/or pay reductions on terms the President deems necessary” and “to suspend the operation of any existing Regental or University policies otherwise applicable to furloughs and/or salary reductions that are contrary to the terms he or she deems necessary to the proposed implementation.” The second item submitted for consideration is a draft of the Furlough/Salary Reduction Guidelines.
May-June, 2009
Revision of state budget, with further cuts by the Governor and the Legislature. The immediate result in numbers for UC, according to the UC Office of the President (UCOP):
$813 MILLION CUT in state funding to UC for 2008-2009 and 2009-2010
20% REDUCTION in UC’s state funding for 2009-2010 ALONE. ($637 million less than the previous year.)
$ 1.15 BILLION: UC’s total two year funding shortfall, including $813 million in cuts and an additional gap of $335 million in increased costs for student enrollment (i.e. funding for students promised but withdrawn), health benefits, and utilities not funded by the state.
Source: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/budget/?page_id=126
July, 2009
UC Regents meet and grant President Yudof his proposed “Emergency Powers.” They also approved the furlough plan for 2009-2010. For the final version of the full furlough plan: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jul09/j2.pdf.
For fall 2009, please stay up to date! For more important information and reflections on the budget crisis and its implications, see the following resources:
UC Administration’s sites:
http://berkeley.edu/news/budget/
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/budget/
UC Faculty-run sites:
http://budgetcrisis.berkeley.edu/