Leaders of California’s two largest public university systems have aired their concerns about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s state budget proposal, which is expected to reduce up to 8% of their funding in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
California State University and the University of California face a $375 million and $271 million cut, respectively. The drop in funding is especially notable given that the state budget is estimated to be the second-largest spending plan ever thanks to a $363 million surplus, Cal Matters reports.
Chancellor Mildred García called this a “pivotal moment” for California State University. “Communities that thrive on the CSU’s investments in student learning, service and local partnerships will struggle if the university system’s resources are diminished.”
More from UB: What are colleges worried about most right now?
The system heads warned the budget cut will affect students, campus services and upward social mobility. “Larger class sizes, fewer course offerings and a reduced workforce will hinder students’ ability to graduate on time and weaken California’s ability to meet its increasing demands for a diverse and highly educated workforce,” García continued.
Will budget cuts cause further headaches for California higher education?
Last fall, California State University announced a $1 billion budget deficit for the current academic year. Officials blamed the shortfall on rising costs and lack of support for higher education, ABC 7 reports. The year prior it had also announced a 6% hike in tuition over the next five years. This move would raise costs by $342 in the first year, amounting to a nearly $2,000 increase in total, The Guardian reports.
While the University of California’s budget shortfall is only half of that, it, too, has shown extreme signs of distress. In 2022, it suffered one of the largest worker strikes in U.S. history at 48,000. A predominant reason for the strike had to do with the university having to rely on adjunct faculty to teach classes due to existing budget constraints, TIME reports.
“We earn poverty wages,” says Rafael Jaime, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Los Angeles and the president of United Auto Workers Local 2865, which represents 19,000 student workers participating in the strike. “What we’re really seeing is a crisis in academia.”
