CSU IMPACT ON STATE ECONOMY

NEW REPORT REVEALS ECONOMIC, FISCAL LOSSES IF CSU CUTS LEAD TO FEWER GRADUATES

A new report prepared by the Blue Sky Consulting Group shows that proposed cuts to the CSU would have a long-term negative impact on the state’s economic health.

The report – commissioned by CFA and released to the media during the union’s Capitol Lobby Day event last week – examined the role the CSU plays in the state's economy.

The report authors Tim Gage (former director of California’s Dept. of Finance), Matt Newman and Trisha McMahon found that "demographic and economic trends clearly argue for increasing, rather than decreasing, the available supply of college-educated workers...the state faces a looming shortage of skilled, college-educated workers. If the state is to meet this challenge, it will need to maintain its historic investment in publicly supported higher education, not curtail it for short-term gain.”

Among the many conclusions reached in the report are the following:

--Investments in publicly supported higher education pay for themselves
--The impact of CSU campuses on local economies is $4.41 for every $1 spent
--Tax revenues increase with more college-educated people
--More college-educated people means fewer people on public assistance

To view the report, go to: http://calfac.org/csureport.html

· GOV. RESPONDS TO CFA REPORT

CFA’s outspoken opposition to proposed cuts to the CSU gets louder by the day and decision-makers in Sacramento have begun to notice.

Last Wednesday, amid the sea of budget protests by interest groups flooding the state, the governor’s press secretary Aaron McLear responded to an item on the Sacramento Bee’s online Capitol Alert about CFA’s new report on the CSU’s impact on the state economy.

Attempting to refute the facts about the dismal funding level for the CSU, McLear told the Bee that higher education funding has increased by billions since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came into office.

CFA countered by reminding reporters that although the governor has made small increases to the CSU budget over the last few years, when adjusting for inflation, the system’s budget in 2006-07 was still more than $300 million less than in 2001-02.

And, during that time the CSU added over 44,000 students (an 11% increase).

Bottom line: the CSU has been persistently under-funded during this governor’s time in office. It has been whittled down, and as the report shows, these cuts are doing severe damage to California’s economy.

To view the exchange, go to: http://data.sacbee.com/capalert/login.html?prv=http%3A//www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/012237.html

ALLIANCE FOR THE CSU

· CALL/FAX DAYS HAVE IMPACT; GOV. TURNS OFF HIS PHONE

Faculty members, staff, students and administrators across the state continue to keep the governor’s phone ringing and his fax machine buzzing to make it clear that the CSU is the solution. Budget cuts to the system will only worsen the state’s economic situation.

As of Friday, the Alliance for the CSU counted 1000 calls, 8500 faxes and 700 letters to the governor to say cuts to the CSU will not be tolerated. Meantime, student groups on some campuses were running their own call and fax events, many people took sample faxes for friends and colleagues, and an email request for calls and faxes went to the more than 12,000 people who signed up for the Alliance at campus meetings in March and April.

The volume of calls and faxes was so high that some of the governor’s district offices stopped taking calls and turned off their fax machines.

The number of contacts with the governor is expected to rise significantly this week when more campuses hold their “Gov: Can You Hear Us Now?” events.

Comments