SF State was recently informed that it will have its 2008-2009 budget cut by $1.9 million and was told to expect more dramatic cuts that could be in the vicinity of $8 million – forcing university administrators to delay priority registration.

While university officials were prepared and somewhat expecting the first round of cuts, SF State President Robert A. Corrigan decided it would be unfair for students to register for classes that the university might not be able to offer.

If SF State’s funding is cut by another $8 million it would significantly alter the spring schedule and the availability of classes, said Leroy Morishita, vice president and chief financial officer for SF State.

“We’ve been told by the state to expect another 3 to 7 percent cut,” Morishita said. “That translates into a $5 - $9 million cut on top of the $1.9 million cut that we already have.”

SF State is not certain of the monetary amount of the impending cuts and university officials are trying to buy some time to see what happens, Morishita said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called a special legislature meeting for Nov. 5 to address the state budget, and Morishita said he thinks the assembly will determine how drastic the cuts will be – thus determining what SF State will have to do to accommodate the fiscal downsizing.

“Our biggest priority right now is to ensure the class schedule that will be offered in the spring,” Corrigan said. “Everybody on campus is committed to doing whatever it takes to meet the needs of students.”

Because budget cuts can signal faculty layoffs, Ramon Castellblanch, president of the SF State chapter of the California Faculty Association, said they plan to step up their efforts to ensure job stability for all professors at SF State.

“We are mobilizing to advocate in the best interests of professors,” Castellblanch, whose union represents all teachers in the CSU system, said. “We are in the process of talking to Chancellor Reed so we can defend the budget.”

The California treasury is currently $1 billion below expectations – resulting in a $31.3 million cut to the California State University system, according to e-mail sent to all CSU employees by Chancellor Charles B. Reed.

While every CSU school is forced to deal with these harsh budget cuts, SF State President Robert Corrigan is cautiously optimistic that university life will not be significantly affected at SF State.

“This campus expects to be able to cover our reduction without making dramatic cuts,” Corrigan said in a follow-up e-mail. “After the passage of the state budget, we recognized that something of this sort might occur, and with both foresight and caution, held some funds in reserve.”

CSU campuses are encouraged to delay filling vacant positions, postpone purchasing and reduce additional spending to weather the current budget crisis, Reed said.

To help stabilize the budget deficit, SF State is looking into options that will cut back on spending but not drastically impact student life.

“We are being prudent and deferring non-critical expenditures, but we will go into spring 2009 with nearly as many classes as we offered last spring and are going forward with critical faculty and staff searches.” Corrigan said.

“At this point, we are not considering additional cuts to academic or administrative units.”