Author: uclafaculty

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Headline: UC Berkeley slashes jobs

Byuclafaculty

UC Berkeley slashes jobs (excerpt) San Francisco Chronicle, 1-13-11, Matier & Ross The hammer is falling at UC Berkeley, with word that the university is laying off 150 managers and support staff. The news, which was delivered in a campus bulletin late Thursday, comes just days after Gov. Jerry Brown proposed slashing $500 million from the UC system next year. The job cuts are on top of 600 positions that Cal has already eliminated since last year. Campus officials say they got a jump on the problem last summer when they hired an outside consultant — at a cost of…

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Legislative Analyst Acknowledges UC Pension Issue for State

Byuclafaculty

In his press conference on Jan. 12 on the state budget, Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor explicitly raised the issue of state funding for the UC pension. Those who follow that issue know that at one point, the Leg Analyst took the position that the state had no responsibility for the UC pension. After a meeting with UCLA Faculty Association reps, that position changed. The legislature dropped language asserting that it had no liability for the UC pension. Of course, so far, no actual funding has appeared. The relevant part of the press conference is on the video below:

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LAO Doesn’t Think “No Pay/No Say” Applies to the UC Budget

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst has released his analysis of the Brown budget proposal. It generally follows the polite format of not being to assertive about risks, etc. It actually suggests a somewhat brighter economic outlook than the governor’s budget was based on. However, it does not fundamentally challenge his numbers. You can find the analysis at http://lao.ca.gov/reports/2011/bud/budget_overview/budget_overview_011211.pdf Of special interest to readers of this blog are comments made about the higher ed elements of the budget. These comments are reproduced below. However, the LAO continues to assume that good public policy is for the legislature, while cutting the higher ed budget,…

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Come July 1, UCOP and the Regents Better Have a Plan B

Byuclafaculty

As appeared more and more likely when the Brown budget proposal was being leaked out, a critical part of the plan involves getting voters to approve an extension of temporary tax increases that were originally approved in Feb. 2009. An added complication – more political than legal – is that the income tax increase has expired. So withholding from paychecks has dropped and would be restarted retroactively if such a measure were passed. This fact will add to the argument that the ballot measure is a tax “increase” rather than an “extension.” Republicans have been increasing emphatic that they will…

Esteemed Grades

Byuclafaculty

Old timers will remember the California created a Self-Esteem Commission back in the mid-1980s. For those that don’t, you can find a reference to this endeavor at http://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/11/us/now-the-california-task-force-to-promote-self-esteem.html The Commission was the brain child of John Vasconcellos, a state assemblyman of that era, who was very much into such concepts. His picture is at left. Much national mirth was aimed at California as a result of the Commission’s creation, including a Doonesbury parody. The Commission neatly fitted into the state’s New Age/hot tub image. Inside Higher Ed today points to a new study in which self esteem of college students…

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Mystery Phrasing: Budget Calls for Minimizing Tuition and Enrollment Impacts But What Does That Mean?

Byuclafaculty

Excerpt below in italics from the UC portion of the governor’s proposed budget, page 150. See earlier blog entry for link to budget. What does the statement mean? Minimizing tuition and enrollment impacts is not the same thing as averting them (or trying to prohibit them). Targeted Reductions — A decrease of $500 million in 2011‑12 to reflect necessaryfunding reductions to help resolve the budget deficit. These reductions are intendedto minimize fee and enrollment impacts on students by targeting actions that lowerthe costs of instruction and administration. The Administration will work withthe Office of the President and the Regents, as…

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Budget Fallout Begins

Byuclafaculty

Not surprisingly, the budget released by Jerry Brown has produced responses. The prior post contains UC President Yudof’s letter of disappointment. The Brown strategy is to put tax extensions on the ballot before June. Normally, given the late date, putting something on the ballot would require a 2/3 vote and the Democrats – while a majority – do not have 2/3. Republicans have now announced they will not provide the missing votes. There has been a hint of some way of avoiding the need for a 2/3 vote by modifying a proposition that was previously passed. Whether the legal issues…

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Preliminary Overview of the Brown Budget

Byuclafaculty

The Brown budget, based on its budget documents, can be rearranged to break down the problem into manageable pieces. I cannot disentangle “revenue and transfers” – a mischievous term because of the word “transfers” – from what we think of as revenues (taxes, fees, and a few miscellaneous sources). Moreover, the “fund balance” in the general fund is not quite the same as a reserve. (To get the reserve, subtract $770 million from every entry below labeled “fund balance” on the tables.) But the breakdown below will help. (Apologies for odd formatting that the blog program creates.) Highlights First, Brown…

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Countdown to the State Budget and More Speculation on the Forthcoming Brown Plan

Byuclafaculty

In the final countdown to Governor Brown’s budget message at 11 AM today, Dan Weintraub – longtime columnist for the Sacramento Bee and now with healthcal.org – suggests that there could be a variation on the Budget from Hell strategy we have noted in earlier posts. Under that strategy, Brown presents a Budget from Hell which is all cuts and no added revenue. He then puts on the ballot by June, tax extensions of the Feb. 2009 temporary tax increases. (See the earlier posts for more on possible roadblocks and work-arounds to getting such a proposition on the ballot.) The…