The California State University (CSU) could be prohibited from raising university presidents’ salaries in the same year of a tuition increase.
Assembly Bill 930, authored by Assemblymember Todd Gloria of San Diego, was amended on May 16, 2019. The bill requires each university’s chancellor’s office to provide annual reports of the campus budget in comparison to actual spending, as well as the usage of state funding received per academic year to the Legislature and Department of Finance. Supporters of the bill include the California Faculty Association, the Cal State Students Association and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
The primary opponent of the bill is the CSU itself. According to Toni Molle, the director of public affairs for the CSU Office of the Chancellor, this stance is due to the fact that, prior to the bill, CSU’s were already required to submit upwards of 20 annual financial reports to the Legislature.
“The California State University (CSU) has an oppose position on AB 930 because the bill would restrict and undermine the authority of the Board of Trustees and their ability to manage the operation of the CSU,” Molle wrote in an email statement to Mustang News. “The bill also establishes unnecessary and duplicative reporting requirements.”
A financial transparency portal was recently released by the CSU in order to provide public and university stakeholders with access to how the resources given to the universities are being used.
In July 2018, President Armstrong received a $12,500 raise in salary after a budget increase in CSU funding. Total spending for chancellors and campus presidents rose by $38,813 after accounting for inflation, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ calculations and information from a Board of Trustees agenda.
According to University Spokesperson Matt Lazier, Cal Poly has no comment on the bill.
Correction: This bill has gone through the State Assembly, but still needs to go through the State Senate.