• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Joseph Millinix, vice president of business and finance at the University of California, speaks a

The picture the UC Board of Regents painted of the state and federal budgets at their meeting at UCLA on Thursday was a gloomy one, to say the least.

More specifically, the regents discussed the sorry condition of the state and federal budgets and how that will affect the university in coming years.

“I don’t think we should anticipate that federal funding is going to be a driving force for helping the university meet its goals in the years ahead,” said Bruce Darling, senior vice president of university affairs.

Darling said in the future, the Legislative Analyst’s Office wants student fees increased and used to cover as much as 40 percent of the University of California’s budget.

This would be far more than students contribute now and would mean a substantial fee increase for students.

The LAO has also recommended a decrease to student aid, specifically the Return to Aid component.

Currently, 25 percent of income from student fees is used for financial aid, but the LAO would like to see that number reduced to 0 percent.

“The LAO really sees that as unnecessary because the neediest students are covered by Cal grants,” said Jennifer Lilla, president of the UC Students Association. “That’s definitely something that the students would be against,” she added.

The income from Return to Aid is used for middle-income students – the ones who often receive the least aid.

“My greatest concern is that by focusing on the percentage of those who get support, we’re not talking about the people who don’t get support,” said Regent Judith Hopkinson.

As a result, Hopkinson said the university’s ability to attract the best students is in jeopardy.

Darling said the UC would not support any budget that eliminated Return to Aid and that discussions will continue well into the summer before a final deal is drawn up.

Overall, two-thirds of the funding for the UC campuses comes from combined state and federal funding, Darling said. Of that, the federal government contributes $3.7 billion a year.

But with the huge deficit in the federal budget – which is now well over $400 billion – Darling said “the only real alternative is to cut spending, and that’s where we come in.”

Funding for the UC falls into the category of discretionary spending, which makes up about 15 percent of the overall federal budget.

When the federal budget is doing well, that amount grows, but when it is doing badly – as it is now – it shrinks.

Funding for the UC will likely get substantially squeezed in the coming years.

This may mean that the university will have to look elsewhere for funding.

“This is probably going to be one of the most challenging years that we ... have faced for federal funding,” Darling said. “In totality, we’re going to have a very, very tough year,” Darling said.

The university is likely in for more than just one year of difficulty as the federal budget will probably not be a substantial source of funding in the near future, Mullinix said.

Pension plans

The governor’s proposed pension reforms were also a subject that the regents addressed at their meeting. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal would limit the taxpayer and state responsibility for employee pensions and put more of the burden on workers to save.

The plan would apply to all public workers, including UC employees.

Supporters say the new system would spare taxpayers and give employees more flexibility, but many workers – some of whom came to the regents meeting to voice their opinions – oppose the proposal.

“The governor’s proposal (will) destroy the university’s retirement system,” said Peter Goodman, who said he has worked for the UC for 15 years.

University officials also did not support the proposals.

“The university cannot accept the proposal in its current form,” Mullinix said, adding that the new system would hurt the UC’s ability to retain the most qualified faculty.

The labs

In January, the regents voted to bid for management of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Robert Foley, vice president for lab management at the UC, said the university was in a very good position to receive the contract.

The fate of the Los Alamos National Laboratory is still undecided, but some regents expressed a desire to continue the UC’s management.

Regent Norman Pattiz, said he would like to see the university continue to support the work that is done at Los Alamos, which he called “crucial” and “essential.”

The regents will revisit the lab discussion in future meetings.