By Xavier Williams and Zachariah Aguila

Sacramento State could soon struggle to sustain academic programs, keep many faculty positions, and provide student services as it deals with a $37 million deficit amid a proposed 8% cut to state funding. 

Sacramento State is getting ready for the cuts by increasing fees and tuition, exploring cost-cutting strategies, focusing on critical programs, and reassessing current spending. 

Except for academic affairs, every department at Sacramento State will take an average 22% cut to their budget. Structural reforms could include grouping majors into schools and deans having operational power over two colleges instead of one. 

The plan is awaiting input from faculty. Anne Luna, California Faculty Association Capitol Chapter President, said the cuts will fall heaviest on areas outside of academic programs. 

Sacramento State currently has seven colleges, each with a dean. To save money, Luna said, the number of deans will likely be reduced. She said official layoffs are unlikely.

“We have been given our so-called marching orders from the chancellor’s office but conveyed by President (Luke) Wood at the Faculty Senate meeting, that the faculty have full freedom to do however they want to do it but we have to cut down from seven deans to four,” Luna explained.

Luna added that administrators want faculty to consolidate academic programs into new schools that complement each other, as a way to save money. Faculty will largely get to decide how to make the changes.

“President Wood says that he’s agnostic about it, meaning he is going to let us decide how we cut off our hands and feet,” Luna noted.

Kevin Wehr, California Faculty Association bargaining team chair, said Sacramento State’s administration has failed to communicate with transparency about budget cuts in a timely manner. Wehr noted that the budget situation could change in May, when Gov. Gavin Newsom releases a revised budget proposal.

“Budget cuts could be 8% or maybe half of that or three quarters of that,” Wehr pointed out. “Whatever it is, we won’t know until the May Revise. There are ways to deal with it without a full reorganization of campus. That’s why I wonder if there is another agenda that is not being discussed openly by President Wood.”

Wehr said President Wood is not leveling with the campus community. 

“President Wood is essentially saying that this is real and we have to take action now and I don’t think it’s real,” Wehr countered. “And I don’t think we have to take action now. The only thing I can think of why he is moving forward at a fairly reckless pace is because there is a different agenda than just the budget. That’s the only way I can think of it.”

Several Sacramento State administration officials declined to comment for this article.

Sacramento State Student Body President Nataly Andrade-Dominguez said other CSU campuses are in a worse position. She noted that Sacramento State has not seen declining enrollment, like other places.

“The university will get some money back because the enrollment rates are being met that are required,” Andrade-Dominguez observed.

Sacramento State officials have already increased student fees to shore up student services and campus athletic programs.

“All faculty were aware about the proposed budget cuts, which is why all of the school’s fees were increased last semester to prepare for this,” Andrade-Dominguez said. 

Barbara Myslik, a professor of communication studies at Sacramento State, said she is worried about the upcoming cuts.

“The budget affects the students’ desire to enroll and it also prevents newer faculty from getting hired,” Myslik reflected. “I also think that we are in a weird paradox where we are trying to raise our research profile and yet we don’t have money to make that happen.”

The university is planning to build more efficient course schedules for students. However, the cuts to sections and programs seem imminent and it could make it difficult for students to get the necessary resources to complete their degrees on time. 

“The university is trying to be cost-effective while trying to see if more students can get added into classes and there are some classes, like in the communications department, where it is not practical to have more students,” said Rebecca Gardner, a lecturer of communication studies at Sac State. 

The budget cuts come as the university is actively looking to expand its football stadium. ASI President Andrade-Dominguez said the stadium expansion is separate from the budget issues.

“We have two different funds for sports and for the school itself,” she detailed. “Sports more so rely on sponsors and donors and don’t take from the schools’ budget.”