By Associated Students Inc. President Joe Nino confirmed Wednesday the vote for tuition increase conducted by the Cal State University Board of Trustees will be postponed until May.
The decision will be made the week before spring finals and Nino encouraged the senators to get ahead on their studying so they can make it down to fight the increase.
“It is important that you guys voice your concerns and fight for affordable higher education,” Nino said.
Nino announced that Chancellor Timothy White’s claim that the university did not have the “resources to take care of our faculty, staff and regular business operations” due to the state’s contribution being only $92 million as opposed to the $102 million expectation. Raising tuition was the solution the Cal State Board of Trustees came up with. They have not made much progress on finding other alternatives to the increase.
One alternative to the tuition increase was for White and Cal State Long Beach president, Jane Close Conoley, to take a pay cut. White declined and said he took a pay cut in 2012 and is not willing to take another one.
In a Sept. 19 meeting, the Board of Trustees voted to give all executive officers including White a 2.5 percent raise in 2017.
During the meeting, senators claimed that they are “one beach” and challenged Conoley and the ASI Board of Directors to stand in solidarity with them against the increase.
“Having the vote in May is important because the state could adjust the budget,” Nino said. “The state and the Board of Trustees kind of play volleyball back and forth. The state will say that they will not fund the CSU system and then the Board of Trustees will threaten to raise tuition.”
Nino plans on bringing up the tuition increase to Conoley in his next meeting with her.
“Our biggest issue is getting money from the city and that’s where we can collaborate,” Nino said. “We really need that money from the city.”
The meeting continued with elections as Erika Paz was named senator of the college of administration and business, while Daria Antonova and Victor Wright were both named as ASI Media Board of Trustees. Lastly, Frances Canales was elected an Isabel Patterson Child Development Center Board of Trustee.
