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Friday, Jan 23 2009 05:47 PM

CSUB announces spending, fee freezes

By The Bakersfield Californian

The president of Cal State Bakersfield announced Friday immediate financial actions to deal with the state’s cash-flow problems.

The state is expected to run out of money by the end of February due to the governor and legislature’s failure to agree on a spending plan that heads off a budget shortfall projected to reach some $41 billion by mid-2010.

The measures announced by CSUB President Horace Mitchell include:

• Freezing hiring. Exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis after consultation with Mitchell and the appropriate vice president.

• Salary freezes for any position except those provided by collective bargaining agreements.

• Requiring any spending of $5,000 or more to get the OK of the appropriate vice president.

• A moratorium on the establishment or changing of campus-based student fees to help students through this difficult time.

Money for state-funded capital projects has been suspended and work shut down, Mitchell said. At CSUB that includes renovation of nursing labs and construction of art labs.

Building of the Student Recreation Center is not affected, he said, because it’s funded by a 2005 student fee referendum and not the state.

“Guiding our planning is our commitment to maintaining student access to a quality education and supporting our excellent faculty and staff,” Mitchell said.

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