California’s public universities received $537 million in aid from the federal stimulus package on Friday, after becoming the first state to receive funds aimed at reducing the university’s state budget shortfall of $450 million.
The federal aid, which was divided between schools in the UC and CSU systems, will provide UC with $268 million, which will then be divided among the 10 campuses.
The funds would replace a one-time reduction of $255 million in state funds which, under the February budget, would presumably be replaced by federal stimulus money.
Because the released funds total $268 million, the UC received $13 million more in federal aid than what was previously assumed, said Ricardo Vasquez, a spokesman for the UC Office of the President.
UC President Mark Yudof praised the decision on Monday in a statement, saying that the while the funds would not eliminate the budget shortfall, they were very much appreciated.
“We still face a major budget shortfall of at least $437 million at the University of California. But the federal money has taken some of the burden off the shoulders of the state government for the coming year, preventing what otherwise would have been even deeper budget cuts for California public education. That assistance is much appreciated,” Yudof said in the statement.
Still, it is far too early to decide specifically how the funds are expected to be used, Vasquez said.
“At this point it will go to the campuses and it will have some impact … but it’s too early to tell exactly where and what it will go to,” he said.
Steve Olsen, vice chancellor of finance and budget at UCLA, said that the additional $13 million in aid will likely amount to an additional $3 million in funding for UCLA and would reduce the expected shortfall for the university from $33 million to $30 million.
“We’re glad we received it, but we’re still going to have to cut budgets. It doesn’t make very much difference,” he said, adding that the university will still plan for a $33 million cut.
All of the operating budgets have already been asked to cut 5 percent for the coming year, and current budget plans are made under the assumption that the UC Board of Regents will adopt a 9.5 percent increase in student fees for the coming year, Olsen said. The board will take up the issue at their upcoming regular meeting at UC San Diego in early May.
While the additional federal aid was applauded by university officials, the California Federation of Teachers said that the federal aid does not serve as additional funds, since they only replenish funds which have been cut.
“While this is welcome and it’s going to help, it’s by no means going to bring us back to where we should be,” said Fred Glass, the director of the California Federation of Teachers, which represents faculty and other school employees in public and private schools and universities.
“The trouble is that this is not additional money, this is simply restoring cuts that have already been made,” he said. The federal stimulus package also provides enhanced funding for research grants and for student financial aid, increasing the value of Pell Grants by up to $619, according to a statement from the UC Office of the President.