FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — Authored by Assembly Member Patrick Ahrens, AB 1831 looked to limit the amount of pay increases some CSU leaders would receive after the CSU Board of Trustees approved a resolution to allow increases between five and 20%.
That’s on top of any bonuses they already receive.
These increases are at a time when students are seeing their tuition increase and some are already struggling to make ends meet.
One student from Sacramento State spoke to the committee on higher education to explain his struggles.
“In my first year at Sac State, I worked five jobs while taking on a full course load of five classes, working about 35 hours a week at odd hours,” the student said. “And I think in my first semester, I lost about 10 pounds, eating about three meals a week. But I’m not an exception. That’s what college looks like for a lot of CSU students. We piece it together. We work exhausting hours. We sacrifice sleep, stability, family, and time just to stay enrolled and keep moving toward a degree.”
Even though there were a number of supporters of the bill, there were other representatives who opposed it.
Greg Sachs of the CSU Office of the Chancellor gave his take as to why the pay increases are given to leaders who are guiding rough waters.
“At a time of federal chaos, budget volatility, heightened budget heightened public scrutiny, our university leaders are guiding institutions that operate like small cities, serving tens of thousands of students and employees every single day,” Sachs said. “They manage crises, protect campus safety, steward public resources, manage research enterprises, ensure academic quality, and are deeply, deeply engaged in their communities.”
Others with the chancellor’s office also spoke in opposition, citing that the bill would limit raises for non represented professional staff.
After passing through the Higher Education Committee in an eight to one vote, the bill was halted in the Appropriations Committee and would need to come back to the table once legislation comes back at a later date.
Although the bill didn’t reach the assembly floor on time for full implementation, we wanted to see if there would be any changes to the resolution from the board of trustees.
For our accountability question Karl Cooke reached out to the CSU Board of Trustees and asked
“Even though this bill didn’t move forward before the deadline, is there something the board of trustees is doing to alleviate the minds of students, staff and administrators?”
As of today, we have not heard back.