Staff and faculty members filled the Student Union Theater to listen in on the financial status of San José State during Monday’s “Budget Town Hall.” The main topic that was covered was the university’s potential budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Information regarding the school’s budget was delivered by university administrators including , Stan Nosek interim vice president for administration and finance and chief financial officer and SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson.
“The California State University (CSU) system is navigating significant financial challenges in the coming fiscal year influenced by the state budget reductions,” Nosek said.
There is a chance that the school might lose $25 million due to a proposed budget cut from the state government, according to Teniente-Matson.
California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed an 8% budget cut in all state operations according to a May 10, 2024 article from CalMatters.
These cuts will include shrinking college programs such as the Middle Class Scholarship according to the same source.
The Middle Class Scholarship is a scholarship given to students with family incomes up to $226,000 according to an SJSU webpage.
“These state level decisions have serious consequences and today we’re doing the work to maintain the strongest position possible,” Teniente Matson said. “The CSU is advocating for full funding, publicly and privately.”
As of now the SJSU administration does not know exactly what the school’s budget is going to be for the next fiscal year.
“At the system wide level, the CSU budget planning process is a comprehensive multi-phase cycle during June through August,” Nosek said. “The budget follows the state and CSU budget allocations and the president finalizes the budget as soon as practical after receiving the CSU allocation, typically no later than September.”
The CSU’s operating budget has two primary sources of funding including the state’s general fund and student tuition fees, according to a CSU webpage.
Amit Jain, associate vice president for budget planning and financial management said that the school’s operating budget for the current fiscal year is $482 million.
SJSU has a total campus budget of over $496 million, according to a CSU Funding webpage.
“The revenue consists largely of state appropriation at about 52%,” Jain said. “Tuition and fees make up 39% of the revenue.”
A state appropriation is a legal authority granted to the state to disburse money or take on liabilities from a fund for a specific purpose, period and amount, according to a webpage from the California Department of General Services.
For the next fiscal year, the CSU faces a nonnegotiable $163.6 million cost for baseline commitments including financial aid, healthcare, liability and other necessities, according to a different webpage from the CSU.
Thomas Madura, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at SJSU, was among the faculty at the town hall and found the information presented to be very useful.
“I would say that for the most part, I’m pretty satisfied so far with the local administration and how they have been handling things,” Madura said. “I also think that there are a lot of very complicated moving pieces, especially from the federal side. But I’m glad to see that they’re at least doing these budget town halls and trying to be open with everyone, allowing us to ask the important questions.”
Some of these complicated moving pieces include U.S. president Donald Trump inadequately cutting off funding to universities that refuse to comply with his political agenda according to a March. 28 article from PBS Newshour.
Madura is also a member of the Academic Senate, a group of senators consisting of administrators, alumni, students and faculty that give recommendations to the president regarding issues such as faculty affairs, student affairs and curriculum, according to an SJSU webpage.
“As faculty and as part of the (Academic) Senate, I’m really concerned about the current budget situation and I want to make sure that the university is doing its best for all faculty and students,” Madura said.
Robin Reynolds, SJSU Tower Foundation chief operating officer and board secretary, said that she believes that President Teniente-Matson is doing well with managing the schools finances given the circumstances of external factors that she can’t control.
The Tower Foundation is a philanthropic partner of the university that manages endowments and gifts intended for academic and student purposes, according to an SJSU webpage.
“I feel like we're under good leadership with regards to financial management,” Reynolds said. “I think this president came into challenging times with a structural budget deficit, and that they made some difficult decisions to get us back on track.”
Teniente-Matson assumed office in January 2023 after being appointed in November 2022, according to an SJSU webpage.
In the 2023-24 school year, the university had a structural deficit of $14.7 million according to the annual budget report from that year.
Raymand Buyco, another academic senator and history lecturer, was in attendance for the budget town hall.
“I am cautiously optimistic, but also apprehensive as (to) what might happen with federal dollars,” Buyco said. “But I wanted to be here and listen to what I thought was a very good presentation on the budget.”
Buyco is also the president of the California Faculty Association (CFA) for the San José chapter.
The organization is a union of professors, lecturers, counselors and other staff members that advocate for quality education and fair treatment, according to a webpage from the CFA.
When it comes to being informed about the schools budget, Buyco encourages students to attend these town halls and get an idea of where their tuition money is going.
“Many students are concerned about the cost of their education and wonder where the money goes, and wonder what the future of their undergraduate or graduate career might be here at San José State University,” Buyco said. “I think attending a budget town hall can explain particularly where their money is going.”
