PSC Leader: CUNY Can't Afford More Budget Cuts; Calls for Tax on Wealthy

Professional Staff Congress President Barbara Bowen came to City Hall Nov. 20 to make the case against further budget cuts and tuition increases at the City University of New York, as news emerged that CUNY adjuncts could suffer reductions as soon as the spring.

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang POSTCARDS FROM THE EDUCATORS: Professional Staff Congress President Barbara Bowen displays some of the thousands of postcards her members have sent in an appeal to spare the City University of New York from budget cuts that could result in job losses and a tuition hike.

'Invest in Higher Education'

"I'm here today to call on the City of New York and also the state of New York to invest public dollars in higher education," Ms. Bowen told reporters. "Not to cut higher education and not to try to make up the state's budget deficit with a tuition increase. It may sound like a logical idea, it may sound like the only alternative. It's not the only alternative."

She continued, "CUNY is a vehicle of revitalization to the economy ... CUNY graduates, 80 percent stay in the state, and every year, they put $15 billion into the economy. That's a generating engine for economic revitalization," she argued. Ms. Bowen then reiterated her union's position that the city should address its fiscal issues with a tax hike.

CHARLES BARRON: 'Invest in education.'

"Simply [rescinding] a tax cut that [was] made in 1994 would restore the income New York State needs. Because what New York is really facing is a revenue crisis. And those tax cuts to the highest tax bracket, if those were simply [discontinued], the state would have $17 billion in the budget for this year," she said. "Economists show us that the least drag on the economy is caused by putting in a tax increase on a portion of income above the portion that people traditionally spend."

Ms. Bowen warned that CUNY was already hemorrhaging after previous cuts of $51 million were made to the university earlier this year. "CUNY has been cut already to the bone. There is nothing left to cut in CUNY," she said. "Our classes are being cut, our sections are getting longer, there are long lines outside the registrar's office, there are no supplies, libraries are cutting back on books."

Barron: 'Bleeding Enough'

City Councilman Charles Barron, who chairs the Higher Education Committee and was heading to a hearing on the issue, criticized the Governor's plans to cut state aid to community colleges by 11 percent and raise tuition by $600 per year.

"Governor Paterson, he knows that one of the fundamental things you do in the budget, you don't just come with a knife. We are bleeding enough. You have to bring revenue-raising ideas ... there's no more fat in the CUNY budget. You are cutting the meat now," Mr. Barron said. "We cannot take any more cuts. Invest in education. No tuition hikes. The students cannot afford it; they'll be devastated. Students won't be able to continue their education."

A student government president, Kareem Morales of Bronx Community College, said that "many of the students that I represent are coming to me and telling me they will not have the funds to pay ... this tuition increase is a declaration of contempt to these students. You are telling them they are not worthy to go to college."

CUNY Cites Negative Impact

At the City Council hearing, CUNY Vice Chancellor Allan Dobrin said that community colleges had seen a six-percent enrollment spike since last year, with that number expected to rise. He warned that cuts to these institutions "would have a harmful and direct impact on our students," with classes being cut and adjunct positions reduced.

Ms. Bowen has been warning her members about possible adjunct cuts, with some already on the horizon and more to follow if budgets are slashed further.

"Academic departments in several of the four-year colleges have notified their faculty that several courses will be cut, and that the adjuncts who have taught them in the past will not be appointed again in the spring," she said in a phone interview. "These cuts are not a direct result of anything the Governor or the Mayor announced ... but even before these cuts, CUNY is already on a shoestring budget. Mere mention of more cuts adds to the atmosphere of scarcity."

Ms. Bowen said that she was particularly worried about the future of part-time faculty members. "[It] shows the precariousness of a large part of CUNY faculty. Half our courses are taught by part-timers," she said. "They'll lose their health insurance ... this is a poor way to staff a university. It's not fair to the faculty who remain, not fair to the adjuncts who are cut, and not fair to the students. Because nothing's more important to students than close attention from faculty."