Sonoma State University President, Mike Lee, has assembled a committee to devise a plan to balance the struggling campus budget. By mid-November, this plan will aim to solve the $14 million budget deficit currently facing SSU. 

The campus is still suffering from a decline in enrollment and, as a result, the amount of money the school has been receiving is playing a big role in this budget deficit.  In a meeting on Sept.30, Lee’s new committee discussed ways to increase SSU’s income. 

In an email sent to the campus community on Sept.19, President Mike Lee wrote, “My top priority remains addressing our enrollment and budget declines, so that the campus can begin moving as efficaciously as possible toward long-term stability. This is not a simple process, nor is it one that any one person or division can solve independently.” Lee also explained how this process needs collaboration, deserves transparency and inclusivity on campus and beyond. 

 Additionally, Lee created a President’s Senior Leadership Council (PSLC) that will give consultations on practices, programs, procedures, and policies. PSLC aims to advise him on administrative, programmatic initiatives, and academics. This committee consists of Associated Students, Academic Senate, Athletic Director, Associate and Assistant Vice Presidents, Staff Council, Dean of Social Sciences, Cabinet, and the Chief of Police. In the past the President’s Budget Advisory (PBAC) Committee has had important conversations, and assisted by giving feedback and analysis to PSLC.. 

PSLC AND PBAC’s goal is to work together while looking at different scenarios and weighing in options that will allow the community of Sonoma to adjust without any interference. 

Monir Ahmed, Vice President of Administration and Finance and CFO, said in a Final State Budget and Campus Budget Planning, “Under the agreement CSU will receive a $211.1 million increase in unallocated, base funding, unchanged from Governor Newsom’s January proposal.  The budget also includes $81M for enrollment growth in the CSU, $35M for Graduation Initiative and $10M to support student basic needs.” 

For CSU’s this brings up the total increase in ongoing funding to $365 million. For the 2022-23 year, the state has provided one-time funding of $125 million for CSU wide needs for deferred maintenance, energy efficiency, and sustainability projects. 

Ahmed said, “We anticipate that the state funding will cover much of our mandatory cost increases for the upcoming year.  Although the state budget increase will not assist in solving our budget shortfall.”

The meeting that took place on Sept. 30 was for the Sonoma State Enterprises (SSE) board which is a campus auxiliary. Associate Vice President for University Budget and Resource Planning, Laura Lupei, said, “A campus Auxiliary is a separately incorporated, non-profit corporation that receives no taxpayer support and is expected to reimburse the campus Operating Fund for any services that are provided. The auxiliary forms a partnership with the campus to provide essential functions, in the case of SSE, primarily dining services.” 

There are three auxiliary corporations at Sonoma, Associated Students, SSU Foundation, and Sonoma State Enterprises (SSE). The auxiliary’s main goal is to increase enrollment ever since it drastically decreased during the pandemic. They also want to open on-campus restaurants to attract more students, especially first-years because that’s where most of the revenue comes from. The auxiliary has done this by having GrubHub options for Weyden, Brewster, and soon Toast, where faculty and students can order ahead and pick up their orders. 

Per the Chancellor’s Office requests, both PSLC and PBAC, along with President Lee, are hoping to create a multi-year plan that will prevent deficit spending by 2024-25 . The target number of full-time equivalent students (FTES) is 8,435, and they will be creating and sharing a plan that meets enrollment growth over the next five years. At the same time, both committees and Lee will be describing in detail the steps they’re taking to meet the goals, and giving updates as well. 

Along with this consultative process, there will be an open forum on Nov. 3 where anyone can ask questions about upcoming budget plans.