Lawmakers call for taming CSU’s generous employee perks
SACRAMENTO — A generous policy at California State University that reimburses employees tens of thousands of dollars in moving expenses needs to be reined in along with a surge in management hiring at the expense of new professors, lawmakers said during a Wednesday hearing to review a critical audit of the public university system.
The audit found that management positions grew at more than twice the rate of faculty positions and that campuses could not adequately justify why the new management jobs were needed. Auditors also found that merit raises were not always justified with performance evaluations. In one case at San Diego State, eight assistant coaches were reclassified as management to raise their salaries.
Lawmakers held a joint hearing Wednesday in the state Capitol with three legislative committees to review the audit, which was released in April. At the hearing, auditors said CSU should set a cap on employee reimbursements for moving expenses.
CSU and its campuses pick up the tab when employees relocate for a position, including costs associated with selling a home when moving. And that adds up. For example, San Jose State President Mary Papazian, appointed in 2016, was reimbursed $104,300 for her move from Connecticut. Those costs included fees associated with selling her home.
Lawmakers said such generous benefits create an optics problem for CSU, which raised tuition this academic year by $270 for undergraduate students. Annual tuition and fees at CSU range from $6,600 to $9,400 depending on the campus.
“We have 30,000 students who applied to CSU who didn’t get in because there isn’t a spot for them,” said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, chairman of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance, one of the three committees at the joint hearing.
The CSU system comprises 23 campuses throughout the state and is governed by 25 members on its Board of Trustees. CSU Chancellor Timothy White did not attend the hearing because he was at a meeting with campus presidents and other top executives in Long Beach.
In his place, Brad Wells, associate vice chancellor of business and finance at CSU, said the system is working to make changes recommended in the audit, including limiting expense reimbursements.
Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, said the audit showed a lack of transparency and a climate of spending that “is a disservice to our state and the students we serve.”
Weber said the disproportionate number of management hired compared to faculty is a cause for concern. Auditors found that between the fiscal years 2007-08 and 201516, management positions grew by 15 percent (503 employees) and faculty grew by 7 percent (1,328 employees).
State Sen. Jean Fuller, RBakersfield, said the auditors report shows just 41 percent of employees are people who are in the classroom.
“I don’t think I have to say more,” Fuller said. “That needs to be justified.”
CSU isn’t alone in facing a critical audit. The University of California has been under intense scrutiny this year following two audits — one in April found the UC headquarters failed to disclose millions in reserve funds before asking regents to raise tuition and another released Tuesday that accused UC of failing to fully justify why employees were being replaced with lower paid contractors.
Lawmakers were quick to link the audits of CSU and UC, saying they demonstrate a lack of accountability to taxpayers.
“Our systems in education have to be doing a better job for our taxpayers,” said Assemblywoman Sharon QuirkSilva, D-Fullerton (Orange County). “We have to do better for our California students.”