CUNY and SUNY have seen their budgets reduced due to a decrease in enrollment of students and high debts. The institutions must deal with a limited budget while continuing to maintain a high quality of education.
In 2022, CUNY faced a deficit of $234 million, representing a huge debt for the institution. However, the actions of the chancellor and the Professional Staff Congress help CUNY’s debt. At the end of this year, CUNY’s deficit is expected to decrease to $128 million.
On Feb. 8, SUNY Chancellor John King and CUNY Chancellor Félix Matos Rodriguez advocated for an increase of aid and funding for CUNY and SUNY schools. Schools under CUNY, like Queens College, are facing significant difficulties.
Queens College campus in Flushing is experiencing a decrease in the number of lecturers. The school is down to 40,000 students since its pre-pandemic numbers in the 2019 fall semester.
It is important to highlight the impact of the pandemic on CUNY and SUNY debt. The loss of enrollment is explained partly by the pandemic impact on students and their economic conditions.
SUNY is projected to accumulate a $1 billion deficit over the next decade. Because of this, it cannot sustain its hospital which is currently operating at a $100 million deficit.
Despite the struggles of the institutions, the chancellors are not giving up on the hope of generating more funds.
King stated, “we are not closing any campuses. We are committed to all 64 of our institutions and trying to make sure they have the resources to invest in areas of growing student demand.”
“While we have made great strides, there’s still more work to be done,” Rodriguez said. He also defended the rounds of spending cuts and a hiring freeze across the CUNY system, in the hearing.
State lawmakers, even when presented with facts on the current situation of CUNY and SUNY schools, remain skeptical on increasing funds for the institutions.
They are planning to close the SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, due to its ongoing financial struggles, as part of SUNY’s budget goes toward this hospital. The PSC retaliated against “austerity measures,” such as larger class sizes and decreased student services, including access to the cafeteria and library hours.
PSC President James Davis stated, “There are resources in the state economy to resist these cuts and add hundreds of millions more to the CUNY budget.”
However, the governor is understanding of the institutions’ need for more aid. Gov. Kathy Hochul introduced a proposal for the next school year to increase operating funds for CUNY’s four-year colleges by $36 million.
Hochul has also introduced a community college funding floor for schools to receive more aid. The plan further advocates for $441 million to be invested in the reconstruction of damaged colleges and facilities.
