See City on a Hill Press’ past coverage of the budget deficit for more context.
Walking down the trail from the Cowell Apartments to the East Field, you’ll pass a pair of trailers. Behind their doors lies The Cove, a student support community that provides resources for navigating substance use and recovery for students.
This is just one of the many valuable resource centers that may be threatened by the university’s structural budget deficit. Budget changes would go into effect in the upcoming fiscal year.
“It would be a lot more difficult for students to find that recovery and to keep destigmatizing and keep the conversations alive [with budget cuts],” said Sandy Mossgrave, an undergraduate co-lead at The Cove. “[It would be difficult] to keep advocating to make these resources more available.”
Governor Gavin Newsom’s finalized budget proposal is scheduled to be released over the summer, potentially deferring $227.8 million in general state funds away from the UC system. This proposal, along with the growing UC Santa Cruz structural deficit, means there is a significant lack of funds for campus operations between now and the next fiscal year.
“UC Santa Cruz is working to address its structural budget deficit and is in the process of developing its budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year,” said assistant vice chancellor of communications and marketing Scott Hernandez-Jason in an email to City on a Hill Press. “No funding decisions have been made.”
Although no cuts have been announced, many services are bracing for impact.
“We are trying to prepare for changes in [our] budget,” said Cantú director delfín bautista. “Seeing where we can make cuts.”
The Lionel Cantú Queer Resource Center receives most of its funding through student fees, grants, and donations. This center creates a space on campus for queer and trans students, providing them with services and education to build a safe and welcoming community of support.
In an interview with City on a Hill Press, delfín bautista shared that potential budget cuts would affect the center’s basic needs services the most, which include the food and hygiene pantries and access to gender-affirming products.
Resource centers are no stranger to budget deficits. Executive director of resource centers at UCSC Nancy I. Kim is aware of the importance of permanent funding, which comes from the university’s student fees and state funding. She noted that it amounts to $30,000 for each of the six resource centers per year. They also depend on soft funding, which is composed of renewed grants, primarily coming from the Student Fee Advising Committee and Equity in Mental Health Funding.
“A lot of time is spent on applying for funding,” Kim said. “We are heavily dependent on soft funding, one-time funding, or temporary funding.”
While resource centers invest a great amount of time and effort in procuring funding, permanent cuts would detrimentally impact yearly operations. With less funding to hire employees, resource centers would be unable to fully cater to the needs of the student body.
“A permanent cut of five or ten percent would be incredibly detrimental to our area,” Kim said. “Five percent would probably be equivalent to one full time employee.”
Though cuts aren’t certain, students and staff in resource centers will continue to work toward making these spaces accessible to all of campus, regardless of the funding they receive from the university.
“We get told ‘no’ for a lot of requests for funding,” Mossgrave said. “We’ve learned to be resourceful as a result.”
Additional reporting Caly Plowman.
