Cal Poly could lose $24 million in proposed Newsom budget — and layoffs are possible

Cal Poly could see “extremely detrimental” funding cuts under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s preliminary budget proposal, university president Jeffrey Armstrong announced in a campus memo Thursday.

The governor’s proposal outlines significant reductions to higher education — including a $375 million cut to the California State University system. The proposal would also defer budget increases — previously promised to support enrollment growth — until the 2027-28 fiscal year.

Under the plan, Cal Poly stands to lose $24.2 million — around 4.7% of its budget, according to university spokesperson Keegan Koberl.

In his memo, Armstrong decried Newsom’s proposal, saying the planned cuts would likely impact student services, course selections, operations and staffing, as well as metrics like enrollment and graduation rates.

Ultimately, he said, the cuts would would reduce the CSU’s contributions to the state’s economy.

Armstrong said Cal Poly and CSU leaders were voicing their concerns to lawmakers, hoping to make change while the budget is still preliminary. Newsom will present a revised budget in May to likely be approved by the end of June.

“We need everyone to pull together in one voice to reverse the cuts and provide funding for the CSU to grow and support our state’s economy,” Armstrong wrote.

District 17 state Sen. John Laird, who heads up the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education, is also advocating for a reversal of the cuts to higher education, his office told The Tribune on Wednesday.

“Balancing the state’s budget on disproportionate cuts to the state’s public institutions of higher education is both unfair and short-sighted,” Laird, D-Santa Cruz, said. “I am committed to working with my colleagues to reverse these cuts in the final budget and ensure that our students, faculty and staff receive the support they need.”

Cal Poly employee Erin Foote, an officer in the CSU Employee Union, said Armstrong’s call to band together was “disingenuous at best.”

While management hiring has surged at Cal Poly over the last decade, those jobs are not likely to be on the chopping block, she said.

“Armstrong cannot claim he is doing everything he can when he abandons his bully pulpit and fails to issue a call to action — that every student, staff, faculty member, parent, student supporter and community member reach out to their elected representatives and demand that the state legislature and governor’s office keep promise of the budget compact and eliminate the proposed cut in general funding support,” Foote wrote to The Tribune.

Cal Poly prepares for potential budget cuts

In the meantime, the university is taking precautions.

The proposed cuts would come at a “difficult time” for Cal Poly, which has a temporary, planned budget deficit on the books to assist with enrollment growth, according to Armstrong.

According to the memo, Cal Poly will establish an “Office of Effectiveness and Efficiency” to help the university find cost savings and avoid layoffs. But if Newsom’s plan is approved without changes, staff reductions aren’t off the table, Armstrong said.

“I realize that this possibility is unsettling, and I pledge that we are doing all we can to avoid potential layoffs,” Armstrong wrote.

Leaders were also directed to evaluate current job listings for necessity. Armstrong said the university would use its reserve funding strategically.

Despite the financial concerns, Armstrong said, the university will continue to prioritize enrollment growth.

“Cal Poly graduates are in great demand and growth is key to our future,” he said. “In fact, growth is now more important than ever.”

This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 10:30 AM.

Sadie Dittenber

The Tribune

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Sadie Dittenber writes about education for The Tribune and is a California Local News Fellow through the UC Berkeley School of Journalism. Dittenber graduated from The College of Idaho with a degree in international political economy.