CSU shuts out students, bumps exec salaries

Here we go again. In a seemingly never-ending financial saga, the California State University system is out to piss off students again.

It was announced Tuesday that university trustees have granted a 10 percent pay increase to incoming presidents at the Fullerton and East Bay campuses.

Their PR manager must be on vacation, because this announcement followed Monday’s news that 23 campuses planned to freeze enrollment next spring due to the system’s quickly dwindling budget.

If we break the numbers down, this means that incoming CSU Fullerton President Mildred Garcia is set for a $324,500 salary. According to NBC Bay Area, her predecessor made $295,000. Then you have CSU East Bay President Leroy Morishita with a salary of $303,660, which is 10 percent above what the previous president made.

And don’t forget the extra monies for a housing and car allowance that aren’t included in the final figures.

Depending on Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax proposal in November, the CSU system is planning to stop all new student enrollment for Spring 2013. That means, barring a handful of community college transfers, there would be no new admissions next Spring.

So while tens of thousands of students are being rejected from CSU’s because there is no room or money to cover them, CSU presidents are seeing even bigger paychecks than ever.

With all the money coming from the same pot, it’s a wonder why they keep throwing money at high-paid executives while the students bear the brunt of the budget cuts.