Cal considers sports budget cuts, layoffs to close big deficit

By Nanette Asimov

UC Berkeley has been overspending by millions of dollars a year since 2013, a precarious course that prompted Chancellor Nicholas Dirks to announce Wednesday the possibility of layoffs and cuts to intercollegiate athletics as part of sweeping changes needed to balance the budget.

The campus will also receive at least $200 million in loans and debt restructuring from University of California headquarters and will spend the next several months working with UC officials, faculty and the campus’ fundraising foundation to identify cuts and brainstorm ways to attract more cash.

“This is a moment not just to stabilize our finances, but also to consider our future as a leading institution of higher education,” Dirks said in a statement sent Wednesday to faculty, staff and students. He said UC Berkeley is operating with a “substantial and growing structural deficit, one that we cannot long sustain.”

UC Berkeley is projecting a deficit of $150 million this fiscal year — about 6 percent of its operating budget of $2.5 billion. The campus overspent by $109 million last year and by $12 million in the 2013-14 fiscal year, according to campus officials. In previous years, despite the economic recession, Berkeley enjoyed surpluses.

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[Source]: SF Gate