SACRAMENTO, CA – Assemblymember Portantino, Chairman of the Assembly Higher Education Committee and one of three Assemblymembers to request an audit of CSU’s compensation policies and practices, issued the following statement to the California State Auditor Report entitled “California State University: It Needs to Strengthen Its Oversight and Establish Stricter Policies for Compensating Current and Former Employees.”

“The deliberate and thorough report released today by the State Auditor confirms what many of us have long suspected: the CSU Board of Trustees, by approving exorbitant executive compensation expenditures during a statewide budget crisis, is not focusing on it's core mission: educating our children.  The report cites numerous examples of how the self-imposed changes, a result of intense media scrutiny and public pressure, are woefully inadequate to ensure precious public resources are well spent.  We need statutory taxpayer protections against future abuses, like those contained in AB 1413.  What's even more startling to me is that many had asked CSU to delay it's recent actions until this report was completed and the trustees chose to charge ahead with tremendous pay raises.  This action coupled with the Governor's veto of AB 1413 make the next year even more critical if we are going to have proper controls and better decision making from this body.  I hope the Governor's office will join with the legislature in bringing forth these good government reforms and not continue to sanction the CSU's actions.”

Portantino added, “the report was especially critical of the methodology used to justify the spike in executive compensation, which has increased 25% over five years while student fees have increased 92% over the same period.  The report states that CSU’s privately-contracted study on compensation parity only considers executive salaries, not the additional perks such as moving and relocation allowances, benefits, automobiles, and even ‘entertainment expenses’ which all told add up to millions of dollars.”

“Just today it was reported the Governor has ordered state agencies to slash their budgets by 10% in anticipation of a $10 billion budget shortfall next year.  Yet the Board of Trustees approved an 11.8% executive salary increase in September with the intention of approving an additional 40% increase over the next few years.  We simply cannot trust the CSU Board of Trustees to reform itself, which is why the reforms contained in AB 1413 are so crucial.  I hope to work with the Board, the Governor, and other interested parties to ensure meaningful reforms are enacted, not the self-imposed, window dressing revisions that the non-partisan state auditor agrees are inadequate.  There are many of us in the legislature that want to fight for additional resources to educate our children.  The CSU's actions make that extremely difficult.  Most Californians are tightening their belts while the CSU is increasing top executive pay at alarming and inappropriate rates.  It's just wrong."

Assemblymember Anthony Portantino was elected to serve the 44th Assembly District in November of 2006. The district encompasses Altadena, Duarte, La Canada Flintridge, Pasadena, South Pasadena and Temple City.  It also includes portions of Arcadia, Monrovia, Mayflower Village and the Northeast Los Angeles neighborhoods of Glassell Park, Hermon, Highland Park, Mount Washington and Eagle Rock.