Thursday, January 14, 2010

csu, state budget, my future

The governor's January budget proposal stab in the dark ficción calls for a $300 million increase in funding for the CSU, and a further 10% increase in student fees (which is another $350 million or so in revenue, or, in other words, blood drained from our students). This, and other news, has shifted my CSU employment-threat status from "doomed" to "precarious." The governor (in his last year) also said that the state has to stop cutting higher education funding. He claimed it was because he recognizes the significance of education for the state's future, but I think his staffer admitted the truth to the newz media: the student protests got to them.

I'm so frickin' conflicted, it ain't funny. What should I do if one of these jobs comes in, but the likelihood of my current job remaining becomes more certain?

I love my stupid university. I adore our students, I adore the classes I teach, and I adore raising hell there when the opportunity arises. Although I don't love Turlock, I do love fruit, possibly more than is altogether healthy or sane.

I've lived in California almost 12 years, and I miss Pittsburgh and snow (one of which I might possibly get in a move). I've never had job security in any meaningful sense - i.e., tenure - and won't ever get it here. Besides which, the governor's budget proposal pipe dream lame attempt at generating a mass hypnotic spell ficción is certainly not going to come to pass.

Plus, at its current pace, my stupid university will be a broken shell of its former self within 2 years.

And ultimately, I have to face the fact that as long as I am in this position, not only will I be vulnerable to losing my job practically any time, but I will continue to have permanently degraded working conditions that I don't deserve.

It's all rather academic at this point, though, since at the moment I don't have a job offer to contemplate.

1 comment:

Bobo the Wandering Pallbearer said...

If you get the chance/choice, I think you ought to hang around in order to try and keep them from breaking your beautiful, stupid university. At least for the next two years.