Latest news with #ABridgetotheFuture
CBS News
15-04-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Judge issues restraining order against Sonoma State cuts
A Sonoma County judge has issued a temporary restraining order against Sonoma State University over recent cuts aimed at addressing a budget shortfall. The order gives the university until May 1 to show cause for their planned cuts to academic programs . In the meantime, the university can not take any action on the cuts until the preliminary hearing. The order did not address the planned closure of the athletic programs. Back in January, Sonoma State administrators announced that the school was facing a $23.9 million deficit in the 2025-26 fiscal year. To make up for shortfall they said they would stop funding all athletic programs, implement layoffs, and eliminate academic departments and majors. Tuesday's ruling is part of a lawsuit brought by seven student athletes against the school. The athletes claim school officials knew they would have to make cuts but recruited athletes anyway. In their complaint the athletes say the university defrauded them by "pulling the rug out from under them." CBS News Bay Area has reached out to the school for comment on Tuesday's ruling and haven't received a response. Earlier this month the school released what they are calling "A Bridge to the Future," . In it the school claims they have lost 38% of student enrollment since 2015, which has led to a "significant loss" of revenue. The document presents six goals with the following metrics: Sonoma State has until April 21 to file opposition to the temporary restraining order.
CBS News
09-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Sonoma State officials outline recovery plan amid massive budget deficit and cuts
After a $23.9 million budget deficit led Sonoma State University to implement campuswide cuts, university officials on Tuesday laid out their recovery plan. The 9-page document, titled "A Bridge to the Future," noted that Sonoma State has lost 38% of student enrollment since 2015, which has led to a "significant loss" of revenue. The document presents six goals with the following metrics: "We estimate that the expenditure cost of the above steps to build Sonoma State's Bridge tot he Future will be about $10 million, some of which can be one-time funding," the document reads. The document also states the university's investment decisions will "keep (students) in the North Bay to reduce the region's 'brain drain' and create a 'brain gain.'" CBS News Bay Area requested an interview with the university regarding its new direction. In response, a university spokesperson sent a link to the "Bridge to the Future" document. Earlier this year, the university announced $24 million in budget cuts , which included layoffs, department closures, and the termination of its entire sports program. Students and faculty responded to the news with legal action , protests and rallies , including an appearance by Memphis Grizzlies star Jaylen Wells on campus after the NBA All-Star Weekend. Save Seawolves Athletics , a group of current and former Sonoma State student-athletes and coaches, responded to the university's future plans by releasing a statement, titled "A Bridge to Nowhere." "'Bridge to the Future' is not a strategy for survival. It is a strategy for replacement - one that discards real students, staff, and academic communities today for hypothetical gains that may never materialize," the group stated. Zya, a Sonoma State University psychology major who is about to graduate, said the university's financial upheaval significantly impacted her student experience. "Not exactly wasted, but it could've been spent probably at a school that values me as a student a little bit more," she said on Tuesday. "As a student, it's like how am I supposed to value my education when the people above me telling me to already don't?" Izzy, a Sonoma State University student majoring in Liberal Studies, isn't quite sure what her educational future will be. "As of what I know, my major's still intact. I heard that my major's going to be merged, so I don't totally know what that looks like. A lot of my teachers have been laid off and it's really heartbreaking to see. Just cause these teachers have poured so much into my major and program," Izzy said. "At the beginning of the semester, I was feeling so deflated and so saturated with sadness with all the uncertainty. Even though there's so much uncertainty, there's still community here. And there's still community that exists and persists."
