Far-Reaching Cut Approved at Cal State Long Beach : Education: State budget problems will mean sharp reductions in classes and the elimination of some longstanding programs at the 34,000-student campus.

LONG BEACH —  In what he described as the most difficult financial task the university has ever undertaken, Cal State Long Beach President Curtis L. McCray has approved a sweeping $13.2-million budget cut that will sharply reduce classes and eliminate some longstanding programs at the 34,000-student campus.

In addition to reducing each academic department’s budget by 7% and cutting support services by 10%, the president approved budget cuts of 15% for the university’s Center for International Education, which oversees foreign students on campus; 33% for the university television program, which produces cable television shows and teleconferences, and 41% for radio station KLON, a local jazz music station operated by the university.

McCray announced that he also has formed committees to examine a recommendation that the university’s football program and the University Art Museum be gradually phased out.

“Distributing reductions in resources may be the most thankless job in the world--and yet, perhaps, the most important as a means of avoiding chaos,” McCray wrote this week in a four-page letter outlining the cuts.

As a whole, the California State University system--which includes Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton and 18 other campuses--has been reeling from a projected $400-million shortfall in state funding.

The 25,000-student Fullerton campus, for example, plans to slash $14.2 million from its proposed budget of $127.4 million, in part by offering 10% fewer courses, leaving more than 23 faculty positions vacant, dropping as many as 200 of 700 contract lecturers, cutting library hours and reducing nonessential student health services.

Most of the reductions at Long Beach, where a third of the students, faculty and alumni are from Orange County, had been recommended by a campus task force established by McCray.

“The magnitude of the state’s current and cumulative fiscal problems,” McCray wrote, “have made planning for the 1991-92 budget year . . . not only the most difficult financial planning task this university has ever undertaken but also the most problematic.”

Earlier this month, McCray announced the layoffs of 506 full- and part-time lecturers and 249 staff members, which will result in elimination of about 1,000 classes this fall. McCray said he expects the university’s enrollment to drop by about 3,000 students, many of whom will leave simply because they won’t be able to get the classes they want.

Contacted by telephone in Kansas City where he was attending an educational conference, McCray said the situation could become even worse if the state’s bleak financial condition worsens. “It could be more dramatic than we’re describing,” he said. “It (may not be) over yet.”

McCray said the current financial problem stems from the governor’s proposed budget for 1991-92. It reflects significant losses in state revenue because of the decline in the economy and the increased costs of services such as prisons and welfare for a burgeoning population. Those factors have combined to produce a projected $14.3-billion deficit should spending rates remain at their current levels.

The $13.2-million reduction in CSULB’s $155-million budget was ordered by the chancellor’s office of the state university system. Earlier this year, McCray set up the task force of administrators, faculty, students and other university staff members to recommend specific areas in which the cuts would be made.

Although McCray accepted the bulk of the group’s recommendations, he made some minor changes in some areas. For instance, instead of accepting a proposed 13% budget cut for the university’s Center for Public Policy, which offers graduate courses in government administration, he directed campus Provost Karl Anatol to examine the program before determining a specific funding reduction.

McCray also ordered a smaller budget cut than the task force had recommended for the University Art Museum. Although the future of the museum is still being weighed, McCray approved a 15% budget reduction rather than the 25% suggested by the task force. The 18-year-old museum is the only accredited art museum in the CSU system.

The president said he expected the committees considering the future of the museum and of football to report back to him within a few months. In the meantime, he said, all other budget cuts will be put into effect when the new fiscal year begins Monday.

Although no layoff notices have yet been sent out, McCray said he expects that process to begin within the next week as well.

Campus reaction to the president’s pronouncement was predictably glum. “It’s going to hurt us,” said Diana Sanchez, president of the Associated Students. “The quality of education here has been going down for the last three years, and I expect that to continue.”

Times staff writer Kristina Lindgren contributed to this report from Orange County.