California’s Sacramento — As the University of California and California State University systems deal with a combined $17.4 billion deferred maintenance backlog, students and faculty at California’s public universities must deal with dangerous and deteriorating campus conditions.
State assistance has been erratic, aggravating issues in old academic facilities and jeopardising the integrity of public higher education throughout the state despite repeated requests for long-term remedies. With labs closing because of rodent damage, students suffering from triple-digit heat in classrooms, and expensive repairs being put off year after year, the issue is no longer one of maintenance but rather how California intends to maintain the standard and security of its public higher education system.
“We are now affecting people’s capacity to attend classes, visit their offices, and conduct research,” stated Matt Gudorf, UC Irvine’s assistant vice chancellor of facilities. “It is a major problem since it not only costs facilities more money, but it also disrupts the university’s entire goal. “Early versions of Proposition 2, a school bond that was approved in 2024, featured UC and CSU; however, in order to make the proposal smaller, they were eliminated before the final version. Heather Hanson, a UC spokesman, stated in an email that “UC will be investigating additional solutions to handle our construction, renewal, and deferred maintenance needs going ahead.”
Voters approved $3.1 billion for campus infrastructure improvements at CSU, UC, and community colleges in 2006, the last successful higher education bond. In 2020, Proposition 13, a $15 billion bond that would have given UC and CSU $2 billion each, was defeated by voters. “We need to go back and properly explain to the public why we should invest in higher education facilities and why this [bond] is vital,” Alvarez stated.
A fresh attempt is being made to identify long-term fixes. In order to raise money for infrastructure repairs in both systems, Assembly Bill 48, filed by Assemblymember David Alvarez, may put a bond item on the ballot in 2026. The purpose of the measure, according to Alvarez, is to demonstrate to voters the benefits of reinvesting in higher education facilities, even though it does not yet designate a specific number.
Revenue-generating facilities, including parking lots and dorms, have money set aside for future improvements. Academic buildings don’t, which results in growing expenses without a specific source of income to cover them.
According to Shawn Holland, CSU’s chief of facilities operations, previous funding procedures did not take future renewal into consideration. “They never thought to ask, ‘How much would it cost to renovate that building twenty years later?'” Holland stated. Although present funding models do not take into consideration future replacements of key assets, experts suggest proactive maintenance might help lower long-term expenditures. Clint Lord, associate vice chancellor of facilities at UC Davis, stated that “if you do not undertake the right preventive maintenance, you decrease the life cycle of these things, so then they become deferred maintenance.”
According to Steve Relyea, CSU’s executive vice chancellor and chief financial officer, inflation has further increased the cost of repairs, causing the backlog to grow by around $400 million a year at CSU alone. At a board meeting in September, CSU Trustee Jack McGrory stated, “We have got to figure out some new plan, some alternative for this because our buildings are in pretty horrible shape.”
The UC and CSU systems were able to finance about $2.9 billion in renovations in 2013 and 2014 thanks to state legislation that let them to issue bonds to finance major projects. This strategy, however, restricts the systems’ ability to adapt to changing requirements by requiring debt repayment from general operating budgets.
The majority of the $689 million and $784 million that the state gave UC and CSU for deferred maintenance from 2015 to 2023 came from a one-time allocation in the 2021–2022 budget. In contrast, the California Department of Finance has not included any funding for infrastructure or maintenance in Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget for 2025–2026.
The lack of steady-state financing has made matters worse, said Mark Zakhour, associate vice president of CSU Long Beach building services. “For a few years now, we have not received any state cash linked to designated facilities deferred maintenance, which has made important issues worse as our campus ages,” he added.
Patten stated, “We will be working indoors in outside jackets, caps, and gloves.” She clarified that during the warmer months, her $2 million worth of temperature-sensitive research equipment becomes useless. Additionally, rats have destroyed vital cabling, causing the facility to halt operations and depriving Patten of her research funds.
Issues with climate control are not the only backlog. Professor Carolynn Patten’s neurobiology lab at UC Davis is housed in Hickey Gymnasium. The HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems in an 86-year-old building routinely malfunction. According to Patten, indoor temperatures frequently drop below acceptable ranges during the winter and become dangerously high during the summer.
Under such circumstances, some students, like Frederick Lisitsa, have just decided not to go to in-person classes. “I do not continue in that course. “I am going to go home, but I will finish the homework,” she remarked.
According to fourth-year philosophy major Faith Van Hoven, “it can be extremely, really hot when it gets to be 110 [degrees] here, and there is not always adjustments that are made for students and for the teachers.” She talked of using a tiny, ineffective personal fan to keep herself cool. Students are directly and progressively impacted. Due to malfunctioning air conditioning, students at CSU Fresno, where about 62% of the campus buildings are older than 60, have found it difficult to focus in class during intense heat.
The CSU system has 23 campuses and 43 million square feet of academic space, compared to UC’s 10 campuses and 63 million square feet. The fact that most of these structures are older than thirty years adds to the growing demand for upkeep. The frequency and cost of fixing infrastructure failures, such as leaking roofs, malfunctioning electrical systems, and damaged plumbing, have increased. As of the 2023–2024 academic year, the University of California system estimated deferred maintenance needs of $9.1 billion, while the California State University system reported $8.3 billion, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO). These numbers are indicative of long-standing problems brought on by deteriorating infrastructure and rising repair expenditures that are surpassing available funds.
