Discussion on furloughs, budget cuts continues

The state Board of Regents announced in August the implementation of six mandatory furlough days, or unpaid days off, for most University System of Georgia employees as part of a $115 million plan to slash budgets.

Of the $115 million, furloughs along with health-care plan changes are expected to save the University System $43.5 million.

In addition, a $150 student fee could be imposed in the spring semester of 2010, in an effort to further deal with the cuts. However, the student fee increase will only be implemented if budget cuts reach 8 percent.

An average tenured professor in the system will be losing about 3 percent of their income, or about $2,000 this year, as a result of the furloughs. The furloughs are expected to save GCSU $990,000, according to the reduction plan.

Exempted from the furloughs are employees making less than $23,660 annually or those on H1-B visas.

The remainder of cuts will come in the form of layoffs, new employee furloughs, internal reorganizations, energy conservation and the elimination of low-enrollment programs, according to the University System.

“We have to remember right now how important it is to nurture our community,” GCSU President Dorothy Leland said last Thursday during a speech in front of faculty and staff. “We need to be bold. The same old things aren’t going to work.”

Employees’ annual contracts state that up to 10 furlough days may be utilized throughout the school year.

Furloughs are seen as a temporary fix for what could be a long-term problem. Leland said all budget cuts are permanent.

The University System has made it clear that employees cannot work on a declared furlough day.

Professors are not allowed to hold class on furlough days nor are classes to be canceled due to a furlough, according to the University System. They may, however, distribute personal learning assignments in lieu of instruction.

Annual and sick leave cannot be substituted for furlough days.

Due to employment laws, upper administration officials will not be allowed to take more furlough days to compensate salaried employees.

Budget breakdown

There are four categories in which the University System apportions its funds. Funding within the categories is nontransferable.

Any funding a school receives from the University System, tuition or student fees is specifically earmarked for one of the four budget categories. The education and general budget category is composed of funding from the University System, as well as money from student tuition. Salaries are one area that is funded by the education and general budget.

Because this funding is so strictly divided, the cuts to employee salaries cannot be compensated for by using funds from other categories, such as facility development and student activities.

Money trickles down

Each year state revenue funds the University System and it, in turn, funds GCSU. State revenue is generated from sales taxes, as well as other income streams.

Due to a decline in state revenue, as a result of the struggling economy, the University System has seen its funding reduced, which means GCSU has been awarded less money than in past years.

Due to a 9 percent decline in state revenue since July 1, the portion of GCSU’s budget that pays salaries – the education and general budget – has been cut. This has resulted in furloughs, health-care plan changes and the possibility of additional student fees, as the University System tries to find ways to cope with the cuts.

Construction, auxiliary services and student activities’s funding comes from a different section of the budget that, according to the University System, may not be used for salaries.

Stimulus money

The federal stimulus package, enacted July 1, facilitated GCSU with the means to make soft-money purchases.

Stimulus money supplements nearly 5 percent of GCSU’s budget and is only guaranteed through fiscal year 2012, and can only be used on one-time expenditures such as building repairs and technological improvements. Hirings, permanent positions and salaries cannot be funded with this money.

Unanswered questions

Many of the budget reduction plan details have not been finalized. University System employees must take at least three furlough days by the end of the calendar year and the remainder by the end of the fiscal year, June 2010. But, it is written in contracts that up to 10 furlough days may be utilized. Leland has implemented a Strategic Resource Management Task Force which will review budget reduction plans.

It welcomes input from the GCSU community, including students, she said. For more information on the budget situation, or to leave comments, visit http://info.gcsu.edu/intranet/president/budget.

The University System asked each college to plan for possible cuts of 4 percent, 6 percent and 8 percent. Currently, GCSU is running its budget based on a 6 percent reduction in funding. Should the cuts increase to 8 percent, one of the ways the school may try to save money is by charging students a $150 student fee, starting in the spring semester of 2010.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 4 2009. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry