Budget deficit to affect more campus jobs

By: Jerica Harvey & Sarah Kloepping

Posted: 5/13/09

Chancellor Richard Telfer said May 6 at a budget forum that more staff positions will be eliminated due to the state budget deficit.

"We determined not to go forward with three searches for faculty positions," Telfer said. "I think overall I expect our [instructional] staffing to be about the same … we can't really identify [the positions that will be cut] until we know all the potential ramifications."

Three positions in the advancement department were eliminated for the next fiscal year and will cease to exist after July.

Gov. Jim Doyle announced Thursday the state budget deficit could increase by $1.5 billion.

Doyle plans to take back the 2 percent pay increase for state employees that would have been implemented in June and all state employees will be required to take eight days of furlough during the year.

"Here in Wisconsin, we are facing tougher choices than ever about what level of state services we can sustain at a time when people need them most," Doyle said. "I am fighting to protect the middle class, education, public safety and health care. These are my priorities.

"I don't believe that we as a state will ever move forward unless we protect what is really important."

Telfer said it is still uncertain how Doyle's projections will further affect university jobs.

"Clearly the state is not in a good fiscal position now with an increased deficit of … a billion dollars more than it had been projected," he said. "That will definitely affect the UW System as well as UW-Whitewater, but we do not know the full details."

Telfer said the joint-finance committee decided to take $900,000 in auxiliary funds instead of $1.4 million to apply toward the deficit, which does not include student fees. The committee also decided to apply federal pell grants to increasing tuition for students with families who earn $60,000 a year or less.

"Instead of state money on top of [pell grants] those families will be held harmless," he said. "They are getting less than what we are hoping they would get, but still more than they are getting now. The pell grant will more than cover the tuition increase."

All UW-System chancellors were scheduled to hold a teleconference Tuesday with UW-System President Kevin Reilly and will meet with Doyle Friday to learn more about the projected deficit.

Telfer rescheduled a listening session from Tuesday for 1 p.m. tomorrow in University Center, Room 275A.