Wright State’s budget, job cuts coming today

Wright State University is expected to announce more details of impending layoffs and budget cuts on Friday.

The information will become public during a 9 a.m. board of trustees finance committee meeting at 2455 Presidential Drive.

Here’s what you need to know about what is coming Friday morning from Wright State:

WHO IS GETTING LAID OFF?

Details have been scant on exactly who will be laid off, though trustees and administrators have said that faculty will take the smallest hit and administration and staff will face the biggest cuts.

RELATED: Expected WSU layoffs could be smaller due to open positions

A lot of the cuts may come directly from University Hall, where the president and other top officials have offices on campus, vice chairman of the board Doug Fecher said.

The school has said it could layoff between 80 and 120 employees to save $6 million to $8 million. But, the number of layoffs may have drifted to the lower end of that scale, mostly thanks to a large number of already vacant positions at the school.

WILL LAYOFFS BE MADE FRIDAY?

No. While the board of trustees finance committee will get more specifics on budget cuts tomorrow, they will still have to vote to approve the layoffs and financial measures.

RELATED: WSU will help its laid off employees find a new jobs

That vote is expected to come during a June 8 budget workshop, officials have said. If approved on June 8, employees can expect to receive a layoff notice beginning the week of June 12.

WHY IS THERE A PROTEST FRIDAY?

Last week, WSU announced it may eliminate a policy that allows non-union classified staff who are laid off to bump someone with less seniority from a job.

The potential elimination of this policy, more commonly referred to as “bumping rights” will not be up for a vote tomorrow but trustees expect staff members to protest at the meeting.

RELATED: WSU considers eliminating ‘bumping rights’ for non-union staff

Over the past few months, Wright State has retooled some of its policies that will kick in as layoffs begin in mid-June. In March the university announced it would cut maximum notice from one year down to 24 weeks for unclassified staff being laid off.

WHERE WILL OTHER CUTS BE MADE?

We should learn more on Friday about where other savings will be imposed at Wright State.

Wright State has already implemented a number of preliminary measures such as eliminating overnight travel, catering and cell phone reimbursements.

The university has also asked the Boonshoft School of Medicine and the Lake Campus to give back a combine $4 million. The school of medicine and Lake Campus operate on budgets separate from the main university’s.

RELATED: WSU will look to save millions by laying off up to 120 employees

Around 30 to 50 currently empty positions could save the school another $3 million to $5 million. WSU’s voluntary retirement incentive retirement program is expected to net around $6 million in savings from next year’s budget while attrition will save the university around $2 million, according to the report.

WSU could also cut between $7 million and $10 million from the university’s operations. The men’s golf team and one other sport could also be on the chopping block.

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