The University of Idaho Argonaut

Nellis’ plan reduces deficit with limited impact on students and faculty

The University of Idaho is in a bad position. The state has less money to work with, meaning the university, along with the rest of the state government, has to make every dollar stretch a bit further.

To accomplish this, UI President Duane Nellis has announced a new furlough policy for most faculty members. Under the plan, most employees making over $22,500 a year will be required to take some unpaid vacation time. The amount of time depends on the salary of the individual. Those at the bottom of the pay scale will have to take four hours off of work, with the amount increasing along with pay. Nellis will take the most off — six days, which equates to a $7,730.88 cut in salary.

The entire plan should shave $1.2 million off of the budget — a significant part of the deficit.

These are difficult times. Nobody wants to see a smaller paycheck, but as Nellis pointed out in a recent e-mail to faculty and staff, the alternative is significant layoffs. Certainly UI employees can take a moderate furlough in these tough times to avoid seeing their colleagues and perhaps themselves unemployed. Other universities around the country are implementing multiple-day furloughs without consideration for low salaries.

A few hours off in the span of a year will not throw anyone into bankruptcy, and it will save many jobs at UI. Let’s hope this will have a minimum impact on students and employees and a maximum impact on the budget.

Send letters to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it