The University of Idaho Argonaut

‘I don’t think there is any satisfaction in taking a furlough, regardless of salary level’

Staff and faculty are mixed about the furlough plan released last week, which introduced a graduated plan for employees taking unpaid time off.

Mike Loehring, chair of the Staff Affairs board at the University of Idaho, said he had a great amount of input.

The graduated furlough schedule is set to save $1.2 million. The 2,600 employees affected make up faculty, staff and administration at UI. Employees who make less than $22,360 annually do not have to participate in furloughs or salary reductions.

Keith Ickes, executive director of planning and budget, answered media questions related to the furloughs and how they work at a recent news conference.

“We have exempted some individuals from the furlough who are making wages below $22,360,” Ickes said. “This is consistent with the desire of many of our employees who felt that we had to take the steps to protect our lesser-paid employees.”

How the furloughs are taken depends entirely on salary and status. Jack Miller, chair of the faculty senate, said the amount of furlough time is reasonable.

“The prohibition against class cancellation really limits faculty options since their other jobs, such as research and service, have limited flexibility too,” Miller said. “In that sense, faculty really bear the brunt of the furloughs. I suspect that there will be many faculty and administrators who simply work without taking any time off.”

Loehring said Staff Affairs had a similar viewpoint, in wanting the furlough time to be as flexible as possible.

“Staff Affairs never took a formal position on canceling classes.” Loehring said. “However, canceling classes could mean closing the university, so I don’t believe Staff Affairs would support such a strategy at this time.”