Editorial 3

Budget reductions totaling $629,294 raise the critical eyebrows of several faculty and staff at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Fear of losing employment at the university has pushed faculty to conceive extreme solutions for a problem that could possibly affect over 1,000 full and part-time positions to permanent and temporary employees.

The solution? Oddly enough, faculty and staff members propose their own salary cuts after receiving an email from Chancellor Doug Kristensen warning that budget cuts could include the elimination of faculty and staff positions, a rise in tuition costs and cutting of university programs. Their proposition suggests that instead of eliminating jobs, everyone should take a pay-cut, which would be determined on the income with the cut ranging between .25 percent and 10 percent. The proposal was presented at the Faculty Senate meeting and was the numbers were suggested for discussion purposes and are workable.

Although this is generous of the faculty to recommend, salary cuts would be impractical and almost impossible to implement due to bargaining agreements some faculty members are already under—even if possible, renegotiating individual contracts would be time-consuming and would most likely not amount to the full budget deficit that is necessary. If salaries were cut, quality professors would not have an incentive to join the university faculty, also, because Kearney is a small university it is difficult enough without competitive wages to offer. However, Kearney professors already have the competitive edge because on average they make more than professors at the University of Lincoln. A freeze on these salaries would prevent the recommended salary increase of 2.9 percent that would take place in the next two years, thus saving a considerable amount of money.

Substantial financial problems don’t necessarily call for an apocalyptic solution. The budget reductions demand answers from all sides of the room, not just the front. A combination of eliminating unnecessary or unpopular programs on campus, raising tuition, freezing faculty pay, reducing the number of faculty and staff positions at the university and urging the Unicameral legislature for financial help is an acceptable solution, which would hold everyone involved responsible.