Osgood: Commonwealth University must cut $17 million
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BLOOMSBURG -- Commonwealth University must cut $17 million -- the equivalent of 175 jobs-- from its budget next year in order to balance its budget, the president told faculty and staff Sept. 14.
In a virtual campus meeting, President Jeff Osgood laid out his plans to cut 75 faculty jobs and 100 staff jobs by June 30, 2027.
The mandate for a balanced budget was one of a few handed down in July by Christopher Fiorentino, the chancellor of the State System of Higher Education, Osgood said. He also required the university to provide the system's central office biweekly budget updates and get permission before any new hires.
Hoping to cut $17 million through attrition and retirements is no longer a realistic business plan, he said.
Starting Sept. 15, administrators, deans and department heads began auditing every job position to determine which could be cut.
That means people will lose their jobs, and those who remain will be expected to take on more work or teach new classes, Osgood said.
'Out of cash'
The State System of Higher Education, which recently gave the school $38 million in additional funds to pay off debts, is requiring the school it formed in 2022 to operate in the black by June 30, 2027.
Commonwealth University has not balanced a budget since it was formed. Osgood said without job cuts, it never will.
"The provost and vice presidents will work with deans and department chairs to see the impacts on course availability, workload and identifying people," Osgood said.
The university expects to outline what jobs can be cut by Oct. 30, then spend the following two months working on those plans to avoid as many cuts as possible through retirements, reducing scholarships, examining new ways to offer classes and choosing programs for cuts.
The university expects to give final notification to those who will be laid off by mid-January, he said.
"No matter what work force reductions we identify, everyone will stay employed through June 30," Osgood said.
'First in, last out'
Osgood said contractually, the school will be using the "first in, last out" method by first laying off its newest hires.
But it also plans to consider the flexibility of some to teach a variety of classes instead of those who teach only one discipline.
Likewise, staff positions like secretaries and grounds workers will be reviewed to see which are able to take on additional tasks.
Faculty and coach union contracts prevent the administration from targeting any one campus for cuts, Osgood said. But the staff unions do not have the same protections, and Commonwealth University could make deeper cuts at a single campus, he said.
The school will review every job proposed for elimination and consider what consequences its loss would have in the classroom or on campus.
"We have a requirement to provide rationale for each choice we are making," he said.
Osgood said this layoff is not meant to be the first in a series. "We will do it all at once."
Those who do not lose their jobs "can be confident your employment is secure," he said.
'Please retire'
Osgood is holding out hope the layoffs announced Monday may never come.
If 50 eligible professors retire, it should save enough money to eliminate the need for laying off any other faculty members, he said.
Each retiree would remove a larger chunk of salary from the university's payroll than a newly hired faculty member.
Some 21% of the school's faculty are retirement eligible and at the top of the pay scale. Out of the 431 current faculty members, 130 are eligible to retire; 70 of those are age 62 or older.
Osgood did not have the same data available for the staff, but said every person who retires at the top of the pay scale should scratch one job position off the list.
Meanwhile, the university hopes to make retirement more attractive by offering enhanced sick-day payouts and informing eligible professors about their options.
"We would really like people who are eligible to retire, to please retire," he said.
By Oct. 30, any faculty and staff in danger of losing their jobs will receive a letter informing them they're being considered for the process union contracts call "retrenchment."
By mid-January, the school expects to send out official layoff letters informing the people whose jobs are ending their last day will be June 30, 2027.
Rachel Shaffer, president of the Bloomsburg chapter of professional staff union SCUPA called Osgood's announcement "disappointing."
"We were just talking about the 65 positions that we didn't fill last year and now we have to do another 100. We keep cutting and cutting when we haven't been filling anything." She said a recent survey of staff found half already feel overworked. Calls to representatives for professors' union APSCUF and staff union AFSCME were not immediately returned.
"Obviously the union is not happy as to where we are," said Erik Hawrelak, Bloomsburg APSCUF chapter president. "It is a long process."
Hawrelak said retirement eligible faculty members may be holding out for incentives, like the extended sick time payout offered in 2024.
"It was presented to us, and at this point we are considering," he said.
State System
Meanwhile, Osgood said the State System's new mandates on Commonwealth: requiring permission to hire, biweekly financial updates and a balanced budget for next school year are meant to make sure the university's current model is sustainable while also enabling it to rebuild its reserves.
Prior to the merger, Bloomsburg University boasted about $80 million in savings, while Lock Haven University had $50 million.
There is nothing left, he said.
Osgood said the university will present a revised comprehensive plan to the State System Board of Governors at its next meeting, Oct. 8. It will include a projected balanced budget for the 2027-2028 school year.
"We know it is difficult planning for yourselves and your families, and we owe you clear information and really honest answers about what remains unknown," Osgood said.
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M.J. Mahon can be reached at 570-218-7536 or mj.mahon@pressenterprise.net.