More than a year after budget cuts were first announced to the Dartmouth community, College employees continue to worry about losing their jobs, despite statements from the administration that refute any such plans.
In a recent interview, College Provost Barry Scherr gave an optimistic account of Dartmouth's financial situation, in light of a two-year plan to "bring budget overall within balance." Putting this year into perspective, Scherr said that when compared to last year, the College has made only "modest budget adjustments."
These adjustments have included reorganization in various departments around campus. The bulk of reduction has been concentrated in relocating employees to different positions or taking away vacant positions instead of resorting to layoffs, Scherr said.
But some employees don't seem to be buying the administration's optimistic outlook.
"What bugs me more is that the school is going around saying they are doing great things with the budget," one employee said on the condition of anonymity. According to that same employee, several people have been laid off within Facilities, Operations and Management.
"They are laying off at the minimum five employees that are clearly still necessary," he said.
Rumors about laying off 30 employees first came out during fall 2003 in budget cut announcements for Fiscal Year 2004. The announcements were later refuted in an official report released by Scherr in the spring of 2003.
Scherr could not name the exact number of layoffs this year, but he described them as minimal and refrained from giving an estimate.
Most employees are unwilling to speak up about their concerns because of the possible repercussions of doing so, which might go as far as losing their jobs. Even the ones who have been laid off refuse to speak because they do not exclude the possibility of reapplying for positions in other departments affiliated with the College in the future, the anonymous source said.
Unionization is one of the ways to protect the rights of low-wage employees and to allow them to voice their concerns. Yet, according to Service Employees International Union Local 560 President Earl Sweet, there have been no layoffs -- "only positions left unfilled."
Employees who are not part of the union find it even harder to deal with a possible layoff or release, and Scherr said that some layoffs might be unavoidable.
"We are doing our best to control the budget," Scherr said, adding that each campus department carries a part of the burden. Departments are usually advised to take care of budget cuts by making adjustments in the non-compensation area first.
"This means getting rid of any unnecessary expenditures within the office such as various types of travel costs, for example," Scherr explained. Yet, the allocated budget costs that have to be dissolved by each department differ from one department to anther. While the burden of budget cuts is shared, it is not shared equally. If laying off employees is necessary, low-wage employees will be the first to go, FO&M employees said.
Yet, according to Scherr, the main priority of the college is to preserve its high academic standards and leave academic departments as unscathed by budget cuts as possible.
"We try to protect the academic programs, the financial aid available to students, as well as such facilities such as the library," Scherr said.
The policies, which often dictate budget allocations, are drafted by the budget committee, the Provost and the President of the College. Student input has also been taken into account through the Student Budget Advisory Committee, in the wake of the swim team imbroglio last academic year, when students protested the cutting of the swimming team as a way to defray costs and accommodate budget shortages.
