Boise State University is temporarily furloughing employees as a result of the financial fallout from COVID-19, according to an email sent to employees from university President Marlene Tromp.
"In the wake of two years of budget cuts and significant underfunding relative to our student population, we have — like every organization in our nation and across the world — had to face the consequences of the global pandemic," Tromp wrote in her email.
Tromp said the furloughs are an attempt to protect jobs and recoup some of the losses from the COVID-19 pandemic. Boise State is the largest public university in Idaho.
All staff and 12-month faculty who make $40,000 or more per year will be required to take furlough days between May 3 and July 31 of this year. The number of days to be taken without pay ranges from four to 10 days, based on annual salary. Dr. Tromp’s senior leadership team will take at least two weeks of furlough days and Dr. Tromp herself said she will take more.
Boise State has provided millions of dollars of prorated refunds to students for housing, dining and parking fees that were unable to be used due to the early campus evacuation, according to the email. This, along with the cancellation of revenue-generating events, has cost the university nearly $10 million. That does not include the two-year budget cut the school was already facing.
In addition to the required unpaid leave, Boise State employees can also take voluntary furlough days. Dr. Tromp’s email stated another round of furloughs could be possible later in the year.
"As we all know, these financial realities are compounded by the fact that the near future remains uncertain as the state, the nation, and our students and their families continue to respond to the crisis," Tromp's email said.
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