USM reports show the money to pay classified staff has shifted from state-appropriated funds to grants, gifts and fundraisers. The use of state funds to pay classified employees has been halved in the last three years. The money allotted by the state — along with tuition revenues — has decreased university-wide, forcing the university to decide between cutting positions or finding new ways to back the paychecks of classified staff.
Classified employees are those paid hourly wages as opposed to salaries, and can be found in many departments throughout the university; including administration, facilities management and the library. More than 60 classified positions have been cut since 2004.
According to Jim Bradley, president of the classified staff union (ASCUM, the Associated Clerical, Office, Laboratory and Technical Staff of the University of Maine), while many salaries are now being paid for through grants, gifts and fundraisers, the university still pays a portion of their benefits, which can be up to 43 percent of their salary.
USM’s budget crisis went public last fall. The administration took an $8.2 million loan from the UMaine system to cover the current hole and anticipated deficits, but a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers audit suggests that USM is not fully aware of the exact figure of its debt. It is in the wake of this crisis that even more employees have been left bracing themselves for lay-offs.
While classified positions have been diminishing for five years, union president Bradley says in the future, classified positions may not be the ones at risk. “My hope is that those position eliminations will target administration personnel, as USM has a bloated administrative structure,” Bradley said. Many of those personnel are professional staff, who often have higher-paid, salaried positions.
“Should USM not stand by their promise to keep layoffs of the classified staff to a minimum, and do not include top administrators in position eliminations,?ACSUM is prepared to launch a major PR campaign to draw attention to the situation and put pressure on USM to do the right thing” Bradley said.
The recent audit cites the lack of previous budgets to account for certain inevitable changes in paying their employees, such as employee raises or cost-of-living increases that have occurred due to the rising cost of housing and heating oil.
This has a huge effect on classified employees, who tend to be the least paid on campus while trying to earn a living wage in one of Maine’s most expensive cities.
While the average yearly pay of USM’s classified employees is $26,554 a year, classified staff in specific departments – for example, the division of university outreach – have average salaries as low as $16,575 a year.
Often not mentioned are the severence and sabbatical packages the school still pays many former presidents and deans and faculty, which cost the UMaine System $3.9 million each year.
Despite these figures, Donna Somma, the director of budget, said she believes the university is starting to move in the right direction toward mending their financial crisis. When asked how she felt about the university’s actions, Somma responded, “it’s not just about budget cuts and hiring freezes, we need to consider how to reorganize and look at the big picture, and how to become more efficient and streamlined.”
Bradley said he believes the university is taking much needed measures by finally assessing their programs and structures.
“They must finally decide what it is USM wants to focus on and stick to those areas,” said Bradly. “We can’t do it all.? We shouldn’t do it all.? I’m cautiously optimistic that when this is all over, USM will be a stronger institution.”
As decisions are made, we will try to keep the community informed via our website, www.usmfreepress.org. This is the last printed issue of the semester. We also print once in the summer.