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News from |
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Michael
D. Chason Director
of Public Relations ABAC 30, 2802 Moore Hwy |
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For
IMMEDIATE Release March 1,
2010
Budget Cut May Cost 34 Jobs at ABAC
TIFTON—If
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is forced to absorb its share of a
proposed $300 million budget cut for the University System of Georgia for the
2010-11 fiscal year, at least 34 people could lose their jobs at ABAC.
ABAC
President David Bridges said University System Chancellor Erroll
B. Davis asked him to submit a plan detailing how ABAC would slash $2.4 million
from its budget beginning July 1. If it
comes about, this budget loss will be on top of a $1.7 million ABAC budget
shortfall already called for in Governor Sonny Perdue’s budget recommendation.
Bridges
said the ABAC plan was submitted to the USG on Saturday at noon. The entire University System plan was passed
on to legislators Monday afternoon. Now
it’s a waiting game as to how much, if any, of the ABAC cut will be called for
when the actual budget-making process is over. Bridges said the layoffs will
affect faculty, staff, and administrators.
“It
has been a gut wrenching experience for me,” Bridges said. “My first priority was to stay true to the
academic mission of the institution.
Even with that in mind, we could lose up to nine faculty members if we
have to come up with the entire budget cut.”
A
total of 34 people at ABAC could lose their jobs if the entire cut is
enacted. Bridges said that figure
represents 10 per cent of the employees.
Every phase of campus life from faculty members to top level
administrators will feel the impact.
Off-campus
learning sites in Moultrie and downtown Tifton will be closed. ABAC has served students in Colquitt County
since 1947. Closing ABAC on the Square will cost the college over 200 students
per semester.
“ABAC’s
presence in Moultrie dates back to 1947 when ABAC professors taught classes at
Spence Field for returning GI’s,” Bridges said.
“Colquitt County sends more students to ABAC than any other county in
the state except for Tift County. It is
also home to more ABAC alumni than any other county except for Tift County.”
Entire
programs such as Continuing Education and the Arts Connection will cease to
exist if ABAC is forced to absorb the entire cut. The ABAC Post Office will be closed, and
positions will be lost in Advancement and Alumni.
To
deal with previous budget cuts during the past two years, the college has left
unfilled positions vacant, tightened travel allowances, reduced heating and
cooling costs, demanded six furlough days for every faculty and staff member,
and even dropped its men’s and women’s basketball programs.
“We really need a lot of folks to stand up for
higher education in this state,” Bridges said.
“Higher education is a great investment in the future of Georgia.”
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