Georgia Perimeter College laid off 9 percent of its employees Monday as the fast-growing commuter school struggles to close what could be a $25 million deficit next year.
Tenure and tenure-track faculty were exempt from layoffs, but students will still feel the effect. Class sizes are expected to increase and the college may not offer as many class sections for each course.
Job cuts were unavoidable because personnel costs comprise more than 90 percent of the college’s budget, according to a campus-wide e-mail from Interim President Rob Watts, who replaced former President Anthony Tricoli after the financial problems emerged in May.
The layoffs affected 215 full-time employees and 67 part-time workers. The school employed about 3,110 people.
Georgia Perimeter will also close three recently opened institutes -- or non-academic centers -- which Watts said fail to reflect the two-year college’s core teaching mission.
“It will not be easy,” Watts said, for the college to operate with fewer people. “We will all need to be as flexible and patient as possible while we make the adjustments. Our goal is for these staff reductions to have the smallest possible effect on students.”
Georgia Perimeter is the state’s third-largest public college, enrolling nearly 27,000 students across metro Atlanta. It uses lower tuition and flexible schedules to target students otherwise would not be able to attend college. Georgia Perimeter charges $1,235 for 15 credit hours, vs. $3,641 at Georgia State University.
News of the financial problems has spread while students are on summer break. Some sought information from faculty and advisors through Facebook and Twitter.
“I’m worried about our classes getting bigger and us having less choices about what courses to take,” said John Posso, 19, a computer science major. “We just don’t know who is still going to be on campus and who is going to be gone.”
Watts and Chancellor Hank Huckaby have warned of staff cuts for more than a month. But the number of positions cut is about 100 more than what Watts predicted three weeks ago. The college did not respond to questions as to why it changed.
The mood on campus was a mix of concern and shock as people learned whether they still had a job. Several carried boxes to their cars.
Dede Weber, chairwoman of the college’s Staff Senate, learned her job was eliminated as she prepared to discuss the layoffs with a reporter. She didn’t think it appropriate to comment since she no longer worked at the college.
Georgia Perimeter has been overspending for the past four years, according to previous audits and other analysis The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reviewed. The college used its reserves to close financial holes in the past, but those funds are too depleted to help another budget budget.
The college is on track to end the current fiscal year June 30 with a shortfall of nearly $16 million. The deficit will worsen to $25 million when the new fiscal year starts July 1 because the college must close the deficit and repay what it borrows from other schools to balance its books. Next year’s budget is $195.7 million, a nearly $10 million increase from this year’s budget.
System leaders haven’t explained why they did not know about the college’s financial problems earlier. Huckaby said he’s considering requiring colleges to notify the central office if they must dip into their reserves and implementing monthly cash flow monitoring.
Meanwhile, auditors from the state and University System of Georgia are analyzing the college’s books and looking into the school’s internal controls and how it recorded and communicated financial information.
The Attorney General’s Office is also reviewing the situation because Tricoli, the former president, alleged “fraudulent behavior by key financial personnel.”
Tricoli left the college May 7 and has since hired an attorney and declined media interviews.
The State Board of Regents appointed Watts as interim president a couple of days later. While Watts has worked at various campuses and at the central office, he spent almost half his career at Georgia Perimeter. He had been interim president before Tricoli’s hiring.
Job cuts are just part of Watts’ eight-part plan to cut spending. Other efforts, such as increasing faculty teaching loads and requiring some administrators to teach, are moving forward, spokeswoman Beverly James said.
The layoffs were effective Monday. Part-time employees will be on administrative leave for two weeks and full-time employees will be on administrative leave until Aug. 17, James said.
Some expected Watts would close the three institutes -- Atlanta Center for Civic Engagement and Service Learning, Southern Academy for Literary Arts and Scholarly Research, and the Southeastern Institute for Sustainable Living. When Tricoli opened the centers, many staff questioned how the school could afford them.
It’s unclear yet if the cutbacks will affect enrollment, which has risen by nearly 35 percent since fall 2006. Tuition makes up a large portion of a college’s revenue. Should enrollment drop, Watts has said the college may furlough faculty and staff.
Spending cuts at Georgia Perimeter
The metro Atlanta college faces a $25 million budget shortfall next year, and Monday’s layoffs are predicted to save about $10.7 million. Other changes include:
-- Reduce operating expenses by $5.9 million. This includes cutting advertising, eliminating most travel, scaling back convocation and similar events and delaying computer purchases and network upgrades.
-- Reallocate $3.25 million in new money toward deficit. This money was intended for new labs at the Alpharetta campus and to expand online learning and military outreach programs. It also includes money from a previously planned tuition increase that goes into effect this fall.
-- Eliminate vacant positions and continue the hiring freeze to save $1.5 million.
-- Reduce spending on part-time staff to save $2.1 million. The college can’t eliminate all part-time staff because the tutoring center and other areas depend on them.
-- Increase teaching loads to save about $1 million. Faculty will teach more classes and some administrators will be expected to teach.
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