April 29, 2009
by Daniel Goldberg and Gregory Childress: The Herald-Sun

CHAPEL HILL -- The announcement of pay cuts and furloughs for state employees by Gov. Beverly Perdue on Tuesday drew both resignation and disappointment.

A panel convened by the UNC Chapel Hill's Faculty Council in January seemed to believe that furloughs were the best option for budget savings among a slate of unappealing choices, said Joseph Templeton, chair of the council.

"I assume the hope is that the difficulty that results form the loss of income from furloughs saves some jobs," Templeton said Tuesday.

UNC President Erskine Bowles told the Board of Governors in January that he would ask the General Assembly for permission to develop a furlough program. On Tuesday, UNC General Administration was waiting for more information from the state regarding the governor's furlough plan.

"As directed by the governor's executive order, we'll be looking to the Office of State Budget and Management and the Office of State Personnel for further guidance and clarification," Joni Worthington, General Administration's vice president for communications, wrote in an e-mail. "Until we have that information, we can't say with any specificity how the program will be implemented across the university."

However the pay cuts and furloughs are implemented, the impact on state employees could be dramatic.

"It's just going to be devastating to the university community," said Tommy Griffin, chairman of the UNC Employee Forum, which represents non-faculty workers at the university. He estimated that half of his constituents already work a second job. The cut in pay will force university employees to take even more time away from their families to pay the bills, he said.

"We're all going to have to hang tough and work together," Griffin said. "We're just going to have to go further to find that extra nickel."

At N.C. Central University, Chancellor Charlie Nelms also spoke of unappealing options.

"We at North Carolina Central University recognize that the governor has difficult choices and that our staff cannot remain immune from the consequences of the budget shortfall," said Nelms. "Operationally, this reduction is unlikely to have an impact but personally, it will be significant, particularly for the more than 48 percent of our workforce who make less than $40,000."

Durham Technical Community College President Bill Ingram said the college will study the governor's executive order closely and consult with legal counsel to determine what it means for the college's employees.

"What we've received is the executive order, which is pretty broad based in its scope and answers some very basic questions," Ingram said.

Superintendents from both of Orange County's public school districts spent most of Tuesday preparing to make budget presentations to the county commissioners, leaving little time for them to review Perdue's order.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Superintendent Neil Pedersen said he believes the governor knows what she's doing, but furloughs and salary cuts are "certainly not good news for any of the state employees."

"The governor has historically been a strong supporter of state employees," Pedersen said. "So I have to assume that by taking this measure, the state is in worse financial situation than we thought. She wouldn't do something like this if it weren't necessary. It's tough timing for everybody, and it really adds to the budget woes we're already experiencing."

Orange County Schools spokesman Michael Gilbert said Superintendent Patrick Rhodes was aware of the governor's decision and would be evaluating what impact it might have on the district.

Donald Barringer, president of the Durham Association of Educators, said he has received numerous e-mails, phone calls, text messages and office visits after the news about the pay cut reached local educators. "They were asking how the pay cut is going to impact them and how it's going to affect their take home pay," Barringer said.

Barringer said the .05 percent cut would translate into an approximately $150 salary reduction for a new teacher earning $30,000.

He added that many educators already have part-time jobs to make ends meet so the cut in pay will only make life more difficult. "If they're bringing home $150 less, that means a bill somewhere is going to go unpaid or be late," Barringer said.

The upside to the pay cut, Barringer said, is that it will save 1,444 jobs throughout the state's public schools. "We're fortunate we don't have to send out pink slips," he said.