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Morehead State to Furlough Faculty, Staff for 5 days

MOREHEAD, Ky. ― Morehead State University President Wayne Andrews says faculty and staff at the eastern Kentucky school will be furloughed without pay March 21-25 due to economic woes.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports Andrews sent a campus-wide email Thursday announcing the move, which will occur on spring break. He blamed declining enrollment and proposed state budget cuts. Andrews said Morehead must cut $4.5 million in costs by June 30 due to a $2.6 million tuition shortfall and due to Gov. Matt Bevin’s proposal to cut 4.5 percent of the state’s appropriation to the school, which amounts to $1.95 million.

“We have carefully examined all current-year expenditure budgets and have identified reductions to address the $2.6 million tuition revenue shortfall,” Andrews wrote. “However, addressing the $1.95 million cut in current-year state appropriation is a more significant challenge given that the cut was announced late in this fiscal year when most of our discretionary budget resources have been spent or committed.”

The state budget will go through changes in the House and Senate before it is approved, but Bevin has previously said he would sign an executive order to implement higher-education cuts for the current fiscal year. He is also proposing a 9 percent cut for universities over the next two years.

Regardless of what happens with the state budget, Andrews said officials will need to reprioritize for next fiscal year.

Morehead will hold public forums on its budget for the upcoming year during the first week of April.

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