The University of Maine will be entering the next fiscal year trying to shave seven percent off of every college and department’s budget. These cuts are being made in an attempt to make up for an estimated 18 million dollar shortfall, according to a Jan. 20 message from the Office of the President. While these changes apply to every department, in an interview, Residence Life confirmed that they will be cutting nine lead Resident Assistant (RA) positions as part of the push to address deficit concerns.
“Revenue gains through recruitment, retention and optimizing our offerings, as well as expense reductions, are critical to addressing the structural budget deficit that we still project to be nearly $18 million in the coming fiscal year,” wrote President Joan Ferrini-Mundy.
Samantha Warren, Chief External & Governmental Affairs Officer for the University of Maine system (UMS) provided a statement to the Maine Campus on the status of these budget cuts, providing insight into what will be happening next year with the budget.
Warren shared that the exact nature of the cuts will depend on the specific department or college, but stressed that the reduction goal is the same across all of the departments and colleges. In addition to cuts across departments, university administration will also be cut to reduce expenses.
Warren also commented on the possibility of certain staff positions being cut or planned raises canceled.
“The university must increase compensation consistent with its existing collective bargaining agreements, and it would be premature to discuss any position changes at this time as decisions have not yet been made,” said Warren.
Departments were asked to submit a draft budget in December, but upon requesting a copy of the budgets, Warren said that those proposals are not available to the public at this time.
Andra Bowen, the UMaine Director of Residence Life, said in a statement to the Maine Campus that the majority of the Residence Life budget was found in salary. According to Bowen, “a seven percent cut is not small for us when it comes to people.”
Bowen has said that Residence Life will be cutting the nine Lead Residence Assistants (RA) positions and that she has “redistributed the work to the graduate assistants who oversee the areas so that we can still hire RAs to fill the positions.”
University of Maine Student Government, Inc. (UMSG) President Keegan Tripp commented on the cuts within Residence Life.
“It was unfortunate to hear that the Lead RA positions would be eliminated, as I know many students benefited from the room and board package, the added structure those roles provided and the centralization of RA voices within Residence Life,” said Tripp.
Tripp says that UMSG had been looking into the creation of a new representative board that would serve as “a consistent channel of communication and advocacy, helping bridge both longstanding and emerging connections between RAs, on-campus residents, Residence Life and Student Government.”
According to Warren, a budget proposal will be submitted in March by the President’s Cabinet and the Finance Office.
While the Board of Trustees will be having the budget vote in May, meetings available to the public on the topic will begin earlier. As budget materials are officially proposed, Warren says they will start to become available through the Budget Materials page of the UMaine Website.
