Cleveland State University’s plan to offer voluntary buyouts to faculty and staff is taking the next step.
The university’s board of trustees will consider the proposal at a newly scheduled special board meeting Tuesday, April 9.
As Signal Cleveland recently reported, Cleveland State President Laura Bloomberg told faculty about the buyout proposal earlier this week. Bloomberg said she plans to ask the board for $9 million to pay for those buyouts. That money would come from a one-time draw from the institution’s reserves, she said at a faculty senate meeting Wednesday, April 3.
The university is dealing with a projected $40 million budget gap. Implementing these voluntary separation incentive programs, she said, will help save more money over time.
The board has to approve both a buyout plan as well as tapping into reserve funding before the university can move forward. Bloomberg said she had “every expectation” trustees would approve the separation plans.
What comes next for Cleveland State
The board’s calendar didn’t originally include this meeting. Cleveland State’s trustees last met March 21. The next full meeting was slated for mid-May.
But at this week’s faculty senate meeting, Bloomberg proposed a timeline that hinged on the board coming together. If the board supports the plan at next week’s meeting, she said the university will “have an announcement that this has been approved immediately after the board meeting.”
Then, an application process could open by the end of the month. Cleveland State has more than 700 full-time employees with 10 or more years of service who would be eligible. Payments would be a one-time lump sum payment equal to their annual salary.
“That gives people time to think about it now, which is why it was so important for me to want to stand before you today and tell you about this,” Bloomberg told faculty.
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