Fifty-five people are losing their jobs at John A Logan College this Spring, as the school's Board of Trustees approved a layoff plan late Wednesday night in Carterville.
Ahead of the vote, dozens of students, faculty, and staff pleaded with the board to look for other options. Student Leslie Hancock says she won't accept the school's plan to hire temporary, part-time instructors to teach the classes she wants to take.
"Sadly, I will not be coming back to John A Logan, if I will not be in classes with instructors with equal qualifications and references. I will gladly take my grade point average and my money to a school that can give me that opportunity."
Trustee Bill Alstat says the school had to make tough decisions, with very few choices available.
"We're out of money. And if things don't get better, we're looking at a 50% reduction for our '17 year, and if we don't get that little bit of money, we'll be looking at nine million dollars next spring."
Administrators say they remain hopeful the layoffs will be temporary, but Hancock says she's worried about her future.
"We're laying off these well-educated, professional instructors, and replacing them with part-time faculty who may or may not have had intensive education or any rigorous interview process. It will drastically affect the students."
But administrators say their hands are tied. Trustee Chair Don Brewer says without $10 million in state funding this year, the options were few - and not easy to decide.
"We operate on a $30 million budget, and a third of that was supposed to be forthcoming from the state of Illinois. It is impossible for any institution to operate on the same level as it has in the past, when you lose one-third of your revenue."
Administrators and trustees say the cuts are due to the state's budget impasse. They'll save four-million dollars with the layoffs, but may have to make more changes to come up with additional funding.
The faculty and staff members will be let go at the end of the Spring semester. Administrators say they hope the layoffs will be temporary, but fear that without a state budget, more cuts may be on the horizon.
