SIU Carbondale employees will see a boost in their paychecks soon - after the university's trustees approved a two-percent salary increase at their meeting in Alton.
Chancellor Austin Lane told trustees the pay raise a start.
"It won't get us done in terms of where we need to be, compared to out in the market. But if you look at where we've gone the last several years without. So this will at least - for a second year now - give us an opportunity to grow that."
But many employees say leaders need to do more. Jeremy Noelle is a union rep with AFSCME. He says his members point to recent contract extensions for administrators and want more support.
"And just to put that into perspective alone, the housing stipend is more than probably 60% of my members make. They're struggling. They're struggling every day."
Trustees and administrators say they want to continue boosting pay across the system. They say growth in enrollment and continued financial support from the state are critical to those plans.
BUDGET:
SIU Trustees formally approved the system's 2023 budget during their meeting this week (Thursday) in Alton.
The financial plan totals more than 950-million dollars across the system. Board Chair Phil Gilbert says he's thankful to have a boost in funding from the state this year.
"We're very fortunate in that regard, compared with other states who are going the other way. We've been blessed in that respect. So we're not in the position that we were four, five, six years ago - when we not only didn't get an increase, we got a cut."
Higher Education in Illinois received a five percent increase in state funding this year. SIU leaders say they hope that will continue in years to come.
