Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Post - Athens, OH
The independent newspaper covering campus and community since 1911.
The Post
Cutler Hall on Ohio University's campus in Athens, Ohio.

Faculty members create collaborative “alternative budget” to prevent future layoffs

An interactive budget proposal created by Ohio University faculty members would allow the university to balance its budget without having to lay off any employees.

The Open Source Alternative Budget is a collaborative budget model that is designed to meet OU’s educational mission and protect the university’s stakeholders without having to lay off employees, according to the document.

The Ohio University chapter of the American Association of University Professors posted the document to its Twitter account Monday, adding, “OU-AAUP applauds this project, a collaboration of OU faculty, and hopes the Board of Trustees will explore these alternative choices that are still available.”

OU-AAUP also posted a link to the alternative budget on its website, along with a link to the official university budget for FY2019-2020 and university employee salary data.

“The project idea … is the result of the work of a group of faculty that have come together to try to propose alternative responses to OU’s financial crisis,” OU-AAUP President Loren Lybarger said in an email.

Though OU-AAUP does not specifically endorse any proposals within the alternative budget, it does support the interactivity the alternative budget allows.

“The Open Source Alternative Budget is a collaborative project that exemplifies the principle of shared governance that is at the heart of the AAUP’s work,” according to its website

This alternative budget could save $65.2 million this year, make a permanent $45.2 million administrative cut and allow for all previously laid-off employees to be hired back if it were to be enacted, according to the document

“We are posting the link to the project and other budget resources on our website because, as an organization, we are committed to the principles of open debate, transparency, and collaboration among faculty, staff, and administrators on matters pertaining to financial decision making,” Lybarger said in an email. 

@E_SkidmoreGS

es320518@ohio.edu  

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2016-2024 The Post, Athens OH