Prepare to take furlough days, Dr. Beheruz Sethna, president of the University of West Georgia, told the staff gathered for an open budget meeting on campus Wednesday.

“I have been on record as being opposed to the concept of furloughs,” Sethna said. “However, some of our staff colleagues themselves have told me that furloughs are bad, but not the worst thing. The worst thing is losing a job. And so, I have accepted that, and I have become an advocate for that.”

While the state struggles through a deep recession, and the state budget has endured cut after cut, the University System of Georgia has resisted furloughs and layoffs as a means to save money and has taken a lot of heat from legislators for that decision. That was because of efficient planning, not an overabundance of funds, Sethna said.

Of the 16 member states in the Southern Regional Educational Board, Georgia ranks in the bottom quarter at $8,400 spent on each student, he said. In addition, UWG receives 25 to 30 percent less funding than the average for similar institutions.

“Clearly, we are very, very efficient,” Sethna said. “If even being so efficient we can avoid layoffs or at least minimize them, then we are great managers, not bad managers like some would have us believe.”

Despite the fact that 70 percent to 80 percent of its budget is payroll, UWG managed to cut nearly 12 percent of its budget last year without cutting people or instituting furlough days. However, this year, the system and UWG will almost certainly have to institute at least three of them as the governor mandates an additional 5 percent cut and three furlough days for all state workers.

“Most other state agencies had furloughs already and we didn’t,” Sethna said. “(Chancellor Erroll Davis) faced a lot of heat in the General Assembly. I don’t think – I’m just speaking my opinion – I don’t think it is politically feasible for our chancellor to go to another meeting of the General Assembly and say we haven’t taken any furlough days.”

In May, the Board of Regents approved a plan that would allow furlough days for all employees should the need arise.

“All of our contracts and appointment letters include the phrase up to 10 furlough days,” Sethna said.

How those furlough days will be implemented is still up in the air. Although teachers are being told to take furlough days, classroom time can’t be touched. In Sethna’s opinion, the most efficient way to implement them would be to close the university for extra days during breaks such as the fall, spring or holiday breaks. That would save other employees from having to cover for other employees who are on their furlough days. It would also provide utility savings.

“There are two benefits in terms of making lemonade out of a huge lemon,” Sethna said. “One is a benefit to the university to be closed for a couple of days and therefore we get a little more money. The other one is a benefit for the individual who can actually get, combined with their summer break holiday kind of thing, a four day or five day break.”

The downside is that all the lost pay is bundled into one month, which could be a hardship for some lower-paid employees, he said. Closing the campus is also complicated by the number of students living on campus, including international students who can’t just go home for a few days during the year.

The university system is also looking into instituting a minimum level of income before an employee would be subject to taking a furlough day. Right now, the system is looking at $23,660 as that minimum. Employees who make less than that would be exempt.

The university is also being judicious about filling positions as they come open. Hiring now has to go through the vice president level.

“I have said to the vice presidents that they need to use extreme caution,” he said. “When we’re talking about furloughs, when we’re talking about potential layoffs that we want to avoid, does it still make sense?”

There will have to be some hiring, as the university is growing. The student body is increasing. The university is adding facilities such as the Greek Village and the Athletic Complex and that means more maintenance.

This will be painful, but the university is growing in all the right ways, he said.