Major Cuts At Northland College
Millions To Be Scaled Back Affecting Sports And All Employees
Ashland, Wis.
In a letter sent out to Northland College students and staff by the board of trustees will hit the pocket books of many.
The school is making some big budget cuts totaling around 3.5 million dollars. Many areas of the school will see some type of cuts, affecting some athletes and 100% of the schools employees.
As of June 2nd 6 staff positions will be eliminated. In early July, 9 full time employees will have their hours reduced, and faculty pay will be cut by 7.5 percent across the board
President of Northland College Michael Miller,who gave himself a 12.5 percent pay cut continues to remain optimistic about the future.
“We’re making certain that were strong and viable. We’re a small private college, its challenging for all of us right now.
Students will also feel the impact. The college plans to eliminate both the girls and boys golf and cross country teams as a collegiate sport. The student run radio station will also be shut down, and fees for courses will be going up. This isn’t the first time students have had to overcome adversity in recent years.
“A couple times in my four years here we’ve had things happen where the community just needs to come together and really support each other and we’ve been able to say we’ve got each other’s backs. I think it really does reflect on that principal. We’re a family, were the Northland family and when we need to come together we will,” says Senior at Northland, Stuart Schmidt.
As negative as it all sounds the schools president tells Fox 21 the cuts have been put in place to ensure the future of the college.
“We’re trying to be responsible in being as resilient as we can against anything that might come along,” Miller says.
Students are doing their part to support those affected by the cuts.
“We know that it will come down to the support that we get from the staff and the support we get as students. If we feel that our education or future students education might be impacted we want to make sure that the longevity of Northland is still there,” Schmidt says.
President Miller did say that all though the cuts are set, hopefully it will be a temporary fix to their budget problems. The college will be celebrating its 125th anniversary next school year.
