Wright State University’s Board of Trustees gave a budget presentation on Friday morning and released a three-year plan to deal with large enrollment decreases and losses from the COVID-19 shutdown. WYSO’s Jason Reynolds reports.
The university’s current projections have enrollment declining by 22 percent next year, and the trustees are expecting a $32 million budget shortfall.
“The next two years are going to be deficit years and we’re going to need to draw from reserves with a focus of getting to 2023 and a position of stability,” Executive Vice President Gregory Sample told the board.
The three-year plan he shared involves pulling over $50 million from reserves in the next two years.
It also involves lowering annual payroll expenses by more than $30 million over a three year period. Those type of job and salary cuts have already begun.
Last week, Wright State also announced that it would be eliminating 50 positions at its campus, and that 35 faculty members have accepted retirement incentives to leave their posts.
And tuition for new students will be going up 4 percent in the fall.
