OSU officials: No furloughs needed for now

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma State employees will not be furloughed as way to meet a mandated 1.75 percent budget reduction, officials said Wednesday. <br><br>Rumors of a spring break furlough or

Thursday, November 28th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma State employees will not be furloughed as way to meet a mandated 1.75 percent budget reduction, officials said Wednesday.

Rumors of a spring break furlough or a graduated furlough plan had circulated on the campus, which has seen more than $9 million in state funding slashed.

``I can't predict the future,'' OSU President James Halligan said. ``But I'm pleased to say we can squeeze by this latest cut without furloughing faculty and staff members.''

OSU has trimmed more than 160 open positions and has put off hiring in others. Officials also have radically reduced travel budgets and equipment budgets.

``We've worked hard to shelter the student experience from budget cuts, but taking money from the families of our employees should be an absolute last resort,'' Halligan said.

As a way to save money, OSU has announced a longer-than-normal campus closing over the Christmas break. But officials have told students they may see increases in tuition and fees, as well as larger classes.

An OSU committee of vice presidents and deans is meeting to discuss strategic re-engineering as a way to reduce the OSU budget permanently, officials said.