OCC belt-tightening to include transfers, layoffs
By ERIK LARSEN • STAFF WRITER • December 6, 2010
TOMS RIVER — Ocean County College unveiled a financial restructuring plan Monday in the wake of its declaration last month that a fiscal emergency exists and more than a dozen staffers would lose their jobs. The emergency, a legal distinction, gives the college administration of President Jon H. Larson greater authority over its 456 permanent employees, most of whom are members of the union locals of the New Jersey Education Association or the American Federation of Teachers. The college administration has been feuding with those unions in contract negotiations and now over the cause of the current crisis: a projected $1.5 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2012, which begins on July 1 and ends on June 30, 2012. Under the plan, 35 employees are affected, with 22 to be reassigned or transferred on campus, and the remaining 13 to be laid off June 30, 2011. Had an emergency not been declared, the administration would have had to seek approval from its unions before such transfers or reassignments, an impossible hurdle given the combative attitude of union leaders, Larson contends. Chris Berzinski, a field representative for the NJEA, said at the college Board of Trustees meeting Monday, "There is, I have to tell you honestly, a lack of credibility on the part of the leadership of this college and its relations with its faculty and staff. "Doesn't make me happy to come here and say that. I'm not saying it for an advantage at the bargaining table, although we're at an impasse on a number of contracts." Most of the layoffs are in administration or represent administrative support roles. No faculty members are to be laid off. The restructuring plan also calls for cuts in overtime and utilities expenses, improved operational efficiencies, better future marketing and not replacing retiring employees, said Sara Winchester, college vice president of finance. "These are unprecedented times," Larson said at the meeting. "Our approach to the issues that we face has been to examine every single opportunity to reduce costs, to keep tuition at its present levels and to identify prospects for enrollment growth." The cause for the fiscal emergency comes from a combination of factors that became a full-blown crisis after two developments: The Ocean County Board of Freeholders informed the college it was cutting $500,000 in aid next year, and enrollment dropped almost a percentage point this fall when it had been expected to increase 3.5 percent. About 10,600 students are enrolled at OCC.
http://www.app.com/article/20101206/NEWS/12060345/OCC-belt-tightening-to-include-transfers-layoffs
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