BSU employees notified of possible contract nonrenewal

Boise State sent out nonrenewal letters last week to employees who are contracted on an annual basis.

According to Boise State President Bob Kustra, the letters were sent to about 850 employees as a precaution to make sure the university meets contract obligations and notifies employees 90 days before a contract change.

What the letters mean is that Boise State may dramatically downsize its workforce to adapt to the changes of the current economic environment, though a final decision is yet to be made.

Kustra said that Boise State has taken steps in reducing costs since the economic downturn first impacted the campus. Kustra said he may use other methods, such as furloughs (temporary layoffs) and work reductions.

Kustra said the letters don’t necessarily mean that certain employees will lose their jobs.

In an e-mail sent to affected employees, Kustra attributed the uncertainty surrounding the Idaho State Board of Education’s final decision on Boise State’s tuition, fees and operating budget for the next fiscal year for the possibility of not rehiring some employees.

According to Boise State’s 2002 revision of “Professional Staff Employees – Definition and Employment Contracts,” a contract employee is defined as “those personnel who are employed with employment contracts filling permanent administrative positions,” and are “not designated official faculty, adjunctive faculty, or visiting professor on their signed contracts.”

The State Board of Education will meet April 6 to set tuition and fees for the next year and April 16 to set operating budgets.

You can read the entire text of Kustra’s letter here on arbiteronline.com.

BENJAMIN MACK
News Journalist

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