The president of a group that represents North Dakota state employees said he thinks the number of potential job cuts in the North Dakota University System is too high.
The system says as many as 490 positions could be eliminated – based on the two budget allotments and Governor Dalrymple’s call for a 90 percent budget in the upcoming two year period. Of those, 190 are vacant, 125 could be employees retiring early or leaving on their own, 70 could mean contract reductions – and 105 could be laid off.
University System officials say those numbers are part of a working document, and would not necessarily be the final numbers.
Nick Archuleta of North Dakota United said the Board of Higher Education needs to weigh whether these proposed job cuts could mean irreparable damage to the University System.
"We compete for students across the region, across the country and internationally," Archuleta said in an interview. "If we are going to be making cuts just for the sake of making cuts, without an eye towards the future, that's the wrong policy."
Archuleta said the work remains after the jobs go away.
"What you'll end up with are people becoming more and more stressed to get the work done, because there are fewer of them," Archuleta said. "That's not good for the morale of your workforce. That's not good for the product."
Archuleta said there’s probably no way to avoid job cuts in the current economic environment. But he said the system needs to explore other ways of finding savings.
