After a year of no salary increases, the state Board of Higher Education is considering allowing the college and university presidents to give raises – if they have the money from tuition, room and board, and savings.
Because the 2017 Legislature did not give state employees a general raise – due to budget constraints – the Board adopted a policy for fiscal 2018 that no raises will be given to higher education employees. However, the Board will be asked to change that policy for fiscal 2019.
But there was a word of caution from the staff representative to the Board.
"I'm glad to see some salary increases are being proposed here," Andy Wakeford, from Lake Region State College in Devils Lake, told the Board’s Budget and Finance Committee. "But I'm hopeful there aren't any further cuts to staff on the campuses."
Wakeford said there have already been enough positions lost in higher education.
"We need to factor this in, so that if there are pay increases, we don't have to cut somebody else," Wakeford said.
The full Board will look at the proposal at its next meeting.
