This meeting consisted of the Executive Committee members reviewing the draft of the action plan from the President, which outlined the details of the personnel cuts which are needed to balance the FY 96-97 budget and the details of the personnel reorganization. The Executive Committee also discussed the recommendations from the May 16, 1996 College Executive Committee (CEC) meeting, where final budget recommendations were forwarded to the President.

Due to the confidential nature of these personnel discussions, these minutes will not reflect the details of the personnel issues.

CEC recommended approximately $360,000 in general areas of personnel cuts (and several specific recommendations for these personnel cuts). $300,000 of that amount would come from salaries and $60,000 from associated benefits. These personnel cuts were recommended only after CEC had made as many non-personnel cuts as possible. The main reason the budget was so diffcult to balance was based on the earlier CEC recommendation which was approved by the Board in February 1996 regarding the revenue for the FY 96-97 year (no undergraduate tuition increase and level enrollment assumptions).

The Executive Committee members raised their questions and concerns about the plan, and gave comments and advice. Alternative options were discussed, and changes to the plan were recommended.

Some of the personnel changes are involved with changes in the faculty workload, group study size, and the associate faculty model. These issues and their historical context were discussed. In addition, the Trustees raised questions about the Miller & Cook enrollment initiative, student retention issues, employee retention issues, the upcoming off-campus program residencies, Goddard's financial break-even point, potential negative press reports, fundraising issues, the timing of the personnel changes, and the extent of the personnel changes (especially regarding faculty members). Legal advice regarding the personnel issues was also discussed.

The group considered whether to delay personnel changes until they could be discussed with the full Board of Trustees. The group discussed issues regarding the Board's fiduciary responsibility for the College while needing to maintain appropriate boundaries about which decisions do not belong with the Board. The Executive Committee agreed to continue the discussion about the action plan early next week.