GODDARD STUDENTS PROTEST POSSIBLE FACULTY LAYOFFS
PLAINFIELD -- Students at Goddard College staged demonstration this morning to protest possible layoffs at the school.
Becky Burke, public relations director for Goddard, said a group of students were up all night making signs to protest possible staff cuts.
The students are upset that some programs and positions at the school might be cut in next year's budget, Richard Greene, the president of the college, said today.
The committee is meeting this week to put together the budget, but hasn't made any final decisions yet, Greene said.
Greene said the committee is trying to figure out what to do about its budget because Goddard has decided not to raise tuition next year, and is forecasting no increase in enrollment.
"That creates a very tight budget, so were trying to hold our expenses down," Greene said.
Greene acknowledge that there is a chance that some positions might be cut, but he said school officials were looking at every alternative to avoid layoffs.
Goddard currently has about 15 employees and about 50 full-time and part-time faculty.
Greene said the college is financially sound.
"We've had five years of balanced budgets. Our credit is good in the community. We've really turn things around," he said.
The budget committee is expected to make some decisions possibly by as early as the middle of next week, Greene said.
Some students are discussing the possibility of staging a hunger strike to protest any cuts.
Greene said he went around a campus this morning talking with the students to find out exactly what their concerns are.
Goddard has about 150 students on its camp this, but its total enrollment is around 500 students.
