Broward College lays off its 14 counselors.
Enrollment, budget cuts related to the virus reason behind move
Faced with dwindling enrollment and coronavirus-related budget cuts, Broward College laid off all 14 of its counselors Tuesday.
These “faculty counselor” positions advise students on academic, job and life skills, but offer no mental health services, Provost Marielena DeSanctis told the college’s three-member Board of Trustees during a virtual meeting held on Zoom. The college has a contract with Henderson Behavioral Health for mental health services.
The cuts are saving the college about $1.4 million.
The 14 counselors, who make about $82,710 each before benefits, cost the college about $106,000 each with benefits, but have the same job duties and caseloads as 46 other employees known as academic advisers, who make about $55,000 each, officials said.
DeSanctis said many counselor positions have been converted to academic adviser positions over the years as employees have resigned or retired.
“To fully address the employee compensation equity issue, we either need to pay the academic advisers more or recommend the reduction in force,” DeSanctis said.
The college is in the midst of budget-cutting and can’t give advisers big pay raises right now, officials said. Projected enrollment for summer is down 15.7% compared to last year.
The college was already expecting budget cuts before the coronavirus pandemic, which caused the college to close its campuses and offer only online classes at least through the summer. The crisis has also caused some students to withdraw or pause their education and others to seek more financial aid, officials said.
Officials are also bracing for potentially big cuts in state funding due to the downturn in the economy.
The college is expected to receive about $27 million in stimulus dollars to help offset those reductions.
The counselors are veteran employees, having worked for the college from 15 to 28 years, according to the Broward College chapter of United Faculty of Florida. Union President Teresa Hodge said the timing was awful, given the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am still at a loss how a great institution like Broward College would abruptly disengage the professionals most equipped to help students at this critical time when they are seeking comfort, direction, and answers,” Hodge said.
Trustee Zachariah “Reggie”
Zachariah Jr., the sole dissenting vote, questioned whether the college could negotiate lower salaries.
“They have been here forever. They know the system. They know everything that goes on” Zachariah said. “The question is whether it justifies paying them double for that difference in experience.”
DeSanctis said the union contract doesn’t allow for large salary cuts. She said the college plans to add more adviser positions and the employees can apply for those or other jobs. Their last day as counselors will be in mid-August.
The other two trustees, Gloria Fernandez and Matthew Caldwell, voted in favor of the layoffs.
“This is a difficult decision that a lot of businesses are having to make right now,” Caldwell said.