KINGSVILLE, Texas — Texas A&M University - Kingsville cut 68 positions due to a $9 million budget shortfall, 34 of which were filled. Students told KRIS 6 they’re concerned about the impact on campus services and support.
"A friend of mine actually had me to give me information about this because, like, hey, did you hear about this? and I was like, no, what's going on that over 30 faculty have actually been laid off," Dominique Hernandez, a senior at TAMUK, said.
Hernandez expressed her worry to neighborhood news reporter Stephanie Molina about the impact on remaining staff and student services.
"With people being let go, more and more work are being packed onto the people who are main, which means less people get help," Hernandez said.
Fellow senior, Andrew Salinas, shares similar worries about how the cuts might affect campus operations.
"So now that they let the people go, I don't know if that'll be affecting the overall impact of how quickly I can get an answer to certain things that require immediate attention," Salinas said.
Salinas also expressed concern for the employees who lost their jobs.
"Cause there are some people that won't be able to have a stable source of income...between now and then when the fall semester starts, so they're kind of just gonna be in limbo until things get sorted out," Salinas said.
According to the university, the removal of the 34 filled positions and 34 unfilled positions is their way of “implementing a targeted realignment of resources to meet strategic priorities” after having a $9 million budget shortfall. With these cuts, they say they will continue investing and remain focused on minimizing the impact on student support and instruction.
"This rightsizing has enabled us to submit a balanced budget for the first time in seven years, ensuring that we continue to serve our mission by prioritizing access, enrollment, retention, completion, and career placement for the students we support," Dr. Robert Vela Jr., President of TAMUK stated.
Students like Hernandez hope the university can maintain its quality of education and support services.
"Every semester we get an influx of students and not always they stay, sometimes they do transfer out, which, you know, there's different reasons, but I don't want them to transfer out just because we are not the school that can help them," Hernandez said.
University officials said that these changes primarily impact IT and campus operations departments and will not affect classroom instruction. Employees who were notified of their termination will continue receiving benefits for the next 45 days.
Below is the full statement from TAMUK:
"As part of Texas A&M-Kingsville's ongoing commitment to responsible financial stewardship and long-term sustainability, the University is implementing a targeted realignment of resources to meet strategic priorities.
While we have seen encouraging enrollment growth over the last two years, enrollment declines in prior years, rising costs and $6M in cuts to federal grants contribute to a budget shortfall. Additionally, a significant decline in international graduate enrollment in the College of Engineering has added $3M to the existing budget gap, totaling $9M. Our strategic realignment enables us to continue investing and remain focused on minimizing the impact on student support services and instruction.
In all, 34 filled positions and 34 unfilled positions have been eliminated. Additionally, we have intentionally reduced our operating and maintenance funds and restructured budgets to advance our strategic plan.
This rightsizing has enabled us to submit a balanced budget for the first time in seven years, ensuring that we continue to serve our mission by prioritizing access, enrollment, retention, completion, and career placement for the students we support. We have served the communities of South Texas for over a century, and this strategic realignment ensures that we continue to meet the educational needs of the region and beyond.
- Dr. Robert Vela Jr., President of Texas A&M University-Kingsville"
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