Sacramento State is implementing all 2,956 of its administration, faculty and staff to take 18 to 24 days off without pay before June 30. The California State University system is requiring all 23 campuses to take part in the furlough program and is using the program to offset costs of the deficit.

The furlough program was put into effect Aug. 7. The program will save Sac State approximately $16 million, all of which will be deducted from administration, faculty and staff salaries.

“The California State University system is facing cuts in state funding and the state budget ratified by the Legislature would create a deficit of about $564 million for the current fiscal year,” said Paul Mann, spokesperson at Humboldt State.

The furlough program is expected to run the entire academic year, and there will be a total of 24 furlough days for administration, faculty and staff and that instruct 12 months during an academic year, 20 days for 10-month faculty and 18 days for faculty that teach throughout the academic year.

Faculty designated days, according to the Sacramento State Campus Furlough Implementation Plan Overview, are not all scheduled for instructional days, therefore minimizing the impact on students. Students who are affected by the program will receive alternative instructions from their instructors.

All faculty members are furloughed on Oct. 16, Dec. 23, Feb. 15 and April 2 for 12- and 10-month faculty.

Staff furlough days are Sept. 18, Oct. 16, Nov. 27, Dec. 21-24, Jan. 8 and 15, Feb. 15, April 2, May 28, June 11 and 25.

These furlough days have been set by President Alexander Gonzalez in correlation the Chancellor’s Office.

According to the furlough implementation plan overview, unless ordered by Gonzalez, a furlough day does not indicate a closed campus. On most furlough days the campus will be open with limited services such as summer classes, year-round operations, conferences scheduled and essential services.

The colleges at Sac State are working with the faculty to try to distribute those furlough days so they do not all interfere with the classes and they are spread over the faculty members workload, said John Oldenburg, associate dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

“Some classes will wind up being not held and alternative assignments will be provided,” Oldenburg said.

Different schools will save different amounts of money, “for example Humboldt State predicts a $6 million saving,” Mann said.

Some employees, however, are exempt from the furlough program. These include employees who are essential for campus to run safely on a daily basis. Those affected by the furlough program are expected to see a cut in their earnings of about 10.07 percent for staff and managers and 9.23 percent for academic year faculty, Wagner said. In order to help CSU employees estimate the full impact of furloughs and what to brace for as far as budgeting, an online salary calculator has been developed to help faculty and staff. The link to the calculator is: www.sco.ca.gov/ppsd_se_paycheck_calc.html.

Facilities Services at Sac State is also furloughed. In order to make up for the missed days, said Associate Vice President of Facility Services Ron Richardson, Facilities will focus on the main public areas such as classrooms, hallways and anywhere large numbers of people spend their time.

Everyone in Facilities is furloughed except those needed in case of an emergency. Richardson assures there is no need to worry about safety and emergencies because if one does occur during a furlough the facilities will act just like on any other day off from school.

Blazej Bruzda can be reached at [email protected].