The entire staff was present at a meeting called by President Wright, 3:30 P.M., February 17, in room 123. President Wright said:
"I have called you together to acquaint you with the financial condition of the college. Our income, including the balance to come to the college from the state appropriation for this current year, will be approximately $20,000 less than our operating expenses for the remaining portion of the year. This is due to the fact that the Budget Bureau has found it necessary to make a thirty percent reduction in the appropriation." (He read abstracts from a letter by the Governor showing the necessity for drastic cuts in expenditures if the state is to stay on a CASH BASIS. He also read extracts from a letter from the Attorney General showing that the Board has the power to cut salaries).
"I have had two conferences with the Budget Bureau recently. After conferring with the Assistant Director of the Budget, and receiving this letter from the Governor, we find that it is going to be necessary to make a reduction. The budget Bureau agreed to finance us if Mr. Spilman could save $5,000. Mr. Spilman agreed to do this - I don't know how he is going to save it. If we make a reduction of ten percent in all salaries and wages for March, April, May and June, it will take care of the present situation. The reduction could be made by the Board of trustees. I do not want to call the Board of Trustees together; so I have called you together to ask if you wish to make that reduction, voluntarily. I think it will put us in the proper light with the Board of Trustees, the Director of the Budget, and the next General Assembly if we do this. It seems to me that it is the only thing we can do, because the state is not collecting the revenue.
This applies to only four months' salary, March, April, May, and June.
It isn't my idea at all that we are trying to cut salaries, we are simply trying to meet a situation. I understand from Mr. Burke that it will be best for the Budget Bureau if we affect this saving monthly.
We will not know about the next year of this biennium until the income tax is collected. The Assistant Director of the Budget had promised to tell us the amount the appropriation will cut next year in April, if possible."
Miss Davis made the following motion: "I move that the faculty and officers and other employees of the institution, voluntarily, to help the state in its present condition, accept a ten percent cut in compensation for the months of March, April, May and June."
The motion was carried unanimously.
"We are going to run the summer school. At present I think there is no doubt about our running the summer school two terms. We are doing it for three reasons. One is, we have in college now not less than one hundred and fifty girls who are planning to come to summer school. Possibly fifty of these are expecting to be graduated at the end of the summer school. Another reason, if we stop our summer school during this depression we will have to start all over and build it up. Third, we are running the summer school that we may hold our organization together and give employment to the large number of people who work in the college, the dining room and kitchen, etc. We have promised Mr. Burke that we will not spend more than $5,000 from the appropriation on the summer school. Last year, we spent about $15,000. Dr. Meadows, as Director of the Summer School, will not be able to tell you for a while what your salary will be.
The success of the summer school will depend in a large measure upon the number of students enrolled.
