LINCOLN — Two members of the Nebraska Board of Education questioned Tuesday why the state's education commissioner did not ask employees to join in furloughs ordered by the governor.
Board member Bob Evnen said the state faces a “category F-5 tornado” budget crisis and that the decision against furloughs was “seriously ill-advised.”
Other board members, however, said they backed Commissioner of Education Roger Breed's decision.
Board President Kandy Imes said the commissioner had a “sound rationale” for the decision.
The exchange took place at the board's monthly meeting in Lincoln.
Gov. Dave Heineman last month implemented two-day furloughs — unpaid days off — for union employees in an effort to avoid layoffs. Although Department of Education employees were exempt from the furlough requirement, Breed could have requested that they participate. The department's contract with its employees is separate from the state's master contract for employees who were ordered to take furloughs.
Breed told the board that two days of furloughs would have disrupted services while producing “minimal” savings. The two-day furloughs would have saved about $49,000 in state money, he said. Seven of 10 department employees are paid with federal dollars, so furloughing them would not affect the state's budget situation, he said.
The department has cut its budget 17 percent over the past three years, he said. Employees have been told to anticipate wage freezes during the state's next two-year budget, he said.
Breed said furloughs remain an option for the future.
“It's still a tool in our box,” he said.
Board member Mark Quandahl, a former state senator, said the furloughs would have been a sign of good faith to the Legislature of the department's willingness to help cut costs.
While it may not have inoculated the department against budget cuts, it would have been “an important show of solidarity with the other state employees,” Quandahl said.
He said the private sector is hurting, businesses are laying off people and some governments have reduced salaries.
Board member Joe Higgins said Breed's logic was “entirely sound” and that the education commissioner shouldn't be “second-guessed and overridden” by the board.
Imes asked whether any board members wanted to revisit Breed's decision at a future board meeting, but none spoke up.
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444-1077, joe.dejka@owh.com
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