CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. — Thomas More College cut 11 nonfaculty positions this week to ensure a balanced budget for the 2001-02 fiscal year.

        The cuts — including secretaries, coordinators, directors and others — crossed all administrative departments, from athletics to admissions. The move will save Thomas More about $250,000 in salaries and benefits through May 31.

        “We're not any different than Procter & Gamble or AT&T, but it's such a small community here,” said Charlotte Laird, human resources director. “(Monday) was a sad day.”

        Those who lost their jobs — some of whom had been with the school 20 years — were told on Monday of the decision, which was effective immediately.

        “It's never fun doing these things, obviously,” said Thomas More president E. Joseph Lee II.

        “But I am obligated to present a balanced budget to the board and in order to balance it we need to make cuts.”

        The last time the school cut jobs was in 1987, officials said, and they were comparable in number of positions.

        The main reason for the streamlining was a drop in spring semester enrollment — a 35-student shortfall — at the private, Catholic liberal arts college of 1,500 students.

        Projections for this fall are for about 40 fewer students than in fall 2001.

        “My biggest charge was to balance the budget,” said Dr. Lee, who was inaugurated as the college's 12th president in February.

        “I felt this was the only way to do it.”

        The stakes are high in the institution's move toward financial solvency.

        Maintaining a balanced budget is part of a list of criteria the school must meet to keep its accreditation status from the College Commission of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

        To help trim the budget on the faculty side, Thomas More officials have offered early retirement packages; three people have accepted.

        Dr. Lee does not anticipate faculty cuts, although some departments may no longer exist or may be combined.

        “I don't see us letting faculty go,” he said.

       E-mail kgoetz@enquirer.com
       

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