Officials are making clear the scope of layoffs set for staffers at the Jefferson Community and Technical College in Louisville.
WFPL News first reported earlier this week that layoffs were imminent across the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. At the time, a spokeswoman for the community college in downtown Louisville declined to provide specifics about how many jobs would be cut.
Terri Giltner, the spokeswoman for KCTCS, said then that each of the system's 16 colleges would be responsible for coming up with its own reduction plan.
The plan at Louisville's community college system will be to terminate 61 positions on June 30, according to a news release issued Thursday. The school said it was part of an ongoing reorganization that would include administrative and faculty positions in the future.
Staffers are being notified of the layoffs today, and affected employees are getting a 60-day notice. They'll be kept on payroll until the end of the fiscal year and will get the chance to enroll in six credit hours of classes through the fall, in addition to "other support," according to the release.
Layoffs have also began at the community college system's Elizabethtown campus, according to an earlier report from WAVE-3 news.
Giltner earlier this week said the layoffs across the system are due to a recent 4.5 percent cut in state appropriations, coupled with years of persistent funding cuts and dwindling enrollment.
At Jefferson Community and Technical College, enrollment is down to about 11,000 from a peak of 15,000, according to the school. This drop hits the college hard, as nearly 75 percent of the system's budget comes from tuition.
Improving enrollment is a priority for college officials, they said Thursday. A formal groundbreaking for a new KCTCS advanced manufacturing and IT center in Carrollton is set for April 22.
