Source of EWU’s budget woes

Here is some information that was not in the article (“EWU trustees approve $3.6 million budget cut,” June 27) about the EWU budget woes.

1. 55 tenured faculty reductions is 23% of the total tenured faculty. The FTE count is currently 21 students to one faculty which is considered to be one of the worst for instructional attention (according to College Factual).

2. Student athletic scholarship equivalents were $4,166,339, while the amount student athletes paid into the school as scholarship equivalents were $4,660,484 or a net gain of $485,145. Yet the article says that student athletic scholarships are part of the budget problem (reported in The Eastern, May 2019).

3. Part of the budget problem is said to be due to the good economy. If so, then why are enrollments at Central Washington and Western Washington increasing while Eastern’s declines by almost 2,000 students since 2016?

While I do not have the answer, I have to ask if the real issue is the leadership at EWU. Declining enrollment, faculty layoffs and reduced hours for non-union workers point to poor management by the administration and the board. Yet the top of the administration is rewarded by the board for these problems with a three-year contract extension.

Doug Myers, EWU alumni

Spokane