TSU’s next round of cost-saving measures will be less painful than recent layoffs

Tennessee State University is announcing further cost-saving measures to keep from running out of money by the end of the school year. This comes after the school laid off more than 100 employees earlier this fall.

Part of this new round of savings comes from examining every possible pocket of extra money. Last week, the state redirected $32 million in federal money intended for an agriculture building to general operating expenses for the university. Other savings will come from renegotiating a contract with the food service company Aramark. Plus, TSU will collect a backlog of funds from the government of Saudi Arabia, which pays some schools that enroll Saudi students.

The school will still need to make more budget cuts this year — around $1.4 million — but that’s on a much smaller scale than the recent round of layoffs, which saved around $13 million.

All that takes TSU from a multi-million-dollar deficit to a $3.7 million surplus by the end of May. But that’s a short-term fix to the university’s financial woes, which are fueled by declining student enrollment and decades of underfunding from the state government.

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At a board meeting Thursday, university trustee Marquita Qualls asked TSU Vice President Daarel Burnette about the long-term fiscal outlook.

“What is the magic number that we’re looking for in order to us to feel like we’re whole?” she asked.

“It’s more than 3.7 (million),” Burnette replied. “We have to get through the summer.”

Getting beyond the summer will involve finding new revenue sources, and being more aggressive about collecting unpaid expenses from students.

Correction: This story previously reported that $32 million in federal dollars had been intended for an engineering building at TSU. The money was intended for an agriculture building.