The bubble around Baker University burst Wednesday when university officials announced layoffs would be included in cuts to meet a $1.1 million deficit in the budget. 

“I think we’ve scoured the budget,” University President Pat Long said. “I think we’ve tried to find everything that’s available, every dollar that we could find. Unfortunately, we’re not there yet, so we have a painful process in front of us.”

Susan Lindahl, chief communications and strategic planning officer, and Long brought faculty up-to-date Wednesday at a town hall meeting regarding budget changes due to the hardening economy.

Lindahl said the No. 1 priority of the university is to ensure academic integrity, which means faculty aren’t being targeted in the layoffs.

However, the deficit must be met, which means wages and salaries will likely be held flat with the possibility of 1- to 2-percent salary reductions. Retirement contributions also will be suspended.

Long and about 14 members of the university cabinet have agreed to give back two weeks worth of their salaries to the university, which Long said is equivalent to one full-time position. 

Students also will absorb the wave of more budget cuts.

“We know that we need to lower the financial aid discount rate, and we’re working very diligently and very systematically to get there,” Lindahl said.

However, keeping tuition low is a priority, Lindahl said.

By December, the university already had cut more than $2.7 million with the intention of finding more areas to cut from this semester to balance the $42 million budget.

Now the university not only has to balance the budget, but is required to have a positive balance of about $200,000 to meet its bond covenant.

“We’ve not been required to have that in the past but we are now,” Lindahl said.

Bruce Woodruff, acting vice chair of faculty senate, said the positive balance requirement came as a surprise, but believes Long will lead the university through it.

“If push comes to shove, I’d rather take a little bit of a salary cut to avoid losing staff,” he said. “We’ll just tighten our belts and get creative and weather it out.”

Long announced Jo Adams, vice president of financial services, is resigning.

The search to fill the position will begin immediately. In the meantime, Long has constructed a team of people that will continue reviewing budget operations and help with the transition.

“They’re going to help us put processes in place for the budget and for budgeting so that we have input from faculty and across the university so we know where we’re spending our money and where our priorities are going to be,” Long said.

Lindahl said it’s possible the deficit could grow if projected revenues aren’t met as the year progresses.

“We hope we’re at the level now that we won’t have to come back again, but we don’t know that,” she said.

A  university-wide forum detailing further developments about the budget will take place at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the cafeteria.