Budget cuts should start with administration, not staff

Editor,

After listening to a news broadcast about President David Schmidly's plan to have staff take furloughs, I was infuriated.

The staff at UNM is the backbone of the University. Being a former employee, I had noticed over a long period of time that the staff is expected to do the jobs of two or three people already. Without the staff, the University does not have a spine. In its efforts to cut the budget, why doesn't the administration start at the top? UNM is notorious for being a school with an overabundance of administration. Cut back on some of these outrageous high-paying positions, and they would save quite a bit of money and be able to staff the University properly. Administrators are not responsible for the quality of education; staff and faculty are.

It is shameful how wasteful this University is and will continue to be. Times are hard for everyone, but now is not the time to damage the morale of staff even further. Make changes, but start at the top. I am aware there is quite a lot to running the University, but don't take its backbone away. That would be a crime.

Ellen Yaeger

Retired staff