Our last e-news blast focused on the lengthy state budget process. Now, threats to our members' employment exist, including the closing of the Meriden Center of Middlesex Community College. These threats are being made in response to the Governor's PROPOSED budget. College Presidents are threatening our members because of instructions received from Dr. Gray.

Publicly, Dr. Gray and other system officials have blamed the cost of employees transferring from ARP to the Hybrid Plan as being a significant cost to the system. However, please read the attached letter from the SEBAC Attorney to the Chairs of the Appropriations Committee, explaining why this is NOT TRUE. The Comptroller reimburses the higher education institutions for the full cost of fringe benefits for employees paid out of the block grant (i.e. the Governor's proposal).

We can feel neither comforted by, nor confident in, the leadership of President Gray. He remains focussed on his obviously failed Transform 2020 initiative. Further, we have learned that the System Office is withholding $40 million dollars of the Governor's proposed block grant for the Community Colleges for itself. Dr. Gray is solving his own budget crisis - one that results from a bloated system office bureaucracy and his continued mismanagement - by forcing a budget crisis upon our colleges.