State Office of Education workers to take furloughs

SALT LAKE CITY — Employees at the State Office of Education will take three days off without pay to comply with the governor's request for state agencies to reduce budgets by 3 percent, state officials announced Monday afternoon.

Local school districts and charter schools won't be directly affected, and no schools will be closed.

The furloughs apply to the state office's 277 full-time and 40 part-time employees. The office will be closed on Jan. 29, Feb. 26 and March 26.

"We have already taken a number of measures, including a soft hiring freeze, to live within the state of Utah's new budgetary constraints while still maintaining the level of service taxpayers and the schools expect," said Superintendent Larry Shumway in a written statement.

"Unfortunately in a service-based organization, staffing is one of the few areas open to us to provide the kind of savings required in these economic times," he said.

The days off are estimated to save $150,000, which, when combined with an anticipated $500,000 in savings from the hiring freeze, will bring the agency in compliance with the governor's directive.

Employees were informed of the furlough during a Monday morning meeting, Deputy Superintendent Martell Menlove said. Staff members' reaction was "generally positive," he told the Deseret News.

"Obviously it has an impact on individuals and their families," Menlove said.

— Amy K. Stewart