Non-Union Kent State Employees get 1.5 Percent Raise

Non-union employees at Kent State University will get a slight bump in their paychecks this Christmas.

The university's board of trustees approved a 1.5 percent increase in base pay this afternoon for all employees not represented by a bargaining unit and who are in good standing with Kent State.

The pay raise will effect about 1,400 of the university's roughly 5,600 total employees.

President Lester Lefton said, according to the university's legal counsel, the pay raises should show up in the Dec. 23 paycheck for those employees.

"Which would give people a little bump in these hard times just before the holidays," Lefton said. "Despite the difficult economic times, and despite the fact of budget cuts that have come to the university, and despite the modest increases in tuition that our students have had to bear we really do feel it is important to award our staff members with a small, but nevertheless significant, increase in salaries."

The pay raise for non-union employees comes as university officials continue contract negotiations with two unions: the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents grounds, maintenance, custodial and food service workers, and the American Association of University Professors tenure track division.

AFSCME members are planning an informational picket outside the winter commencement ceremonies set for this Saturday, Dec. 17, at the MAC Center on campus.

The pay raises also come as university officials are learning Kent State scored high on a state audit of the university's year-end financial statements.

Lefton said unofficial, preliminary numbers from the Ohio Auditor's Office show Kent State earned a composite score of 4.7 out of a best-possible score of 5. The financial statements were audited but not yet certified, which is why they haven't been made public yet.

Lefton said Kent State's financial status ranked second out of Ohio's 14 public universities.

"We’re very pleased," he said. "This really suggests that our audited financial statements reflect a very healthy financial picture for the institution."