WWU's Budget Crisis —
And Who's Paying For It
100 employees laid off. Every teaching college cut. Reserves cut in half. 30+ faculty positions frozen for two years. And through all of it — athletics spending kept growing. Now they want $80.36 more from you every quarter.
WWU Has a $23 Million Structural Deficit. Here's What They Did About It.
WWU's own budget documents describe a multi-year structural gap between revenues and expenses. Every year, the university has spent more than it brings in — and covered the difference by draining institutional reserves.
Institutional Reserves: Declining Every Year
In FY2024 alone, WWU spent $8.6 million more than it received in operating revenue ($226.9M in expenses vs. $218.3M in revenue). That gap was covered by pulling from reserves. By FY2026, reserves are projected to drop to $11.6M — barely above the 5% minimum the university requires to maintain.
"Revenues still falling short of fixed costs."
— WWU FY 2024-25 Operating Budget Summary
Their solution: lay off over 100 employees, cut every teaching college, freeze 30+ faculty hires, and ask students to pay more. What they didn't do: cut athletics.
~100 Employees Laid Off. 30+ Faculty Positions Frozen.
Between Fall 2024 and Summer 2025, WWU eliminated approximately 100 positions to address the structural deficit. According to official reorganization documents, roughly 60 of those were filled positions — meaning real employees lost their jobs.
| Period | Positions Eliminated | Filled (Layoffs) | Vacant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2024 | 20 | 6 | 14 |
| Winter 2025 | 61 | 39 | 22 |
| Summer 2025 | 19 | 17 | 2 |
| Total | ~100 | ~62 layoffs | ~38 vacant |
University Relations and Marketing was fully dissolved (FY2025) and its functions absorbed into University Advancement. IT services were centralized. Student Affairs was broken apart — 14 units moved under the Provost, 3 moved to Business and Financial Affairs. These are massive structural changes driven by financial desperation.
Every Teaching College Had Its Salary Budget Cut
While the university administration restructured, cut compliance positions, and eliminated marketing, the sharpest cuts hit the colleges that actually teach students. Here is the breakdown by college, from official budget forum documents.
| College | Salary Reduction |
|---|---|
| College of Humanities & Social Sciences | −$1,150,000 |
| College of Science & Engineering | −$1,091,112 |
| Woodring College of Education | −$520,000 |
| College of Business & Economics | −$500,000 |
| College of Fine & Performing Arts | −$305,620 |
| Fairhaven College | −$150,000 |
| College of the Environment | −$130,000 |
| Total Teaching Salary Reductions | −$3,846,731 |
These cuts translate directly into your education. More than 30 tenure-track positions have gone unfilled for over two years. That means adjunct instructors or heavier loads on existing faculty covering those courses. Meanwhile, WWU continues to fund a full intercollegiate athletics program at $5.5 million per year — and is now asking you to increase that funding by another $3.6 million annually.
Athletics Costs: Growing Every Year. Never Cut.
Through every round of layoffs, every teaching cut, every reorganization — the athletics budget was not reduced. It grew. The Board of Trustees has explicitly approved using student tuition and fee revenue to fund the athletics operating deficit every year.
"…approve the intercollegiate athletics operating budget…with the intention to fund the operating deficit for intercollegiate athletics, as defined by Substitute Senate Bill 6493, by continued use of tuition and fee revenues as it has in the past."
— Board of Trustees, June 2022 (FY2023 Budget Approval)
| Year | Athletics Budget (Board-Approved) | Funded by Tuition & Fees | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | $6,086,786 | $3,630,856 | — |
| FY2024 | $6,323,132 | $3,759,508 | +$236,346 |
| FY2025 | $5,482,517 | $3,736,262 | Growing |
| 3-Year Student Contribution | ~$11.1M from students |
Teaching colleges had $3.85M cut from salaries. Athletics cost $5.5M per year. The athletics budget alone exceeds the total salary cuts imposed on every teaching college at WWU combined. They chose to protect athletics and cut your professors.
What They're Asking You to Pay — In Full Context
The $80.36/quarter referendum doesn't exist in a vacuum. It's being asked in the same institution that just laid off 100 employees, cut $3.85M from teaching, and halved its reserves. Here's what the numbers look like side by side.
The Numbers, Side by Side
In FY2026, the state explicitly provided no funding for student employee wage increases. WWU absorbed that cost elsewhere. But nowhere in the budget forums, reorganization documents, or savings strategies is there any discussion of reducing the athletics operating budget. It is simply not on the table.
The Crisis Isn't Over: FY2026 Budget
Even after all of the cuts, layoffs, and reorganizations, WWU's FY2026 budget still shows a structural shortfall. The hole hasn't been fully closed.
| FY2026 Budget Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total Recurring Revenues | $229,792,644 |
| Base Carryforward Expenditures | $243,604,925 |
| Compensation & Benefits Increases | +$10,741,936 |
| Recurring Reduction Strategies (cuts) | −$15,636,487 |
| Remaining Structural Gap (after all cuts) | −$7,544,683 |
| Projected Reserve Draw (FY2026) | −$3,302,880 |
WWU cut $15.6M in FY2026 alone — through layoffs, position freezes, restructuring, and instructional reductions. After all of that, a $7.5M structural shortfall remains. The institution will draw down reserves again. It is in this environment — with employees being laid off and classrooms being cut — that the athletics fee referendum is being put to a student vote.
Vote NO on the Athletics Fee Referendum
WWU is cutting professors, laying off staff, and draining reserves. Approving this fee doesn't solve their budget problems — it just protects one spending line from accountability.
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