DALLAS (ABP) — Six Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board employees are losing their jobs, seven unfilled posts are being eliminated and a dozen positions are being reduced from full-time to part-time due to the state convention’s current financial situation and the 2011 forecast.
Savings resulting from the staff cuts total $1,044,000 in salary and benefits for 2011, said Jill Larsen, BGCT treasurer and chief financial officer. The layoffs and cutbacks bring the total BGCT Executive Board staff — full-time and part-time — to two-thirds the number employed four years ago.
Effective dates of job termination or reduction vary, Larsen noted.
The six occupied posts being eliminated are the director of institutional relations and his administrative assistant, a resource specialist and order processing specialist in information management, the administrative assistant to the director of information technology and an accounts payable technician.
Nine congregational strategists around the state were moved from full-time to part-time status, as were the ministry assistant for intercultural ministries, ministry assistant for associational missions and camp specialist/disaster response field coordinator.
In addition, seven vacant positions are being eliminated — a ministry assistant in the Missions Foundation, a Baptist Student Ministry director, the director of community and restorative justice, the director of program planning for the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger and three part-time Baptist Student Ministry interns.
“As we finish out this year and plan for next year, your leadership team has spent many hours looking at various options to determine our direction both strategically and financially. Unfortunately, any of the options considered required that we reduce our expenses. This requires the elimination of some positions,” BGCT Executive Director Randel Everett said in an e-mail to staff.
In correspondence to directors of the BGCT Executive Board, Everett elaborated: “The staffing reduction decisions have been made with a consideration of both the current year financial situation and the forecast for 2011. Each manager who faces a reduction of staff in their area has made the proposal about the reduction. We continue to work with these managers to mitigate the impact on ministry of the affected areas. Further, we have discussed with each person who faces the reduction or elimination of their position.”
In an interview, Everett emphasized budget considerations and income projections made the cuts necessary, and none were based on job performance.
As of July 31, Texas Cooperative Program receipts totaled $19,825,159 — 88.61 percent of budget and 90.14 percent of year-to-date 2009 receipts.
In addition to staff cutbacks, BGCT administration also is implementing other cost-saving measures, Everett noted. For example, the Texas Baptist Historical Collection and Archives — which have been housed in rented office space — are being moved to the Baptist Building when the current lease expires.
The BGCT Executive Board’s finance subcommittee meets Aug. 24 to discuss the 2011 budget. The subcommittee will meet again Sept. 27 to finalize its recommendation to the administrative support committee that same day and to the full board the following day. Messengers to the BGCT annual meeting in McAllen, Nov. 8-10, will vote on the budget the board recommends.
The latest round of layoffs and cutbacks continues a trend dating back seven years.
In 2003, the BGCT eliminated 20 staff positions — laying off 13 people and eliminating seven vacant posts — but some positions were added later in an organizational restructuring.
In a major round of layoffs four years later, 29 staff positions were eliminated. Staff reductions continued incrementally since then, primarily by not filling vacant positions.
In 2006, the BGCT employed 406 staff, with 315 in full-time positions. After the latest cuts take effect, staff will number 268, with 213 full-time positions.