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by Karen Aguilar
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Staff and students told FOX 17 News they are on edge after Tennessee State University's leadership suggested more job cuts and scholarship caps for incoming freshmen. TSU's interim president said it's needed to get the university out of a financial hole.
The reaction was concern mixed with the understanding that adjustments are needed to balance the books.
Tyler Sanders works inside TSU's cafeteria.
"This is about the only income I could get in besides the other things that I do," said Sanders.
He is worried he'll lose his job as TSU tries to get rid of its deficit as a part of their 5-year financial plan.
"It’s kind of disheartening," said Sanders.
We asked TSU if cafeteria workers like Sanders would be part of the cuts but we didn't get a response.
What we do know is staff won't be the only ones impacted.
Incoming freshmen will see a scholarship cap at 20 percent of the annual tuition and fees revenue.
TSU does say it will honor current scholarships.
Sanders is a Junior who has enjoyed what TSU has to offer but feels for those freshmen.
The federal government found the state of Tennessee underfunded the historically black college by 2 billion over decades.
In 2021, Tennessee's Office of Legislative Budget Analysis put the figure at more like 544 million on the high end.
The state then gave the university 250 million for infrastructure projects.
In Wednesday's State Building Commission meeting, TSU's Acting Chief Financial Officer Jim Grady revealed the university had 154 left over.
He asked to use it for operational costs.
Even though Sanders is unsure of how the changes will affect him, he remains understanding.
"Some of them are quite unnecessary while we don’t have enough money to keep everyone on board…I do understand the collapse with the process," he said.
The State Building Commission didn't take any action on Wednesday to TSU's request or financial plan. We reached out to TSU for an update and didn't hear back.
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