Unexpected shorting from The Hague induce to strict procedures.
- The board found another one and a half million in budgetary cuts in the recent budget plan.
- The divisions Health and Social Work and Human Movement and Education must have a balanced budget starting next year.
Windesheim financially entered dire straits. Regarding this year, the Executive Board proposed a budget plan with a shortage of 6 million to the Supervisory Board. The shortage was not immense; usually the final calculation from The Hague, at the end of the year, provides for extra millions. However, because there were less students who entered a study programme two years ago, the “little extra something” of three and a half million is less than originally budgeted. The increase of salary in the collective labour agreement will not be covered fully against expectations. This means that at this moment there is a shortage of ten million. Executive Board member Jan Willem Meinsma: “We were used to taking the time to solve problems. If for example the budget plan of Health and Social Work was not right several years in a row, we understood that. Same goes for Human Movement and Education. We can’t do that anymore. However as Executive Boards we said that we would not suddenly step on the brakes.’’
The Executive Board has made a budgetary proposal for 2017 regarding 7.6 million and has submitted this to the Supervisory Board and the Central Participation Council. In this proposal Human Movement and Education will still have, starting September 2017, a shortage of 127.000 Euros a month. “We said that there had to be a plan before the holidays and that this plan has to make sure that the monthly basis is zero with regards to the division Human Movement and Education. So without any losses. Which leaves us with an issue of 2.8 million- a difficult task. We made the same agreements with Health and Social Work: in September 2017 the division should run on zero.”
Furthermore the Board is looked at all expenses once more. Meinsma: “We have looked: where we could find an additional one and a half million without too much discomfort. Here you should think about matters as catering, legal advice, the hiring of external people.” The directors were asked to put this in the recent budget plan. Meinsma: “This proposal has now been submitted to the Supervisory Board and the Central Participation Council. In the next coming days one will have to say if they agree with us and the other will have to approve.”
The management team of Human Movement and Education is working hard on a plan. A steering group consisting of the Executive Boards, the head of P&O and a supervisor, will have to keep their finger firmly on the pulse. Meinsma: “My goal is to be able to explain in January/February how we are structurally able to bring the division back.” (MH)
