The number of University of Wisconsin System campuses considering furloughs and layoffs to close budget gaps this school year continues to grow.

UW-Parkside may implement a campuswide furlough while UW-Platteville is weighing furloughs and layoffs to address a nearly $10 million deficit.

Chancellors floated the ideas in letters to their campus communities Monday, a day before the UW Board of Regents meest at UW-Madison to approve the UW System's annual budget.

"Our university continues to face trends affecting our finances that we cannot ignore," interim UW-Parkside Chancellor Scott Menke wrote in a letter.

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The budget documents offered a stark picture of the financial pressures most campuses are facing amid declining enrollment, stagnant state funding and increasing costs. Eleven of the 13 campuses ran deficits last year and 10 of 13 are projected to run deficits this year.

UW System President Jay Rothman called the chancellors' announcements "disappointing and unfortunate– yet not unexpected." He said campuses should be focused on recruiting and educating students to meet Wisconsin's workforce needs.

"Our universities are facing demographic, political and economic realities that require hard, though necessary decisions," he said in a statement. "These actions we are forced to take represent missed opportunities for our students and families but are necessary given our circumstances."

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers had proposed a $305 million increase for the UW System over the next two school years. Republican lawmakers instead cut state funding for campuses by $32 million.

UW-Parkside and UW- Platteville's potential employee cuts come on the heels of an announcement by UW-Oshkosh, which laid out plans earlier this month to lay off about 200 employees and furlough all other staff for periods from September through June to address an $18 million deficit.

UW-Oshkosh also proposed a 2% campus-wide budget cut, reorganizing units across the university and offering a voluntary retirement incentive program. The university also plans to increase faculty teaching loads and reduce the amount of faculty overloads, which are when professors receive additional pay for teaching courses beyond their normal load.

UW-Parkside faces a budget shortfall of at least $4 million this year and it will likely take more than a year to recover from it, Menke said.

UW-Parkside employs about 525 employees. In addition to furloughs, the Kenosha County university will place a hold on all hires not identified as a "critical need," pause all new initiatives, and reduce budgets and spending across campus by 10%.

Beyond this school year, the university may also consider consolidating and restructuring departments, reviewing programs with low enrollment, creating an early retirement incentive and cutting staff.

Headcount enrollment at UW-Parkside is expected to be around 4,000 students, about the same as a year ago but about 500 fewer than before the pandemic.

UW-Platteville is considering one-time budget cuts and a voluntary retirement program, in addition to furloughs and layoffs, Chancellor Tammy Evetovich said.

UW-Parkside and UW-Platteville spokespeople did not respond to requests for more details. UW System spokesperson Mark Pitsch said Monday neither university had additional information.

UW System recently contracted with Deloitte Consulting to assess the finances of UW campuses. Universities running structural deficits will develop a financial recovery plan by June 30.

Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KellyMeyerhofer.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Parkside, UW-Platteville weigh furloughs, layoffs