Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College leadership is offering early retirement incentives to some employees as a way to help deal with a budget deficit the schools are facing.

These incentives are called BESI (Board Early Separation Incentive) offers. It’s a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities program designed to encourage early separation of selected employees from employment with Minnesota State schools in order to reduce salary and benefit obligations to achieve cost savings or efficiencies.

The offers went out on Tuesday to around 65 employees. BSU and NTC president Dr. John Hoffman released a video message to schools today regarding the early retirement offers.

“Are the offers perfect? Probably not,” said Dr. Hoffman. “But I believe it’s the best approach that we have at this time, at this difficult time, to help us use this tool to create a stronger future for Bemidji State and for Northwest Tech.”

Hoffman says as they move towards the future, they are looking to restructure, reorganize and re-imagine ways to get work done with fewer people and lower costs.

“BESIs are one step in the process. As I have shared in the past, depending on how many folks accept these BESI offers, we still may have work to do in February as we work on next steps,” added Dr. Hoffman. “I do not believe that we will have to engage in retrenchment or the elimination of academic programs, athletic programs, art programs or the change in the character of who we are. But we are going to have to engage in difficult work to build a bridge from where we’re at to a future.”

Employees do not have to accept the early retirement but must make a decision by February 8.

Updated 11:28 p.m. 1-12-23 to include the specific day when BESI offer recipients must decide whether to accept early retirement or not.

By — Lakeland News