There was an emotional exchange Wednesday at San Jose State University.
Administrators heard from deans and department chairs about pending budget cuts that will have to be made in the next few weeks.
SJSU officials said they noticed about a month ago the university was over budget.
When they looked into it, they found they needed to cut roughly $3.8 million by next June.
Dropping or combining classes and laying off non-tenured faculty was one of the solutions.
The chair of the philosophy department is among those who will have to hand out the pink slips to his staff.
“It's not quite like laying off my brother or my sister, but it's like family. You don't have a job. It doesn’t feel good at all," philosophy department chair Peter Hadreas said.
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The school held an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss the cuts.
Many of the school leaders asked the provost why the news of the cuts, which will begin next semester, came so late.
“These are things all campuses have done. We have taken the cuts probably later than most campuses because our campus had sufficient reserves," Provost Ellen Junn said.
The cuts come as student enrollment climbs at the university.
And, ultimately, those students who boosted the enrollment numbers could be hit hardest by this budget miscalculation.
The university says it will still look for the best solution with the least impact for the students.
