Riverside Military Academy has cut roughly 40 people from their staff as officials chose to push back the start date for fall semester from July 25 to August 9.
A statement from Public Relations Director Christian Mims said Riverside had 38 employees retire, resigned, or had their contracts terminated, as well as senior staff members took a pay reduction, and other employees were put on an increase freeze.
Mims said in her email statement that the pay increase freeze did not include reductions for those other staff members. As for the 38 who left RMA, Mims said they offered assistance in finding a new job, filing for unemployment or medical benefits, or extending their on-campus housing benefit.
Meanwhile, as cadets return to campus, Mims said need-based financial aid increased, in part to the reductions in expenses and also to an increase in scholarship philanthropy and giving. Mims said this was done to ease the burdens many of their cadet families were feeling during the pandemic.
RMA, located on Riverside Drive in Gainesville, is an all-boys military academy that offers both a boarding program and a day program. Initially, President COL(R) Stas Preczewski wanted to start in person and on campus learning in late July, but Preczewski learned executing their safety plan would be too burdensome to do that.
“The rationale for an early start date was to safely bring the cadets back on campus and restrict visitors or leave for six weeks,” said Preczewski in a press release. “However, a current delay in securing ample testing equipment and, because the health, safety, and security of our cadets, faculty and staff is our highest priority, we are postponing our opening to August 9 and August 10.”
The August 10 date is for new students, or Recruits on Campus. Mims said in the release that all students will be tested for the virus when they return to campus and that quarantine is prepared for anyone who returns to school and tests positive.
The academy's full plan, as it currently stands, is available here.
