Iowa Department for the Blind announces layoffs

On her lunchbreak Friday, one day after learning she’s among 10 Iowa Department of the Blind employees who will be losing their job next month, Rachel Bussan said she doesn’t blame her bosses.

“They really didn’t have any choice,” Bussan, 34, of Des Moines, said, citing budget concerns and shifting priorities. “They’ve pretty much cut all the other parts of the agency that they can.”

Emily Wharton — director of the state- and federally-funded program that, among other things, provides services for the 54,000 Iowans who have experienced some degree of vision loss — confirmed the layoffs and said the justification is threefold.

First, she said, her department — like many across the state — are facing budget cuts in the current year and potentially next year. Friday evening, the state Department of Management announced $11.5 million in reductions to this year’s budget, including $24,521 from the Department for the Blind.

Read more: http://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/iowa-department-for-the-blind-announces-layoffs-20170224