ISU officials announced proposed cost-saving plans Friday to help cushion the university’s budget problems.

Because of the Iowa Legislature’s proposed cuts, Iowa State could face a $16 million to $24 million budget reduction, forcing administrators to look for alternate spending plans.

ISU Interim President Richard Seagrave spoke to campus officials and revealed ideas to help conserve energy and retain faculty members, all while protecting student services.

“We’re looking at several possibilities of cutting $16 [million] to $18 million dollars from our operating budget,” he said. “A lot of faculty and members of the [Professional and Scientific] Council are interested in energy saving.”

Seagrave said one of the proposals is to close the university down during winter break to conserve energy. Facilities such as the library would close and snow-removal efforts would be curbed between Dec. 22 and Jan. 2.

“One of the things that is important is to not have any impact on student services and undergraduate education,” he said. “None of that happens at that time, so it is an attractive decision.”

Warren Madden, vice president for Business and Finance, said he believed the plans would meet the basic objective of the university.

“I think they are ones that we believe, in the short term, can be implemented,” he said. “They will require further planning over the year.”

The energy conservation program is “fairly aggressive” and has the approval of many faculty and administration, Madden said.

“I think, generally, people have indicated that doing it over semester break is a good alternative time to do it,” he said. “Most people agree . that would cause the least disruption.”

Seagrave also said there may be faculty lay-offs in the future.

“Last year, in a similar situation, we had to take out 55 positions out of our budget,” he said. “But because of the bumping that happens in the merit system, most ended up finding jobs.

The decision of which and how many faculty will be cut will be up to deans and department chairs, Seagrave said.

“We won’t have many more than [55],” he said. “The colleges will be given targets of how much they’ll have to take out. We can’t really say more than that right now. We’re just waiting for the Legislature to get done to see how much they’re going to cut.”