As of July 1, a personnel mandate from the Higher Education Policy Commission calls for new hires to be paid the entry rate, or "zero step," listed in the 2001 salary schedule adopted by the Legislature, he said.
Here's the rub. About 800 of the nearly 3,000 classified employees already at WVU still don't earn entry level themselves, even after years of service. That's because there hasn't been enough money to fund the 2001 salary schedule, Martinelli said.
Classified employees include professional technicians and administrative assistants, but not faculty.
Back when the salary schedule was approved, "No one expected a downturn in state funding, so we are basically in a different world than we thought we would be," said Dennis Taylor, the Higher Education Policy Commission's vice chancellor for administration.
The commission is working on a solution, but can't accomplish it alone, Taylor said.
"It's an issue we're struggling with. It's an issue that will need to be addressed by the Legislature, the policy commission, the Council for Community and Technical College Educations and institution," he said.
The commission is working on rewriting the Series 8 rules that include the mandate. It could be complete this summer. Also, the commission plans to present the problem to the Legislative Oversight Committee for Educational Accountability this winter.
By this summer, an accountant who is level 15 on the salary schedule and has worked at WVU for three years could make $3,000 to $5,000 less than a new hire, Martinelli said.
Situations like this harm WVU's ability to retain employees, while quickly lowering employee morale, he said.
Martinelli and some local legislators say cuts in state funding for higher education institutions throughout the state, including $34 million this year, are partly to blame.
A solution could be for the Legislature to pass a law extending the date to implement the pay structure for new employees to 2006 or 2007. Another one would be to get the $2.5 million needed to get WVU employees up to the salaries outlined in the schedule.
The next legislative session is Feb. 9 through April 9.
Funding higher education is a top priority, said Delegate Cindy Frich, R-Monongalia.
"I've known it's been a problem. That's why I've always been particularly concerned about state cutbacks to higher education," Frich said.
It's a priority she said she puts before creating any new state-funded programs.
Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia, also is pushing for higher education funding. "My goal is to fully fund our higher education system because of the many benefits we know it provides," he said.
Sen. Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, said "a sufficient amount of money" would rectify similar problems at higher education institutions throughout the state. "It seems like there is never enough money," he said.
A special legislative session to re-examine compensation packages of all state employees could be in the works at Gov.-elect Joe Manchin's headquarters, Prezioso said.
Prezioso is a member of the Legislative Oversight Committee for Educational Accountability.
For years, the Legislature has put Band-Aids on the compensation issue, so the discussion would be welcome, he said. "We've got to realistically look at the entire picture as far as higher education is concerned."
Terry Nebel, WVU staff council chairman, said he and other WVU employee leaders hope to "convince enough legislators so they can pressure the Higher Education Policy Commission" to change the rule, or modify the date to give breathing room.
Nebel said the negative effects of an unfunded salary schedule are already apparent in retention rates.
Whereas in the past, 14 years was the average years employees served the university, "several years ago that dropped to seven years," Nebel said. That's how the university ended up with 800 people below entry level pay, he said.