PORTLAND — Plans for the University of Southern Maine’s faculty to take a no-confidence vote on the administration of President Selma Botman are moving forward, the head of the school’s Faculty Senate said late Friday.

Senate Chair Jeannine Uzzi said at a meeting of the Faculty Senate on Friday that a petition asking for a referendum had enough signatures to force a vote.

Under the organization’s bylaws, a vote must be held if more than 10 percent of the faculty signs a petition, and the request for a referendum on Botman easily exceeded that threshold, Uzzi said.

The vote has not been scheduled, Uzzi said, but will probably be held before the end of this month. The faculty will hold open forums at USM’s three campuses for faculty members to air their views, Uzzi said.

The petition cites falling morale among faculty members and an overall lack of confidence in Botman, she said.

USM is facing $5.1 million in budget cuts, but Botman recently handed out nearly $250,000 in discretionary raises to some administrators.

Uzzi noted that the petition was being circulated even before news of the raises broke.

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at: emurphy@pressherald.com