Share:

Despite looming budget cuts, the PCC Faculty Association is circulating a petition asking the Board of Trustees to expand programs and maintain faculty and staff positions on campus by using its reserves.”We, the undersigned students, staff, teachers and members of the community demand that the Pasadena City College Board of Trustees expand program offerings and maintain all faculty and staff positions, including those of student workers, classified employees and teachers,” the petition says. The last part is in reference to those working full-time and part-time.

The petition is to be presented to the Board in a meeting on June 3.

The California budget crisis is affecting institutions across the state while the Faculty Association maintains that the college is proposing cutting 12 percent of programs – or 250 sections – from summer 2009 through spring 2010 semesters.

The Faculty Association is a union that represents about 1,200 faculty members, roughly 400 full-time and 800 part-time.

“The state budget is clearly a disaster in its current form [and] whether the people in Sacramento sort it out or not remains to be seen,” said Roger Marheine, president of the Faculty Association.

“It could be that this is the end of community colleges as we know them,” said Marheine.

According to the petition, 25 part-time faculty members in the Math Department have been informed that they will have no class for fall semester 2009.

The Faculty Association met to discuss PCC’s budget and planned cuts on May 21.

“Usually we get about 20 people at the meetings; this time we had about 80. Half of them were students and they were irate about the proposed cuts,” said Marheine.

According to a flyer distributed with the petition: “Upon hearing the facts, students in particular were very angry that the college would act in such a cavalier manner, insensitive to increased educational needs during this time of economic crisis.”

The Faculty Association believes that PCC could use its reserves to fund the gap between what the state pays the college and what the school actually needs.

“When students lose programs, we lose jobs,” said Marheine.

“The college is increasing its administration costs by hiring consultants at the same time it’s cutting back programs. We think this is unethical,” said Marheine.

The Board approved a measure last week for an organization known as Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc. “to provide consulting services related to Vision 2020 Educational Master Plan for an amount not to exceed $225,235,” as read in the review of transactions and contracts passed during the May 20 Board meeting.

Board President Jeanette Mann said that the consultants would organize and plan town hall meetings, while analyzing data involving what kind of jobs students will encounter in the next 10 years.

“Sometimes you have to spend a little money to secure a lot more money,” said Mann.

Allen Dooley, the acting associate dean of enrollment and instructional planning, compares budgeting an institution to budgeting a business.

“We should strive to live within our means,” said Dooley. “What the enrollment management office is recommending is that we fulfill our obligation to the state and maintain our enrollment numbers.”

The college receives funding from the state based on an enrollment cap. Dooley said that PCC will most likely exceed its enrollment cap in the coming semesters.

“We try to take the Goldilocks approach: We don’t want it to be too high or too low and try to get it to be just right,” he said.

The Faculty Association is encouraging all students and staff to sign the petition and there is a plan for a possible demonstration at the June 3 Board meeting.

Follow: