 |
|
|||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
MHCC board faces triple whammy in next four months
The Advocate
As MHCC reaches the midpoint of the academic year, the district board has at least three major challenges looming over its head: a projected $5.5 million budget shortfall, the unresolved faculty contract negotiations and the search for a new president.
The most vocal and visible challenge is the unresolved faculty contract negotiations.
The faculty association made their position clear Wednesday as they demonstrated in the Main Mall at noon. To chants of "negotiate now" and similar mantras, a crowd of faculty members and students held signs and moved through the campus. At 7 p.m., the crowd reconvened to march to the district board meeting.
Randy Stedman, the labor relations consultant hired by the board to bargain the contract for the administration, gave an update to the board on the progress of the negotiations. Stedman said the faculty and administration are $3.75 million apart in their proposals, and then said the board could consider raising tuition $15 per credit to make up the difference.
Jack Schommer, the president of the faculty association, said to the board, "It's up to you to get back to the table," addressing some faculty members' feeling that the administration has been avoiding negotiation in favor of running the clock until they can impose their last best offer.
MHCC District board chair Brian Freeman said Thursday, "I think it will take some patience. Contract negotiations are never easy but we have gotten through them in the past and we will again."
Associated Student Government held a rally in the Main Mall Thursday in order to raise awareness about the contract negotiations (see the story about the rally on page 6).
The budget shortfall was addressed by MHCC President John Sygielski in a Feb. 4 email.
"We had anticipated that state funding for community colleges would be at the $400-million level and thus create a significant shortfall at MHCC. Despite funding at a slightly higher level, the college's budget hole will still be deep – in the neighborhood of $5.5 million," said Sygielski.
Freeman said Thursday, "Thirty-five percent of our revenue comes from the State of Oregon and we have no control over that. The state is thinking 'you can always raise tuition.' That's what we're battling with."
Schommer Thursday referred to the budget shortfall as "the most daunting" of all of the challenges the board is facing.
In April, Sygielski will present a proposal of a balanced budget to the District board, which will serve as the District budget committee. In May, the budget committee will approve the budget. In June, there will be public hearing on the budget held by the Tax Supervising and Conversation Commission, and then the District board will adopt the budget.
The board also has to address the problem of finding a new president, either permanent or interim, by July 1, when Sygielski leaves. The president announced Jan. 12 he has accepted a position to become president of Harrisburg (Pa.) Area Community College
"I want to look at the people interested in a permanent job," said MHCC District board member Ralph Yates, a sentiment the rest of the board echoed.
During Wednesday's district board meeting, the board voted to begin the search for a new president by looking first at MHCC employees to take on the job permanently. If that yields no results, they will continue to look at MHCC employees to find an interim president. If there is still no one available, at that point the search will expand outside the college.
"I think it's a great idea for them to review anyone who wants the job internally for one reason: they'll hit the ground running. There won't be a learning curve," Schommer said Thursday.
Freeman said the board is dedicated to "finding someone who can build on Ski's (Sygielski's) success."
The Advocate reserves the right to not publish comments based on their appropriateness.