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CMC justified in seeking waiver for salaries
By Owen Gillick / Twentynine Palms
Having spent most of the past 30 years working for or with our local community college (Copper Mountain College and its predecessor College of the Desert), I am aware of the importance college faculties place on their pay. What did surprise me recently was the willingness of local media to buy into the proposition that Copper Mountain College instructors need salary protection by state law. Now that I am no longer a spokesman for the college, I want to express my own opinion on that.
I refer especially to the front page story in the Hi-Desert Star on September 17 headlined "CMC aims to opt out of law on teachers' pay." The article went on to describe a recent action by the college's governing board in which the board voted unanimously to seek a waiver from a provision of state law, known commonly as the 50 percent law, which would require it to pay 50 percent of its educational expenditures to the college's classroom teachers in salaries and benefits.
Before commenting on the reported contents of the hearing that preceded the vote, I want your readers to know that I think the 50 percent law itself is a simplistic and harmful California-style attempt to deal with a complex challenge: to assure that teachers are appreciated and compensated adequately for their important work.
Why 50 percent, you might ask. Probably because it's simple. Fifty percent of what, you might ask further. That's not simple. Here's some background.
Community Colleges in California, unlike other public colleges and universities in the state, receive the bulk of their public money based on headcount, called fulltime equivalent students (FTES). There's a formula for that. Suffice it to say that the formula is the same throughout the state. What is not the same throughout the state is the amount of money a college receives per student. The rate varies greatly. Important here is the fact that Copper Mountain College, because of the extraordinary way in which it was formed (another story),
receives the smallest payment per student of the ten smallest colleges in the state. Therefore its general fund revenue is smaller. (Two colleges of comparably small size received $800,000 and $1,200,000 more general fund revenue than Copper Mountain College last year because of those rate disparities.)
Copper Mountain College spent about $8 million of general fund revenue last year. Some of that was reserved for special projects, so the state considered $7.1 million of it subject to the 50% rule. Of that, the college spent $2.9 million, slightly over 40%, on teacher salaries and benefits.
We should remember that the non-salary supply, maintenance and operation costs of keeping the college open and functioning are also taken from the $7.1 million.
With untypical wisdom, the 50 percent law makes provision for exceptions to the rule. Realizing that extremely small colleges have disproportionately high overhead and fixed expenses, it authorizes waivers based on size for colleges with less that 3,000 FTES. Copper Mountain College, at 1500 FTES, is one-half that size and its problem is compounded by the aforementioned low per-student payment rate. It was for seeking that fully-justified waiver that the administration and the elected members of the board of trustees received such wrath.
Important to note, the 50 percent protection applies only to classroom teachers. There are many employees at the college, some of them certificated professionals, who are directly involved in the learning process but whose salaries are on the "wrong side" of the 50 percent ratio. They include the campus librarian and all counselors. Beyond them are all classified employees who work in the instructional and student services areas. Often they are the first and most influential contact students have with the college. Their salaries too are on the wrong side, as are those who work to keep the place open, functioning, and attractive. (The college cannot afford a groundskeeper or a public information office because of the 50% requirement. Similarly, the college library is closed on Saturdays because of undue respect for the 50% goal.) The list of understaffed programs and missed opportunities is long, all influenced by a perceived need to reach 50 percent as soon as possible. I would suggest that, at the present level of state funding and considering the unmet educational needs of the college's service area, reaching it should not even be a goal. That's why the waiver provision is there. For example, the college's new "registered nurse" degree program will have a negative effect on reaching the goal because of the preponderance of "wrong side" expenses, yet that program is clearly needed.
Finally, to some points raised by champions of the 50 percent goal:
The appointed (non-elected) student member of the board of trustees notes that very few colleges apply for the exemption. That's because very few are tiny enough to be eligible, other than for exceptional circumstances (Compton College.)
The academic senate president warned that failure to close in on the 50 percent target would have "serious consequences with educational services and employee morale." I would remind him that most of the college employees, including many who work in educational services outside the classroom, are now serving in understaffed offices and sections, at least partly because of the 50 percent policy. Their morale should also be considered.
As to the present adequacy of teachers' salaries in our communities, I defer judgment. Rather than relying on some misunderstood formula, though, it might be useful to look at the current salary schedules themselves. I believe they are available upon request.
I refer especially to the front page story in the Hi-Desert Star on September 17 headlined "CMC aims to opt out of law on teachers' pay." The article went on to describe a recent action by the college's governing board in which the board voted unanimously to seek a waiver from a provision of state law, known commonly as the 50 percent law, which would require it to pay 50 percent of its educational expenditures to the college's classroom teachers in salaries and benefits.
Before commenting on the reported contents of the hearing that preceded the vote, I want your readers to know that I think the 50 percent law itself is a simplistic and harmful California-style attempt to deal with a complex challenge: to assure that teachers are appreciated and compensated adequately for their important work.
Why 50 percent, you might ask. Probably because it's simple. Fifty percent of what, you might ask further. That's not simple. Here's some background.
Community Colleges in California, unlike other public colleges and universities in the state, receive the bulk of their public money based on headcount, called fulltime equivalent students (FTES). There's a formula for that. Suffice it to say that the formula is the same throughout the state. What is not the same throughout the state is the amount of money a college receives per student. The rate varies greatly. Important here is the fact that Copper Mountain College, because of the extraordinary way in which it was formed (another story),
receives the smallest payment per student of the ten smallest colleges in the state. Therefore its general fund revenue is smaller. (Two colleges of comparably small size received $800,000 and $1,200,000 more general fund revenue than Copper Mountain College last year because of those rate disparities.)
Copper Mountain College spent about $8 million of general fund revenue last year. Some of that was reserved for special projects, so the state considered $7.1 million of it subject to the 50% rule. Of that, the college spent $2.9 million, slightly over 40%, on teacher salaries and benefits.
We should remember that the non-salary supply, maintenance and operation costs of keeping the college open and functioning are also taken from the $7.1 million.
With untypical wisdom, the 50 percent law makes provision for exceptions to the rule. Realizing that extremely small colleges have disproportionately high overhead and fixed expenses, it authorizes waivers based on size for colleges with less that 3,000 FTES. Copper Mountain College, at 1500 FTES, is one-half that size and its problem is compounded by the aforementioned low per-student payment rate. It was for seeking that fully-justified waiver that the administration and the elected members of the board of trustees received such wrath.
Important to note, the 50 percent protection applies only to classroom teachers. There are many employees at the college, some of them certificated professionals, who are directly involved in the learning process but whose salaries are on the "wrong side" of the 50 percent ratio. They include the campus librarian and all counselors. Beyond them are all classified employees who work in the instructional and student services areas. Often they are the first and most influential contact students have with the college. Their salaries too are on the wrong side, as are those who work to keep the place open, functioning, and attractive. (The college cannot afford a groundskeeper or a public information office because of the 50% requirement. Similarly, the college library is closed on Saturdays because of undue respect for the 50% goal.) The list of understaffed programs and missed opportunities is long, all influenced by a perceived need to reach 50 percent as soon as possible. I would suggest that, at the present level of state funding and considering the unmet educational needs of the college's service area, reaching it should not even be a goal. That's why the waiver provision is there. For example, the college's new "registered nurse" degree program will have a negative effect on reaching the goal because of the preponderance of "wrong side" expenses, yet that program is clearly needed.
Finally, to some points raised by champions of the 50 percent goal:
The appointed (non-elected) student member of the board of trustees notes that very few colleges apply for the exemption. That's because very few are tiny enough to be eligible, other than for exceptional circumstances (Compton College.)
The academic senate president warned that failure to close in on the 50 percent target would have "serious consequences with educational services and employee morale." I would remind him that most of the college employees, including many who work in educational services outside the classroom, are now serving in understaffed offices and sections, at least partly because of the 50 percent policy. Their morale should also be considered.
As to the present adequacy of teachers' salaries in our communities, I defer judgment. Rather than relying on some misunderstood formula, though, it might be useful to look at the current salary schedules themselves. I believe they are available upon request.
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