To: CLC Board of Trustees
Date: September 26, 2006
From: CLCFT-PAC (College of Lake County Federation of Teachers - Political
Action
Committee) – Members
include: Wendy Brown (Chair), Ellen Dykeman
(treasurer), Brian Smith,
Cheena Wade, David Groeninger, Ditra Henry, Sean
Murphy, Thomas Mitchell
Re: Creation of the CLCFT-PAC
Created by CLCFT Local 2394, the CLCFT-PAC members hereby inform the CLC Board of Trustees of the faculty union’s newly created committee. The PAC’s mandates include:
Promoting public and governmental support of higher education;
Encouraging the union’s members to participate in governmental and political activities;
Improving union members’ understanding of policies and legislation affecting higher education;
Devising mechanisms and procedures for monitoring College expenditures of taxpayer monies;
Establishing a permanent political campaign fund;
Engaging in lawful activities suitable for achieving these ends.
In addition, this committee has the authority to plan and execute actions
related to the achievement of its purpose, including but not limited to:
Making recommendations to the CLCFT executive council with regard to political endorsements;
Making recommendations to the appropriate body with regard to the disbursement of funds for political activities, subject to applicable laws and regulations.
As often as possible, the membership of this committee hopes to work in concert with the CLC Board of Trustees to grow the mutually productive relationship that, until recently, both parties enjoyed. Clearly we have common goals: both parties seek to enhance the learning and working environment at the College, and to preserve proactively the founding principles of the College.
Members of the CLC Board have stated that they are engaged in dialogue at
the state level regarding:
• Redressing the loss of funds from the state for community colleges;
• Adequate and timely receipt of reimbursement funds for military personnel enrolled as students;
• Adequate funding of the pension fund.
We share these goals.
However, we also recognize that CLCFT-PAC was created by unanimous vote of
the union’s executive council because of grave concerns for the recent
administration and operation of the College. Since last January, a series
of ill-timed, ill-planned, and poorly communicated policies and decisions
have undermined collegiality, trampled the governance system, and paralyzed
operations. Among other issues, faculty members have expressed concern regarding:
The new tuition payment plan. The implementation of the plan was confused, rushed, and uncoordinated. It resulted in significant student distress, particularly for those students registering before the plan’s announcement. Adding to the confusion, the implementation of the tuition payment plan occurred outside of the governance system, thereby eliminating opportunities for input from all stakeholders.
Distressing bookstore performance. For the fall 2006 semester a majority of the needed textbooks were not ordered on time, resulting in 2-3 weeks of many faculty teaching without books, an obvious hindrance to academic success. The bookstore has been a source of concern for several years as the space allocated for student purchase is too small to effectively serve the student population. Despite the fact the student population has increased significantly, bookstore space has remained a low priority.
Questionable remodeling projects. Despite claims to the contrary, some recent remodeling projects did not include broad-based College community input. The main lobby’s remodel, which cost close to four times the original figure quoted by President Fonté, is an example of this. Although there had been discussion at the GCC (Governance Coordinating Council) regarding noise levels in the main lobby there had also been discussion about the need to preserve a student-friendly/use space.
Changes to the scheduling of classes. The new method of determining the schedule places crude faith in seat numbers filled over nuanced considerations of curriculum, student completion of degrees, and faculty expertise in course sequencing.
College-wide restructuring plans, including reworking the RAMP document to relocate the student services building to Lakeshore, the move to a multi-system campus, the elimination of a day-care center at Southlake and its replacement with a library, and the reorganization of several division/departments. All of these monumental changes were announced and implemented unilaterally by President Fonté and his administration. Such sweeping changes occurred without input from the governance system and without any discussion of an overall plan, sound needs assessments, or cost-benefit analyses.
The loss of opportunity for students in performing arts programs. The unilateral decision to shift the purpose of the James Lumber Performing Arts Building (PAB) from a student focus to an auxiliary services focus limits programming options for faculty and students.
The disregard of faculty perspectives regarding key personnel issues and the concern over loss of integrity on search committees because of the presence of pre-selected candidates. Such disregard and concern has resulted in faculty members’ questioning the value of serving on committees or answering administration’s surveys.
Concern over expenditures. The college recently expended $137,000 for back-to-back presidential searches, resulting in a controversial hire.
Clarifying/listing concerns is important, but it is only a beginning. The
fact that the CLC Board has directed the president and administration to,
“immediately begin taking steps to rebuild the level of trust and collegiality
by actively seeking feedback on issues through the governance system, respecting
differences of opinion and listening to ideas with truly open minds”
is an encouraging next step. Faculty Senate is working within the divisions
as well as through the GCC to address not only future planning but also past
concerns (beginning with the list above). It is the hope of the members of
the CLCFT-PAC that faculty, administration and the board can effectively work
together, examining past mistakes and implementing new processes that serve
to strengthen the collegial environment and academic focus of the college.
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1. This point was updated after the Board of Trustees meeting to better reflect the concerns of faculty.