2008 Woodie Awards
Teachers Demand Salary Increase From Trustees
Corinna Scott
Issue date: 5/28/08 Section: Board of Trustees
More than 100 faculty members, many of them holding up protest signs, filled Kreider Hall May 19, making the board of trustees an unusually heavily attended event.
One of the signs showed Glendale with "zero percent" at the bottom of a list of colleges that have received pay raises.
The faculty guild is negotiating a pay raise with the board of trustees because they believe there was enough money in the budget for a pay raise, but the board and the administration had other priorities.
Also, there is a five percent reserve that Glendale has that the faculty guild wants the administration to spend on balancing the budget and giving pay raises to instructors.
"Our reserves are made up of savings, i.e. one-time funds that once spent do not get replaced, and should not be used to balance the budget or give pay raises as this only creates a bigger problem in the next fiscal year," said Larry Serot, vice president of administrative services in an email.
"The guild only wants to look at one fiscal year at a time. The board and the administration must take a long term approach to the college's finances," Serot said.
Steve Marsden, a math professor and guild representative, made a presentation at the meeting that projected a mock-up of the popular Idiot's guide series onto a screen titled "The Guide to Asking the Board of Trustees for Money." Next thing up was a sign that said "It's not about $$$. It's about priorities."
Amid laughter, Marsden said "Those of you who know me know that I have a good sense of humor, but tonight I have to be serious, because we're at a critical stage of negotiations."
"For the first time, in quite a while, the district set aside no money for staff pay raises. Now I've heard various excuses from blaming the budget committee, to blaming Larry Serot, to my own theory which I will share with you a little bit later."
Marsden said later in the meeting that he feels that the board is using a "I'll show you we won't budget anything" approach. "I've been negotiating a long time and I've talked to enough knowledgeable people to know," he said.
One of the signs showed Glendale with "zero percent" at the bottom of a list of colleges that have received pay raises.
The faculty guild is negotiating a pay raise with the board of trustees because they believe there was enough money in the budget for a pay raise, but the board and the administration had other priorities.
Also, there is a five percent reserve that Glendale has that the faculty guild wants the administration to spend on balancing the budget and giving pay raises to instructors.
"Our reserves are made up of savings, i.e. one-time funds that once spent do not get replaced, and should not be used to balance the budget or give pay raises as this only creates a bigger problem in the next fiscal year," said Larry Serot, vice president of administrative services in an email.
"The guild only wants to look at one fiscal year at a time. The board and the administration must take a long term approach to the college's finances," Serot said.
Steve Marsden, a math professor and guild representative, made a presentation at the meeting that projected a mock-up of the popular Idiot's guide series onto a screen titled "The Guide to Asking the Board of Trustees for Money." Next thing up was a sign that said "It's not about $$$. It's about priorities."
Amid laughter, Marsden said "Those of you who know me know that I have a good sense of humor, but tonight I have to be serious, because we're at a critical stage of negotiations."
"For the first time, in quite a while, the district set aside no money for staff pay raises. Now I've heard various excuses from blaming the budget committee, to blaming Larry Serot, to my own theory which I will share with you a little bit later."
Marsden said later in the meeting that he feels that the board is using a "I'll show you we won't budget anything" approach. "I've been negotiating a long time and I've talked to enough knowledgeable people to know," he said.
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