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December 2000,Volume 11, Issue 3 - Academic Senate Opposes Elimination of Reassigned Time to Solve District's 50% Problem |
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By Ken Mason
By an overwhelming majority the Academic Senate voted to oppose the District request to be exempt from complying to the 50% law for 1999-2000, and endorsed a plan to invite at least one member from the Board of Trustees to serve on an anticipated joint faculty/administration 50% law task force committee.
The Senate refused to support the District's request for an exemption to the 50% law, reaching the same conclusion as the Faculty Association. The District, it maintained, was in error in its allocation of funds for instruction. Exemptions are granted if Districts can show proof of financial hardship or excessive faculty salaries. But such a request is hardly justifiable with more than $6 million in reserves (only about $3 million are required).
Rejected also was the District's rationale to eliminate reassigned time for the coordinators of the Scholars, Women's College, Environmental College, Child Development, the Math Lab, ombudsperson, the art and photo gallery programs and the Corsair. Although Senate accepted temporary adjustments for the Spring, it disputed the arguments the District gave regarding the costs for coordinating these programs, and that eliminating reassigned time would move the District into compliance with the 50% law. The Senate contends that altering the coordination of the programs would dramatically compromise their integrity. And the net increase in instruction resulting from compromising the programs would only bring a savings of $7,300, a far cry from the nearly $1.5 million needed to comply with the law. At the December 4 Board meeting, the coordinators explained that the District's proposal compromises those programs far out of proportion to any effect they can have on the budget problem. Nonetheless, rather than make the necessary administrative reduction, the District continues to justify its violation of what it perceives as an antiquated K-12 law.
The District's response has created concern that an attempt may also be made to eliminate reassigned time for elected officers of the Senate. Academic Senate officers need reassigned time to meet state-mandated responsibilities detailed in AB 1725. Therefore, in a move to protect reassigned time for coordinators as well as officers of the Senate, a resolution was passed urging the Faculty Association to include these items as part of its negotiations package when contract discussions begin in the spring.
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