general assembly neglects
north carolina community colleges
ncccfa president don wildman's comments on the 2003 budget at a press conference in raleigh on july 2:
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"the north carolina general assembly has just completed and governor easley has just signed into law the new state budget for 2003-2005. for the last several months, the north carolina community college faculty association, along with community college presidents and trustees and the north carolina community college system, has worked in support of a state budget that adequately provides funding for our colleges. such a budget would have included full funding for the enrollment growth already experienced by our colleges this past year, funding for the equipment needs to meet the learning requirements of our students, and adequate funding for faculty and staff who provide quality instruction in our classrooms.
"although the newly passed state budget includes full funding for last year's enrollment growth, it includes no funds for equipment needs. and almost $10 million in cuts in instructional support funds will inevitably reduce the amount of this enrollment growth funding that actually reaches the classroom. the new budget also includes a ½ of 1 percent salary increase for community college faculty and professional staff in addition to the $550 bonus given to other state employees.
"while recognizing the challenges facing north carolina and our political leaders during this period of state revenue shortfall, the executive board of the north carolina community college faculty association feels that the 2003-2005 state budget, as approved, falls tragically short of meeting the needs of north carolina's community colleges.
"even though north carolina's community colleges are expected to continue to grow in excess of 10 percent next year, state support for community colleges declines next year by over $7 million. this continues a more than thirty-year trend of inadequate funding for our colleges.
"recently the north carolina general assembly passed a resolution praising the founders of north carolina's community colleges and lauding forty years of community college service to the state. many of those who spoke in support of the resolution cited the countless number of citizens' lives that education at our colleges has changed and improved. though many legislators praised our community colleges for delivering more value at less expense to the state than any other state institution, others admitted to the embarrassingly poor way in which our colleges have been supported. the new budget does little to change this history of neglect.
"the most egregious and most long-term funding failure for our community colleges is in salary for community college faculty. north carolina community college faculty are currently paid at a level that is 47th in the nation. they are paid on average over $9,200 a year less than their colleagues throughout the country -- 20 percent below the national average. in fact, many community college faculty are paid $8,000 to $10,000 a year less than their counterparts in the north carolina public schools, where salaries are currently 23rd in the nation. these documented facts are well known within the halls of the north carolina general assembly.
"both governor easley, in his state of the state address, and the north carolina general assembly, in its budget, have acknowledged this problem by including a ½ of 1 percent salary increase for community college faculty and professional staff in addition to the bonus appropriated for other state employees. while we appreciate this average $15-a-month increase in pay, we, the leadership of the north carolina community college faculty association, feel compelled to point out that this .5 percent does little to change the current faculty salary situation. since this budget gives north carolina's public school teachers a 1.8-percent salary increase this year and since tuition increases can be used for additional salary increases at our universities, current inequities will continue to grow. continuation of this salary inequity jeopardizes the quality of education that both the citizens of north carolina and the leaders of north carolina business and industry have come to rely !
on from their community colleges.
"during this legislative session, bills were introduced to initiate a five-year plan to raise community college faculty and professional staff salaries to the national average in meaningful annual steps. the funds required each year to do this would total less than ¼ of 1 percent of the state's annual $8.5 billion education budget. the north carolina community college faculty association recognizes and applauds the support shown for our community colleges by the sponsors of these bills in the senate and house.
"unfortunately, the bills never got out of committee. this one fact speaks to community college faculty and staff more eloquently than all the praise given during the anniversary celebration ever could. once again, our state's leaders have passed up an opportunity to remedy a 30-plus-year neglect of community college faculty and staff salaries.
"throughout the budget process this year, we feared that the legislature's failure to address faculty and professional staff salaries in a meaningful way would seriously threaten the quality of instruction in the community college classroom. we feared that eligible faculty would quickly seek to retire, that recently hired faculty would decide not to continue careers in community college education, and that we would be unable to hire quality replacements when 47th in the nation in salary is all they can look forward to in the foreseeable future.
"a key strength of our community colleges has been their ability to maintain smaller class sizes than those found in four-year institutions. but fewer faculty will mean fewer course offerings and larger classes. our students will no longer be able to find the classes that they need to fulfill their academic and life-enrichment goals. the classes they will find will be scheduled at times when family and employment obligations may prevent them from attending. larger class size will inevitably erode the quality of instruction our students deserve.
"continued neglect of community college faculty salaries strip community college faculty of hope. with no indication of change in the deplorable salary situation in the foreseeable future and with the recent annual decline in employee health care benefits, current community college faculty are left with little incentive to stay within the system. as current faculty leave, there remains absolutely no inducement for new faculty to come on board. continued indifference by the general assembly to the serious funding problems in our community college system dangerously compromises the quality of north carolina's workforce preparedness. this decline in quality will undermine the economic recovery and threaten the economic future of the citizens of the state."
penny wise and pound foolish!
my community college is a wonderful institution. it is a valuable resource in this nafta-stripped, economically-depressed area of the state. the faculty (especially the nursing instructors) work long and hard. our students are equipped with marketable job skills/ degrees and are transformed into tax-paying, productive members of society.
many of our nursing faculty have retired or left and we are faced with a shortage of instructors, as we are unable to find replacements (not even bsn nurses are responding to our want-ads). fifteen other cc across the state are also facing critical shortages in nursing faculty. very low salaries, poor benefits make faculty nursing positions unattractive to potential candidates. we are at a breaking point.
