FACCC’s Annual Conference Report

The Faculty Association of California’s Community Colleges (FACCC) held its annual conference on Nov 14-15 in San Francisco. FACCC’s legislative priorities were announced at the conference. All of these priorities directly support adjuncts and students throughout the state of California. Among the priorities:

1. Restore educational opportunities for the thousands of students deprived of a community college education.

2. Guarantee that community colleges receive their full share of Proposition 98 funding. Current law requires that community colleges receive 10.93 percent of the Proposition 98 funding (the rest goes to K-12). Community colleges have yet to receive their full share of the Prop 98 funding, and only received a little more than 9 percent of that funding for this year.

3. The biggest legislative challenge in 2004 is a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Carol Liu. Her plan is to separate community colleges from the Prop 98 funding and replace that funding with higher student fees. Under her plan, student fees could go as high as $50 per unit (yes, that’s per unit!). Those fees would remain at the colleges instead of going to Sacramento, as current law requires. However, there some major concerns. Many students simply cannot afford $50 per unit (or whatever that amount might be), and therefore, will choose not to further their education. Some colleges will not be able to balance their budgets on fees collected. If that happens, just imagine how many more classes and programs will be permanently eliminated! Some districts will require additional funding from the state in order to survive. Other districts may raise student fees to higher levels in order to balance their budgets. Without additional funding, adjuncts will lose their jobs, but so will full time faculty, staff, and even some administrators!! Winter and summer intersessions will cease to exist. The bottom line: this is not good for community colleges, and Carol Liu must be advised accordingly!

4. Clear hurdles for part-time faculty when applying for unemployment. Too many adjuncts are being denied unemployment insurance because EDD employees fail to understand that adjuncts have no guarantee of re-employment even if they are offered a teaching assignment in future semesters.

5. Ensure that adjunct participants in the CALSTRS Defined Benefit Program receive their pension based upon an accurate calculation of their service credit. Adjuncts who contributed prior to 1996 will experience the most problems when they retire, because their pre-1996 contributions were miscalculated. Last year, AB 1586 was introduced to solve that problem. However, the bill was placed in the suspense file because the state fiscal crisis convinced the legislature that the time was not right in passing any retirement enhancements. Assemblywoman Gloria Negrete McLeod has promised to re-introduce the bill in January 2004.

6. Mandate that all districts offer Social Security as a retirement option for adjuncts. &

email: Kholland@glendale.edu

CHAPARRAL

FACCC’s Annual Conference Report