CHAPARRAL

The old story starts, "There is good news and there is bad news…"

     The bad news is that part-time faculty's first checks this semester were lacking the "equity" raise that was  negotiated last year.  The reason for that is that we wanted to include some folks who were left out last year. To accomplish this the whole sum must be recalculated. 

     The good news is that part-time faculty will be getting a fat retro check as soon as possible, possibly by the time you read this.

     The bad news is that some counselors lost money this summer due to our negotiations last year. 

     The good news is that we will fix it during this round of negotiations.

     The bad news is that no faculty will have this year's raise on their checks until it has been negotiated. 

     The good news is that it will be retroactive to July 1 and should be quite large by the time we negotiate it (or is that bad news?).

     The really bad news is that the district is asking us to "modify" our health insurance coverage, due to the out of control inflation of insurance premiums.

     The almost good news is that the cost to the district is only $170,000, which can probably be found in the budget somewhere, as it is a relative drop in the bucket budgetarily speaking, and the Guild's position is still, "no change in health coverage."

     The good news is this year the budget is balanced. 

     The bad news is that it was balanced using one-time funds and fixes.  Next year we will need to find real solutions to a budget that can only deteriorate, as the pressure will be off the politicians in Sacramento once the elections are over, and they are not currying our favor. &