Wednesday, March 16, 2011

2011-03-16 "What lies beneath" by Khrystan Policarpio from "Solano Tempest" newspaper
[http://www.solanotempest.net/opinion/what-lies-beneath-1.2108941]
When I first decided to write this article, I was armed with what I felt was general public knowledge about the school's budget crisis: 200 classes may be cut, enrollment fees increasing, etc.
I was shocked by what I found.
According to the Salary Schedule, which can be found on Solano's website, two new salary ranges have been created.
According to Lillian Nelson, treasurer of the Associated Students of Solano College, these ranges were created for two administrative positions.
During the 09-10 school year, the highest annual salary obtainable was $135,473, but in the 10-11 school year, the Executive Vice President felt that being an "Executive" entitled him to an entire new salary of $145,473.
The former Vice President of Finance and Administration, Carey Roth, resigned and was replaced by Yulian Ligioso.
According to the Vacaville Reporter, Roth is currently suing the college for budget fraud.
Ironically enough, according to Nelson, Ligioso, whose job is to regulate the budget, wanted a pay raise for his position.
What then has happened to the previous administrative salary ranges? ($102,740.40-$135,473.37) It seems that no administrator is being paid at that level.
According to the Vacaville Reporter, SCC Superintendent/President Jowel Laguerre receives an annual salary of $225,000 with a compensation package in things such as health, housing, travel and entertainment totaling $290,085.
During a Superintendent/President Cabinet meeting on March 3, the President of the ASSC, Mary "Lexi" Parmer, proposed a 15% cut in salary for administrators across the board.
According to Nelson, Parmer was subsequently met with, "Do the students feel this way" by the cabinet.
I have to say, yes, I feel this way.
On top of this, we as a college aren't even receiving what we are entitled to.
SCC is entitled to a certain amount of money from the State (our "apportionment") and we only receive part of our apportionment, the state keeps the rest.
While, because we aren't receiving what we're due, tuition and fees go up (as per the states' regulations) taking more money from the students.
Then, as the state receives that money, they in turn give us a little more of our apportionment, but never the entire allotment.
So, who suffers while the administrators live in luxury? The students.
We are required to pay these increasing fees, we are the ones who lose required classes, and we are the ones that suffer, while administrators, at their leisure, create entirely new pay scales for their benefit.
Instead of sitting around and letting the administrators have their way with our college's money, I believe we should take a stand.
Administrator's salaries are public information.
Instead of allowing them to make decisions for us, we should stand for what we're entitled to.

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