What's Really Happening
Columbus State Education Association Newsletter of January 19, 2006
NEGOTIATIONS MOVE INTO FINAL DAYS
A mutually agreed communications blackout on negotiation issues continues, and that means that CSEA negotiators and administration representatives are still talking. Negotiations continue on campus today and tomorrow.
BACK TO THE BOARD MEETING NEXT THURSDAY
Faculty will return to the Board of Trustees meeting next Thursday, January 26, to determine what progress the Board has made on looking into questions about the College's management.
Nearly 80 faculty, students, and staff attended the Board of Trustees meeting November 17, 2005, to inform the Board of continuing concerns about the operation of the College. These issues included delays in the initial paychecks each quarter for adjunct faculty, the administration's increasing cash reserves, hiring of administrators who lack the qualifications required in their job descriptions, and the decline in employee morale over the past several years.
In a statement released following the meeting, the Board said, "[W]e plan to follow up with those and take appropriate action."
Please join us next Thursday at 6 PM in the Franklin Hall Board Room to hear how the Board intends to address CSCC's management problems.
TRUSTEES AND POLITICAL AGENDAS
The state's colleges and universities have not escaped the "pay-to-play" politics that have infected the Statehouse for the past decade and contributed to Ohio 's ongoing decline. In an article in Tuesday's (January 17) Columbus Dispatch , State Senator Mark Dann discussed a proposal that would require college boards of trustees to be evenly split between Democrats and Republicans as well as prohibit appointments of office holders as college trustees for 3 years after leaving their positions. Dann suggested that many trustees contribute money to incumbent politicians in exchange for their appointments.
In related legislative action, a bill introduced by State Senator Chris Redfern would prohibit college trustees from contributing to statewide candidates while trustees or for one year before or after their appointment as trustees at state colleges and universities. Both Dann's and Redfern's proposals follow a court ruling on a case involving Ohio University in Athens . Several Columbus State trustees, none of whom have backgrounds in education, have contributed thousands of dollars to state officeholders over the past 10 years.
What's Really Happening is produced by the Communications Committee of the Columbus State Education Association. We welcome your comments, news, and insights.
Steve Abbott, President / x5096
Karl Rieppel, Vice President / x2500
Amy Brubaker, Secretary and Association Representative / x5068
Greg Goodhart, Treasurer / x5431
Darrell Minor, Parliamentarian / x5310
Bill Mundy, Association Representative / x5176
Dr. Jane McDowell, Association Representative / x2656
Dave Busch, Association Representative / x5079
Dr. Charlie Gallucci, Association Representative / x5499
Leslie Smith, Association Representative / x5302
Dr. Wendy McCullen-Vermillion, Association Representative / x2693
Lisa Schneider, Association Representative / x5124