Tough decisions postponed by GCC board

By Matt Brabb
Connection Editor

The Gila Community College (GCC) Governing Board met Thursday and essentially put off making a decision that will affect tuition costs for students next fall. They also tabled the hiring of an assistant for the board. The person who fills that position will, among other things, attempt to untangle the financial data the board has received and struggled to make sense of in the past year from Eastern Arizona College (EAC).

Dr. Larry Stephenson, representing the Payson Campus on the GCC board, was reluctant to move forward on hiring an assistant. It was not, however, for lack of interest of bringing one on board soon.

“I would like to table this until our next meeting due to the lack of timely receipt of the material,” he said, referring to the fact that he had only just received the job description for the new position from GCC Board President Bob Ashford.

The assistant to the board will officially be called the Executive Liaison Officer, and will be the first point of contact for GCC. The position will be part-time, and the primary responsibilities include analyzing financial reports from EAC and developing spreadsheets and reports to reflect the current and projected financial status of the college on a monthly basis. In addition, the liaison officer will assist in budget preparation and monitor budget performance.

The need for an assistant to the board to manage these tasks has become all too apparent in the past year, as board members have struggled to set policy without having a firm understanding of the true fiscal condition GCC was facing.

Estimates concerning this past year’s GCC budget have ranged from a $2 million deficit, to an adjusted $750,000 deficit, to the possibility of a small surplus.

The board also passed on making a change to the senior tuition waiver program that saw reductions in the past year in the face of budget uncertainty.

Again, representatives from the Payson Campus, including board members Stephenson and Tom Loeffler, balked at making a decision when they had only just received the proposed changes from Ashford.

“I would like to have more time to reflect on this - not to be presented with it literally at the last minute,” said Loeffler.

Ashford submitted six possible variations to the current waiver program including keeping the status quo, which allows for a 75 percent waiver for students 65 and up, a 50 percent waiver for those ages 60 to 64. On the other side of the spectrum, there was a proposal to allow for a 100 percent waiver for seniors 55 and older.

A third agenda item, the possibility of revising the tuition schedule for the upcoming fall 2010 schedule, was also tabled. That became necessary when the board failed to take action on adjustments to the senior waiver program, and because some 400 seats had already been signed up for in classes in the fall.

Loeffler raised another point to the board when he pointed out that a number of adjunct faculty members had started teaching in the past semester without having signed a contract first.

“Consider the risks of having teachers on campus without contracts,” he said. “The liability would be far greater for the college should an incident occur.”

“I recommend we put this on a future agenda,” agreed Stephenson. “Apart from the legalities, there is a moral and ethical reason to consider this.”