The college that had once been the fastest growing community college in Texas suffered from falling enrollment and a flat budget for four straight years. Something needed to be done.
But a ray of light arrived just in time with the allocation of an additional $605, 676 to Palo Alto’s existing budget.
However, like many other good things, this money had to go through a rambling journey before it reached the college.
It began with a Budget Adjustment Request submitted by Palo Alto’s president, Dr. Ana "Cha" Guzman, to
the Alamo Community College District Board of Trustees. The request called for the board to provide an additional $665,653 to the Palo Alto Budget.
The major need facing
the school had to do with the shortage of full-time faculty. Guzman showed
that Palo Alto’s staff had shrunk since 1997. During this period,
Palo Alto lost one full-time faculty member, bringing the total from 117
to 116. The school also lost four administrators since 1998, going from
10 to six; and two classified staff members, going from 69 to 67.
Because of this, Palo
Alto increasingly relied on adjunct faculty to fill the void. According
to the request, Palo Alto’s full-time to part-time ratio was 48 percent
to 52 percent, far from the goal of 60 to 40.
"The full-time staff is having an overload," said Ginger Carnes,
director of Community and Public Relations. "Usually they have to
teach five classes, but they’re having to do six or seven."
In addition to the
full-time faculty deficit, Guzman pointed out that a lack of funds also
hurt the Continuing Education programs. Although the programs took in
$245,830 in revenue in 2001, only $5,000 had been set aside in the budget
for expenses.
"Without adequate operating funds," Guzman wrote, "the
Continuing Education specialists cannot sustain nor expand their program
offerings to the community."
Because of the crisis Palo Alto faced with its full-time faculty shortage
and Continuing Education underfunding, Guzman asked for additional money
to hire two administrators, eight instructional faculty, eight professional
staff and six classified positions.
However, rather than being voted upon, the request was pulled from the
Board of Trustees’ February agenda. The Palo Alto Faculty Senate
responded with a Resolution Concerning Additional Funds for Palo Alto
College that was presented by Faculty Senate President Sandra Hood at
the February 18 board meeting. Dr. Robert Ramsay, the ACCD Chancellor,
assured her that the money was being arranged.
Before the board could deliver on its promise, the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools’ Reaffirmation Committee visited Palo Alto.
At the conclusion of their study, they made a series of 20 recommendations
to Palo Alto. Among them was Palo Alto’s need to correct the disparity
between full and part-time faculty.
On March 18, the ACCD trustees announced that they would give Palo Alto
an additional $605,676 for the 2001-02 budget to create 17 new positions.
These include two vice-presidents, four professional staff, three classified
staff and eight faculty positions. The Aviation, Physical Education,English,
Biology, Music and Administrative ComputerTechnology Departments will
each get one new full-time teacher.
"In addition to the full-time teachers, Palo Alto is also looking
at hiring secretaries, distance education specialists and computer lab
technicians," Carnes said.
The Palo Alto Music Department is using this opportunity to hire a new
instructor to expand their program to new horizons.
"We plan to start a conjunto program to complement the mariachi group,"
said Brent Osner, associate professor of Music. "I expect this to
help the music department grow."
The English Department is taking this opportunity to expand its program
into the high-tech future of education.
"The English Department is looking for someone with experience in
distance learning and the Internet to increase our number of online courses,"
said Dr. Mary-Ellen Jacobs, chair of the English Department.
Aviation, which currently has only one full-time faculty member, will
also benefit from these funds.
"Palo Alto is the only college in this area to offer courses in Aviation,"
Carnes said. "Another full-time teacher will give the department
the resources it needs to grow."
The President’s Executive Team, a group of 15 administrators who
meet with the president every Tuesday, will decide about the allocation
of the new funds. A final listing of the division of funds has not been
determined.
"These funds will cause a tremendous impact on campus," Carnes
said. "We have many basic positions that need to be filled so we
can get the students what they need, and the new administrators will provide
leadership that some departments have lacked."