‘Quick Fixes’ raise concerns about budget spending.
By: Kelly Glueck
-Online Editor-
Often people say Rome was not built in a day, but that it burned down in one. STLCC-Meramec was built on the things that now define its individuality as a school. The recent permanent budget cuts made by the board and an interim administration fueled the low morale that was expressed by some faculty and students.
As a result of the state budget cuts, faculty forums were created to discuss the changes in administration and the Meramec campus.
In September 2008, Meramec lost the school health center; in 2010, the Child Care Center, men’s soccer and men’s wrestling, and women’s volleyball were cut.
July 2011, all campus sports will consolidate to STLCC district-wide teams.
Key retirements and the dismissal of former Vice President of Student Affairs Stephen Petersen and the resignation of former President Paul Pai in spring 2010 continues to lower morale, according to Meramec political science professor and member of the National Education Association (NEA) John Messmer, Ph.D.
“All these things had a snowball effect. There is an anxiety and a frustration from students and faculty. Add to that budget cuts and there isn’t a single faculty member, staff member or student that isn’t affected by these things,” Messmer said.
While the controversy behind the loss of Meramec’s vice president of student affairs and the president happened nearly a year ago, the school is still trudging under an interim, or temporary, administration.
Meramec history professor and integral leader of the faculty forum Robert Lee, Ph.D., said that he is concerned about the administration’s “quick fix” mentality in dealing with how the budget is spent.
“Somebody has to make the decisions and there are certainly limits to democracy. Whether they’re interim or permanent, that’s their job. My concern, and I’d have the exact same concern regardless of who’s in charge, is that there’s no thought of tomorrow. Everything is about ‘let’s survive today,’” Lee said.
Lee said survival is temporary. Meramec’s administration is still undergoing searches for a long-term president and vice president of student affairs, and the district launched a chancellor search after Zelema Harris announced her retirement in January.
With multiple positions pending and administrative appointment and faculty contracts in negotiation, Messmer, who does not consider himself or many of his collegues as interim, said interim administration representing Meramec could be unsettling to long-term faculty members.
“We worry that when we have interim leaders, whether or not they can really provide us the future that is best for everybody involved,” Messmer said. “When [they] make a decision that [they’re] not going to have to live with five years from now, let alone 10 or 15 years from now, you have to wonder about that.”
The faculty’s concerns led to a series of faculty forums to address the underlying issues experienced during a transition of administration.
The faculty invited Vice President of Academic Affairs George Wasson, Interim President Zerrie Campbell and Vice Chancellor Donna Dare to join the forums. According to Lee, admitting there is an error in communication is not enough to ease the tension.
“There is a real feeling of polarization between faculty and administration. It’s not us versus them, but us and them. The forum was formed to break that down,” Lee said. “Though they’ve admitted that communication is not what it should be, there hasn’t been a real effort beyond the existence of the forum to improve communication.”
Campbell said she keeps in touch with students and faculty through her weekly newsletter and by meeting with the student government monthly. She said she would be happy to return to a faculty forum if and when invited.
She said that the offer for students and faculty to converse about the future of Meramec is available over a free lunch through her meal plan, paid for by Treat America and Auxiliary Service. To schedule time with Campbell, please call her office at (314) 984-7763.
“I would welcome any suggestion for how the communication could be better,” Campbell said. “Those difficult questions deserve answers and I really believe that if I think the communication is occurring, but someone else doesn’t, then communication hasn’t occurred. I really believe that communication occurs when the message is received in the manner in which it was intended.”
While Campbell offers lunch to those willing to express their opinions, Student Governance Council President Kristen Huyett feels that while she is being heard, it might not have a significant impact on major decisions influenced by administration and made by the board of trustees concerning the school. She used the Meramec Child Care Center closing last year while Florissant Valley’s Child Care Center remained open as an example.
“We talked to the board. We told them what we thought and we tried to get our voices heard because there were a lot of students upset about it. It’s kind of frustrating though because there’s only so much we can do,” Huyett said. “We have some input with administration and we can tell them what we think, and we can hear from them as well, but sometimes it’s out of our control.”
According to Lee, the termination of the Child Care Center meant that some parents had to stay home or seek out alternative arrangements. In July, the loss of campus sports means a forfeit of future sport scholarships.
“Those are the sorts of cuts that affect you, but also, if you’ve got younger brothers and sisters, it’s going to affect them, too,” Lee said. “It’s when students come back in the fall and look around, and some of the people they take classes with won’t be there. That is when they are going to feel it, but it’s going to be too late.”
