Saturday, February 11, 2006
10 Gallons from a 5 Gallon Bucket
Some people would say that WOUFT is trying to get ten gallons from a five bucket, which defies the laws of space, time and mathematics. The administration only has a fixed amount of money and that cannot be changed.
The administration certainly seems to view the amount of money they have to work with as a fixed constant, like the speed of light. Even if that is true, one should ask the question: why is there only five gallons in the bucket?
The fact of the matter is that the actions of the administration have constrained income and mis-spent what income there was on priorities other than the faculty. WOU is the only campus that is prohibited from raising its tuition. Why? Because administrators on this campus (including, but not limited to former President Conn) and administrators "beyond this campus" (including OUS and the governor) created a situation (the excessive fund balance) that they deemed unacceptable. That is further compounded by issues of recruiting and retention. Note: administrators created the situation, administrators decided it was unacceptable, and administrators imposed the penalty. Can you say "judge, jury, and executioner?" I knew you could.
On the expense side, they've gone on a binge hiring new administrators while blocking all faculty hiring. They also squandered literally millions of dollars on various one-time projects, the new sidewalks being the most visible example.
So, if you buy the argument that there's only five gallons in the bucket, then you have to understand that the underlying causes of that are purely the result of administrative actions. The administration created this situation, and now they expect the faculty to live with wage increases below the rate of inflation to make up for their mistakes.
The administration certainly seems to view the amount of money they have to work with as a fixed constant, like the speed of light. Even if that is true, one should ask the question: why is there only five gallons in the bucket?
The fact of the matter is that the actions of the administration have constrained income and mis-spent what income there was on priorities other than the faculty. WOU is the only campus that is prohibited from raising its tuition. Why? Because administrators on this campus (including, but not limited to former President Conn) and administrators "beyond this campus" (including OUS and the governor) created a situation (the excessive fund balance) that they deemed unacceptable. That is further compounded by issues of recruiting and retention. Note: administrators created the situation, administrators decided it was unacceptable, and administrators imposed the penalty. Can you say "judge, jury, and executioner?" I knew you could.
On the expense side, they've gone on a binge hiring new administrators while blocking all faculty hiring. They also squandered literally millions of dollars on various one-time projects, the new sidewalks being the most visible example.
So, if you buy the argument that there's only five gallons in the bucket, then you have to understand that the underlying causes of that are purely the result of administrative actions. The administration created this situation, and now they expect the faculty to live with wage increases below the rate of inflation to make up for their mistakes.
# posted by Charles Anderson @ 4:42 PM 
