GORA A
Depp, Burton give tale new life in film
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Monroe County Community College
March 11, 2010 Vol. 54, Issue 2 www.mcccagora.com
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Zarb gets honored for hard work pg. 7
Granholm makes another ‘Promise’
New ‘Promise’ would cover only graduates who work in Michigan for a year after finishing their degree Jennifer Niswender Editor-in-Chief
Gov. Jennifer Granholm wants to restore the Michigan Promise Scholarship program for the budget starting Oct. 1. The new “Promise” would cover college graduates who work in Michigan, at least part-time, for a year after completing their degree. If the new Promise is passed by the Legislature, it would cover the same students and future qualifiers, but only after they graduate and work in Michigan for a year. The money would come in the form of a $4,000 refundable income tax credit. The Michigan Promise Scholarship was eliminated last summer because of the state’s budget problems. Thousands of college students who were counting on the scholarship to pay this year’s tuition bills were outraged. The new plan isn’t going to help stu-
dents who need the money now and had already qualified for it by doing well on standardized tests in high school. “I just love how the name is the ‘promise scholarship’ when the people it was ‘promised’ to aren’t getting it,” said MCCC student Marissa Manor. “How hypocritical. You shouldn’t have to re-qualify to get something we earned.” MCCC student Nicholas Russell agreed. “But what about the hundreds of past graduates that will not receive it?” he said. “I could sure use $4,000 right now. I’ve worked the last five years for companies that are based in Michigan.” Granholm said she hopes this new plan will cost the state less. It would require an estimated $6 million for the next fiscal year, compared to the $120 million tab the program would have had this fiscal year. The program’s cost would rise in subsequent years, but by then the state’s economy could rebound and affordability might not be such an issue. Granholm proposed the new bill because she wants to boost the number of college graduates who live in Michigan. She said states with high percentages of college degree holders often are in the best financial shape.
Agora photo by Ashley LeTourneau
Rev. Robert B. Jones (left) and Phil Wiggins (right) performed blues music at the Meyer Theater for the 23rd Annual Black History Month Blue’s Concert on Feb 27. See story and photos on page 6.
Trustees reject proposed ceiling on contact hours Trustee Linda Lauer alone in proposing new tuition limit Asia Rapai Staff
The Board of Trustees rejected a proposed ceiling on contact hours at its meeting Feb. 22. Trustee Linda Lauer proposed the ceiling on contact hours at the board meeting on Jan. 25. The ceiling would limit the amount of extra tuition students paid because of
contact hours. After the January meeting, MCCC’s Strategic Financial Planning Committee met to consider the proposal. Board Chair William Bacarella, Trustees William Braunlich and Joseph Bellino, President David Nixon, and vice presidents Grace Yackee, Randy Daniels and Timothy Bennett are members of the committee. Braunlich presented a summary of the committee’s thoughts at the last board meeting. “We gave it a fresh look,” he said. After Braunlich read through the committee’s report, Lauer expressed her opposing viewpoints and brought up concerns for MCCC’s enrollment compared
to other Michigan community colleges. “We are devastated by lay-offs in Monroe County,” she said. “Why isn’t our enrollment as high?” At that point, Trustee Joseph Bellino said, “it’s not our tuition.” Trustee Mike Meyer said he thought relatively lower enrollment numbers was a whole different topic. The committee recommended that the Board of Trustees reject the proposal to impose a ceiling on contact hours. Meyer suggested that the committee’s summary be adopted as the Board of Trustees’ official opinion. All trustees voted in agreement, except
MCCC and faculty prepare to negotiate a new contract Asia Rapai Staff
After three years, the MCCC faculty contract awaits negotiations again. The process officially began when the MCCC Faculty Association submitted on Feb. 15 its request to begin negotiating. Since that date, MCCC administrators and trustees have 30 days to contact the faculty about setting a date for the first official meeting. The district has not officially responded to set that date. “Both parties could request intentions to negotiate a new agreement any time between Jan. 15 and May 15,” Dr. Pat Nedry, chief negotiator for the faculty, said. “We, the association, have done that,” Nedry said. “The district, MCCC, has acknowledged that.” As chief negotiator for the faculty, Nedry said he will be directly involved in bargaining and activities related to negotiations. Other members of the faculty team are Tracy Rayl and Terri Kovach. For the college, MCCC’s attorney,
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Robert Boonin, will serve as chief negotiator, along with a team of administrators and trustees. Other members of the MCCC team are Randy Daniels, Molly McCutchan, and Grace Yackee. The next step is for either the negotiating teams or the chief negotiators to meet, Nedry said. The current contract, or Master Agreement, was set to cover 2006 to 2010. If a new contract is not set in place before the existing one expires in August, Randy Daniels said there are several options regarding a contract extension, or the faculty could work without a contract. Daniels said the last negotiations continued into the next academic year. “Some contract negotiations start and wrap up quickly, and others take an extended period of time,” he said. “It just depends on how many issues there are and how complicated those issues might be.” To prepare for the negotiations, each side has been considering what issues they will address this time around.
Lauer. After the meeting was adjourned, Lauer said she thinks MCCC needs to invest in the future of Monroe County. “Research needs to be done to see how we compare to other colleges,” she said. Data from the Fall and Winter semesters shows how the contact hour conversion has impacted the college. Braunlich said the data from this year’s budget would persist beyond the “urban legend that there is more money in the reserves.” He explained that the money in reserves could be compared to a homeowner’s savings. He gave the example that a ho-
Enriching the students across Southeast Michigan
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Faculty Association President Mark Bergmooser said his role is to advise the team members in determining what interests to focus on. “Without making myself sound over important, I’m like a coach in some ways,” he said. Bergmooser and Dean Kerste, faculty grievance chairman, worked with the executive board of the faculty association to recruit the negotiating team. “We trust them to do the job,” Bergmooser said. “They are a very intellectual, smart team that will negotiate a fair and equitable contract for faculty at the college.” Kerste served as chief negotiator for the faculty in the last negotiations, while Daniels served as chief negotiator for the district. Nedry gave a general description of what he thinks will be discussed in the upcoming meetings. “Wages, hours, and working conditions – that’s what bargaining is all about,” he
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meowner doesn’t just pay the bills to get by, but that the person has savings to use in emergencies and keep up with general maintenance, just like MCCC does with its reserves. Lauer expressed her concern for the students and said she wants the board to analyze the specific effect of tuition on students. “Policy decisions should be assessed," Lauer said. "I want to see all the facts, especially the monetary effect on students.”
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