Faculty Union Fights Calif. Community College’s Diversion of Instructional Funds

The College of the Redwoods’ faculty union is fighting an effort by the administration of the two-year public institution to get out from under a requirement that at least half of its state support go toward the salaries of classroom instructors, reports the Times-Standard of Eureka, Calif. California law gives three options to a community college that does not spend at least half of its annual state appropriation on instruction: Refund the unspent money to the state, plow the money back into instruction the following year, or obtain a waiver from the law on the grounds that complying with it will bring financial hardship. The college is seeking a waiver in connection with $200,000 in state funds left over from the 2010-11 fiscal year, when it cut costs by reducing the number of courses offered. Officials at the college say it would be wasteful for them to spend more than they need to on instruction, but union leaders want the law enforced to discourage the college from diverting funds from instruction to other purposes.