Vote on parity pay likely to come in June

The Coast Community College District is expected to vote on eliminating part-time instructors’ supplemental pay on June 15 to help fill in anticipated budget gaps.

The compensation, called “parity pay,” is given to the district by the state to help bring part-time instructors’ compensation closer to that of their full-time counterparts.

The district is considering using the $744,000 that would go to part-timers in 2011-12 and using it to pad the budgets of matriculation, disabled student programs and services, and Extended Opportunities Programs and Services, which have suffered deep cuts.

A resolution was also added to the proposal that the action would only be taken if the state cuts the district’s funding by more than 10% for 2011-12.

Board President Jerry Patterson said chances are it won’t come to eliminating the parity pay, but the district has to be able to balance its budget.

“When you don’t have the money you have to squeeze the sponge a bit,” he said.

Several instructors, both full-and part-time, as well as the district’s union representatives recently spoke against eliminating the extra pay.

“This would be a symbolic act that you value the part-time faculty in the Coast Community College,” said Ann Holliday, a full-time instructor at Coastline Community College.

—Britney Barnes