Curtis Peldo, CSU Chico Lecturer
Representative Comments at the Board of Trustees Meeting, Long Beach, July
13, 2010
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Thank you for the opportunity to address the Board of
Trustees. My name is Curtis Peldo, I am an elected lecturer representative of
the California Faculty Association, and a lecturer in the Department of
Philosophy at Chico State University. After seven years of dedicated service to
the CSU, I recently received a layoff notice informing that my appointment may
be decreased in part or in full in the fall due to a so-called “lack of funds”.
I am here first to represent the lecturers of California
State University, Chico. But I am also here to represent myself as a lecturer,
concerned citizen and member of the community. And as such I represent an
increasing number of folks who are concerned and even outraged about the
current state of affairs at Chico State. Over the last year, Chico State has
hemorrhaged over 100 lecturer jobs. Now, layoff notices have been issued to
lecturers despite the fact that stimulus money has been released for the fall
and the state budget has yet to be finalized.
We should never forget that cutting teachers and budgets
for instruction not only hurt faculty, but these cuts also hurt students and
members of the local community. The trend of offering fewer sections, with
fewer teachers, has to be stabilized if not reversed. We must staunch the
bleeding; enough is enough!
Last fall Chico State economist Dr. Fredericka Shockley
ran an analysis of the economic impact of lecturer job losses, plus a number of
other factors, on the local economy. She discovered what local business owners
had known for some time: cuts at Chico State have had a devastating effect on
the local economy. Our local newspaper has printed several articles about the
cuts including interviews with local business owners like Enzo Perri of
Celestino’s New York Pizza who reported feeling the economic impact of cuts at
Chico State claiming that, “It has a ripple effect through the whole downtown
community”.
In her analysis, Dr. Shockley estimated, conservatively,
that the recent cuts at Chico State had caused a loss of over 32 million
dollars of disposable income in the local economy, with nearly 5 million
attributed just to the 100+ lecturer job losses. This is an undeniably huge
impact on the local community that must not be taken lightly. Hundreds of
thousands of people have been negatively affected by the recent cuts at Chico
State; further cuts to faculty would simply be beyond the pale.
Finally, As a citizen, I am outraged that the CSU is
issuing any layoff notices at a time when executive compensation and MPP
positions continue to rise. It is unconscionable to make cuts to faculty when
CSU executives are reaping huge raises and other perks. But while students will
have fewer teachers, and faculty members are losing their jobs after enduring a
pay loss of about 10% through furloughs last academic year, three top
executives will be earning more, if the Trustees accept new salaries
recommended by the CSU Chancellor’s Office. How can you justify this? How can
layoff notices be issued due to a “lack of funds” when some CSU executives are
being rewarded with lavish raises—this is deplorable. I urge you to rescind
all layoff notices in the CSU before rewarding any raises to executives. It is
time to get our priorities straight—it is time to stand up for the best
interests of the CSU. Chico State President Paul Zingg has publicly committed
himself to making every effort to avoid technical layoffs. I hope that each and
every Trustee will also make that solemn, explicit commitment to make every
effort to avoid technical layoffs throughout the CSU, and in particular, at
CSU, Chico. Thank you for your attention to this very serious matter.
