Corporate model says sales down, alarm bells ringing and College continues down a road of “free spending” –this makes no sense
Al Filardo, 3rd District Representative
At the March 1, 2016 Board meeting, Third District Representative Al Filardo used a typical corporate business model when questioning the administration about whether the five percent tuition increase being sought was justified. He questioned whether a tuition increase should be considered in isolation from the expense budget for the coming year, which to most people makes a whole lot or sense. (But not the College.)
Filardo explained that he had no matrix to apply to the requested increase. By that he meant that there are no set goals for the President to increase enrollment or accurately assess student satisfaction. Moreover, the Board had yet to consider expenses and where they might be cut.
Mr. Filardo also said that he was not an enemy of the faculty when it comes to such things as a salary increase; he was simply trying to find a way to justify the tuition increase to the residents of the County. But he observed that from a corporate perspective, when sales are down, you must ask whether such increasing employee salaries is justified.
Filardo was joined in his criticism of the request by Ms. Deb McCasland. The vote was 3-2 to increase tuition by five percent. The three member West side majority voted together to approve the increase. Mr. Filardo and Ms. McCasland, representing the entire Verde Valley, voted “no.”
A portion of Mr. Filardo’s inquiry can be seen in a short two-minute clip by clicking here.