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3/29/2007
Technical colleges spend wads of taxpayer dollars
Who cares about a technical college Board of Trustees? I do – and here’s why. They spend a ton of taxpayer dollars with nothing save a rate freeze (meaningless in an era of rising property values) that even pretends to be accountable to taxpayers.
Last night, seven applicants gave five-minute presentations to the Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) Board Appointment Committee. By statute, the Appointment Committee consists of the school board presidents of the 28 K-12 school districts in FVTC’s five-county district. Applications were to fill three, 3-year terms on the college’s 9-member Board of Trustees.
Six of the seven willing civil servants-to-be returned my call of inquiry.
*Barbara Hanson: Incumbent trustee; speech/language pathologist, Shiocton School District. Did not return my call.
James Hemes: Community and Government Relations Director, Affinity Health. Menasha
Beth Oren: Chief nursing officer, Riverside Medical Center, Waupaca.
*Jack Rhodes: Incumbent trustee; retired, Waupaca; formerly Director, Hamilton campus, Miami of Ohio
*Donald Waldvogel: Incumbent trustee; owner, Land and Enterprise Management (rural appraisals), Hilbert
Marjorie Weiss: CEO and community health advocate, Neuroscience Group of NE WI, Neenah
Dennis Winkler: Owner, Globe Manufacturing, Oshkosh.
*Similar to what often happens at the polls, all three incumbents were reappointed. Congratulations to Trustees Hanson, Rhodes and Waldvogel. To the others, you are a talented group and must reapply in future years!
Below are responses to selected questions we all might want to know more about from potential members of an unelected board that spends heaps of taxpayer dollars.
Given the current gap in northeastern Wisconsin between available skilled jobs and workers without skills, what specifically is FVTC’s role in narrowing that gap?
Hemes: Problem-solving, “being nimble,” providing trained employees to drive economic development
Oren: Continue to be experts in producing needed workers cost-effectively
Rhodes: Provide access to allow development of marketable skills
Waldvogel: FVTC has a saying – “knowledge that works.” Rapid response to marketplace needs.
Weiss: Increasing skill levels
Winkler: To be sure well-trained employees are available to employers.
The total tax levy increase for Wisconsin’s technical colleges is greater than all other taxing entities in the state. What is the connection, if any, to the fact that technical college boards are not elected by the people or accountable to them?
Hemes: Must be prepared to be sure we can defend what the Board does.
Oren: I don’t see a relationship
Rhodes: We are representatives, in that we’re not appointed by the governor. Are selected by school board presidents who are themselves elected.
Waldvogel: Board is accountable; trustees are appointed by elected officials.
Weiss: Don’t see connection; increase in need for product forces dollars to be spent.
Winkler: Doesn’t believe tech colleges should be on the tax roll
What do you think about the level of salaries at the technical colleges, especially as compared to professors’ salaries at UW Fox Valley?
Rhodes and Waldvogel were the only applicants who had read of the Leg. Audit Bureau’s study released March 13. (see highlights or the full report) They both believed technical college educators commanded higher salaries because they are often in more direct demand in the private sector. Weiss expressed a similar thought, believing it critical to get the “best and brightest,” and that high quality educators are critical to the mission of FVTC.
I appreciated what Bruce Murphy had to say in his recent tirade about MATC spending.
“The study found the average base salaries of technical college teachers in Wisconsin are ‘among the highest reported nationally.’ It also found average annual earnings of the technical college teachers exceeded those of full-time faculty at two-year University of Wisconsin Colleges by a jaw-dropping $22,000.
“As I’ve suggested before, the difference is explained by the fact that UW budgets are overseen by the state legislature, while technical colleges have boards that aren’t publicly elected and can levy property taxes to increase their budgets.
“These boards have often been out-negotiated by unions. (Sometimes, I suspect, the boards don’t really try.)”
I’m hopeful FVTC President David Buettner and newly re-appointed Trustees Hanson, Rhodes and Waldvogel, as well as Trustees Patz, Barribeau, Alaily, Harms, Mielke and Pagel will be taking a good look at the Audit Bureau’s study, using it as the impetus and guide to review FVTC personnel policies and practices accordingly.
COMMENTS
Very interesting blog today. I was not aware of the higher wages at the Tech. I would also like to see some information on class hours and student/staff load there.
Dale (Thu Mar 29 07:38:32 2007)
How much are university professors worth? As their public representative at UW Fox I can tell you that the comparison with technical college teachers is depressing to them, and in general has provoked their ire. The public may be surprised to learn that UW Fox professors who are hired with Ph.D.s (typically requiring at least four, and more typically six years of education AFTER their bachelor's degree) start with us at $42,000. The AVERAGE salary at UW Fox for 2006 was $49,613. Wow, what a contrast with technical college averages! (The average administrative salary at UW Fox is $45,400. I'll save you the open records request -- my salary -- the highest on campus --is slightly more than $108,000.) Some of the comments in this article suggest supply and demand is at work, driving up tech colleges salaries. That's not completely true. It's much more complicated than that. But I'm not sure it would be right to say that the tech college salaries are too high. "Too high" is all relative. It could be said the university salaries are "too low." There are two primary differences between the technical colleges and the UW as I see it -- the technical colleges are pretty much under local control (vs. state control of the universities) and the technical college teachers are unionized (UW faculty are not). State politicians have cut the UW budget dramatically over the last several biennia and insisted that UW (state employees) salaries be held down. As an educator, I do have a problem with one factor allowing the technical college teachers salaries to go very high -- adding (in some cases many) additional classes. There comes a point when the attention to a class is diminished to the point where the quality of instruction has to be diminished. I guard against this as much as possible. I want the UW Fox faculty to spend as much time on each of their four courses per semester as possible, and adding more to their workload is not the way to do that. How much is any teacher worth? How much is any university professor worth? No one can really answer that because it's all in the mind of the beholder, but in general, higher education drives the economy, and it would seem investing in high quality instruction (how do we measure THAT?)**, be it at the technical college or the university, is worth the investment. Return on investment suggests that nationally a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate (Ph.D.) is worth more in earning power than an associate degree. But apparently not if you're a UW professor.
**I asked board applicants "How will you know FVTC is doing its job?" Below is what each said. JE
Hemes: Exit incomes, changes in various income per capita measures
Oren: Listen to our customers, what business, industry and students tell us.
Rhodes: Job placement rate for graduates - now at 91%.
Waldvogel: Job placement rate for graduates, now more than 90%.
Weiss: Review a number of indicators - Chamber Employer Survey, Workforce Readiness (Life Study), number of people working, educational attainment, per capita income.
Winkler: Won't know until he gets involved
Jim Perry (Thu Mar 29 08:04:37 2007)
I agree that the technical colleges are spending way too much of our tax dollar to educate and train people for local industry. I think a closer look at who should be paying/sharing more of the cost of this education should be considered by the board. I think quite often a program is developed for a specific company to assist them in developing skilled/trained workers for their company. Maybe these companies should be asked to provide some or more of their resources to help train these people. When I see the portion of my tax bill that goes to the technical colleges I am shocked. It seems as though the technical school system has carte blanche on spending our tax dollar.
I don't know the financing details of corporate cooperative efforts with our technical schools - must learn more about it. JE
Rick Langan (Thu Mar 29 13:05:55 2007)
Built to fly under the radar, the Tech School system fills an important need, but at an unchallenged cost to taxpayers. Base salaries are comensurate to skill levels, but the overtime union work rules guarantee a golden outcome. Funny that Chancellor Shepard from UWGB is job hunting. His move will only heat up the debate for higher University salaries at no challenge to the Tech system. Start the Disney music, happy little dwarves toddling down the road...
Richard Parins (Thu Mar 29 14:02:52 2007)
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