“It’s more important this time, then it has been in a long time,” says Austin Community College/American Federation of Teachers President Myra Bradley of the May 4 Austin Community College Board elections. Although only three out of the nine spots on the ACC Board of Trustees are up for grabs, Bradley is not alone in assigning a special weight to this year’s election. Her statement reflects the mood of a college community — 35,000 students and over 1,400 full- and part-time faculty — struggling to rebound from a series of budget shortfalls that have added considerably to an already-existing crisis of confidence in the school’s administration.
Interestingly, it’s not so much ACC’s empty wallet as the administration’s reaction to hard times that has people concerned. Back in December, the school announced not one but two budget shortfalls (a $3.3 million deficit for the 2001 fiscal year, and a projected $2.1 million for FY2002) that had somehow gone unnoticed until that time. Frantic to get back into the black, ACC President Dr. Richard Fonté suggested a number of cutbacks — including wide-scale class cancellations and a board-approved tuition increase. The way many faculty and staff at ACC see it, these measures displayed a disturbing disregard for the needs of the students at a school whose mission is “to eliminate barriers in the educational process.”
Accordingly, commitment to ACC’s mission of accessibility has surfaced as one of the most important issues in this year’s election. Several candidates, including Larry Craighead, Paul Sherr, Caleb Buckley, and James McGuffee, have promised not to raise tuition, no matter what. Others — Lillian Davis, Nan McRaven — have left the possibility of a tuition increase on the table, albeit as a last resort. Considering the school’s current financial situation, and the very real possibility that ACC still has some hard times ahead, this distinction is significant.
Meanwhile, the differences between candidates’ proposals to secure increased revenue are less dramatic. Most of the six incumbent board members, and all but one of the candidates for the three open places, support some kind of tax increase. The lone dissenter, Place 3 candidate Paul Geary, won’t realistically be able to oppose a tax initiative if elected. In any event, the decision to raise taxes ultimately lies with the voters no matter who sits on the board.
But who sits on the board is important, because in the end it will fall to them to convince the voters — and any private contributors — that the kind of financial mismanagement that led to the recent shortfalls won’t happen again. “No one in their right mind would give money to ACC when it’s so obvious they can’t keep track of what they already have,” says Craighead. That sentiment has prompted most candidates to pledge their commitment to strong fiscal management until they’re blue in the face. Some of the candidates have the financial experience to back up these claims — notably, John Hernandez, Geary, and Sherr — and others have vowed to get the help they need from outside sources. McGuffee, for instance, supports the call for a Board Financial Advisory Committee.
Regardless of the candidates’ specific areas of expertise, however, ACC will have a hard time engendering confidence within the community until it distances itself from the current fiasco. As a result, many of the candidates have spoken coyly about ousting Fonté, though none of them are willing to take an explicitly hard line, saying instead that they will “wait and see” if he can redeem himself in the next year. Meanwhile, Lillian Davis — the only incumbent on the ballot, and the current board chair — wants to stick it out with Fonté. Davis says she might consider returning Fonté to probationary status after further review, but as things now stand at the college, it is unlikely that students and faculty will find this sufficient. Some fear that re-electing Davis will mean more of the same.
Despite expansions in size and in areas such as workforce training and distance education, the school has also seen more than its fair share of tribulations during the Fonté administration: a host of payroll problems and the recurrent loss of student records, a restructuring of authority that many find problematic, the shady handling of a potential health violation, and a drop in full-time faculty wages. Not to mention the budget shortfalls, class cancellations, and tuition increase. In light of the current administration’s track record, “more of the same” is something many members of the community place a high priority on avoiding.
Meet the Candidates
Place 1:
The only incumbent on this year’s ticket, Lillian Davis has been a board member since 1996 and currently serves as chair. She has learned “a few hard lessons” over the last six years, she says, and believes this institutional knowledge will benefit the Board in the future. Davis lists better public relations and financial management among her goals for the board. She also hopes to improve ACC’s relationship with AISD to better move students from high school into college. Davis holds a Ph.D. in Communication (UT Austin), and has worked for IBM for the last 26 years.
Dr. Larry Craighead did his pre-med coursework at ACC before earning a Chiropractic degree from Parker College in Dallas. Now a self-employed chiropractor, he seeks a place on the board as a way to give back to the school he feels gave so much to him. Craighead plans to establish a budget review committee, and insists that the board chair and/or president will be held accountable for all shortfalls. He also hopes to implement a unified pay scale for all faculty members, and to increase community involvement in policy making. The ACC American Federation of Teachers (ACC/AFT), the Central Labor Council, and Education Austin endorse him.
Place 2:
Paul Sherr is a retired employee of the Texas Workforce Commission and a former counselor at Houston Community College. He believes that his experience working with students in General Education Diploma (GED), English as a Second Language (ESL), and vocational classes will well serve the board. He advocates shared governance — i.e. giving the faculty a role in running the College — and hopes to moderate the need for a tax hike by supporting private fundraising and grants. Sherr is endorsed by ACC/AFT, Texas State Employees’ Union, the Building Trades Council, the Central Labor Council, and Education Austin.
A founding teacher of Austin Waldorf High School, Caleb Buckley has been an adjunct faculty member at ACC since 1996, and believes his experience at the school gives him a special perspective on issues facing the board. He sees the recent fee increases and frequent policy changes as barriers to student achievement, and seeks to improve the experience of the faculty by raising salaries and instituting a system of shared governance. He also stresses expanding ACC’s district to better serve students in surrounding areas.
Real estate broker John Hernandez has previously served as an internal auditor for both the city of Austin and the state of Texas. He doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as this race’s “financial guy,” but believes his financial savvy and public sector experience could help resolve some of ACC’s fiscal woes. Since a Latina has occupied Place 2 for the last 20 years, Hernandez hopes his ties to the Hispanic community will help his campaign. He is active in a number of community organizations, including the Mexican American Democrats and South Austin Democrats, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Place 3:
ACC adjunct professor and Hoover’s Online Senior Editor Paul Geary believes his experience examining companies’ financial documents will help the Board “hold the administration’s feet to the fire on fiscal issues.” He opposes a tax increase, and hopes to raise funds by selling assets and outsourcing functions not critical to the school’s mission. ACC would run more smoothly, he says, if it slimmed down and the board concentrated on the essentials — students, faculty, and classes — “instead of trying to be all things to all people.”
Nan McRaven, a vice-president of communications and public affairs for Motorola, believes her past experience as Travis County personnel and budget director will help to restore public confidence in ACC’s fiscal management. She says she’s also committed to securing student and faculty support for board actions.
An assistant professor at St. Edward’s University, Dr. James McGuffee has been both a teacher and an administrator at ACC — and for the past six months, a frequent spectator at board meetings. His goals include expanding the district, establishing shared governance, and creating a unified pay scale for all faculty members. He says he’ll insist that any proposal for a tax increase be presented to the voters along with a specific plan for how the money will be spent, so as to allow taxpayers more say in the development of the college. McGuffee is endorsed by ACC/AFT, CEEACC, the Central Labor Council, and Education Austin.
This article appears in April 26 • 2002.