SAN MARCOS — At a recent governing board meeting, business as usual was overshadowed by protests from staff and faculty over Palomar’s general lack of staffing, demanding the nearly $6 million surplus be used to fill vacancies.
The meeting took place on Sept. 10 to discuss campus needs, department updates, and the 2024-2025 annual budget and plans for the $5.6 million surplus from the 2023-2024 budget. Room LRC-436 was filled with members and supporters of the Council of Classified Employees (CCE), with protest signs and speeches in hand.
Nicole Siminski, an ESL instructor, read a letter on behalf of the English Second Language (ESL) Department. She painted the picture of students at the Fallbrook campus arriving to register for classes only to find out that the office was closed due to the staffing shortage. She also explained that Fallbrook’s only evening ESL specialist position has been vacant since last December.
“It’s not too late to use that additional $5.6 million to restore the trust and validate the important work of classified staff by filling these positions… More classes, more classified,” Siminski read as she closed the letter.
Anel Gonzalez, President of Local #4522 of the CCE, spoke of the staffing problem at Palomar during her presentation. She called on the governing board to proactively address the vacancy issues at Palomar rather than waiting for legislation like Assembly Bill 1273 to go into effect. The bill aims to address classified vacancies across California, and it passed on Oct. 7.
“For at least 21 years, we have heard that the sky is falling, but enough is enough. Conservative budgeting, doomsday assumptions, and poor project management have led to projects that never come true while the ending fund balance keeps growing. The state gives us time to serve our students. It’s time we honor that commitment,” Gonzalez said.
Angie Martinez-Heffer, a member of Palomar’s Student Services, was one of the many speakers at the meeting who addressed the negative impacts of Palomar’s staffing shortage. One example she shared was the football stadium opening. Completing the monumental and expensive stadium was big news for Palomar, only for the stadium to suffer from a lack of staffing to maintain and run it.
She spoke of the stress and burnout she and other classified staff members are experiencing due to being overworked and understaffed and the struggles that the lack of staffing has caused students.
“These vacancies already directly impact our students, as there are reduced availability of services, delayed response time, and direct student access to staff during business hours,” Martinez-Heffe said.
She also said that the lack of staffing has led to an increase in workloads and a decrease in morale, which affects the level of support and engagement the staff can provide to students.
Cheryl Kearse, a Palomar curriculum specialist, spoke at the meeting to discuss how the staffing shortage impacts students. She said the lack of staff led to campus libraries closing early, long lines at the Student Services Center, and students missing lectures because no interpreter was available. She also said more staff was needed if Palomar wanted to maintain and increase enrollment.
“All this student suffering negatively impacts enrollment. Classified staff is tasked not just with helping the college grow enrollment; we’re tasked with keeping students enrolled… If students cannot get the services they need, they will go elsewhere… Please continue to prioritize classified hiring,” Kearse said.
The lack of staffing was not the only topic at the governing board meeting. Many of the faculty members who spoke also thanked the governing board for approving the office hours increase for part-time faculty. According to Palomar Faculty Federation (PFF) Co-President William Dalrymple, this decision has been years in the making, and the change will allow students more access to their professors. Dalrymple also called on the governing board to hire more faculty.
“PFF would like to say that it stands with CCE with one voice: more classified staff, please,” Dalrymple said.
At the end of his speech, Dalrymple repeated the message said throughout the meeting, “More classes. More classified.” The chant was repeated until his time to speak ran out, and members and supporters of CCE joined in the chant. The call for “More classes. More classified.” took over the meeting room in LRC-436.
Todd McDonald, Palomar’s Assistant Superintendent and VP of Finance & Adminstration, discussed the ending surplus and the 2024-2025 annual budget during his presentation. McDonald explained that $5.6 million in surplus came from revenues that were not anticipated. The extra funds came from a higher lottery income than expected, higher-than-expected reimbursements from the Chancellor’s Office, and variances in projected and actual expenses for the college.
McDonald also shared one of the ways the budget is structured to help with staffing. Funding for short-term hourly employees decreased by $72,981, and funding for non-instructional classified employees increased by $573,873.
“That’s an intentional shift to move away from having as many short-term employees in favor of hiring some permanent classified employees in ‘24-’25, and more added on to that each year,” McDonald said.
At the end of the budget discussion, Governing Board Trustee Roberto Rodriguez took a moment to reflect on the topics shared during the meeting. He applauded the shift from hourly short-term to classified employees, saying the college needed it. He also shared some of his experience in higher education and dealing with projected budget deficits.
“Looking at these numbers, it is concerning. Because these deficits will accumulate… I take that with a huge grain of salt… I think it’s important to take these numbers for what they are, and it’s something to look out for, but it’s not something to do a lot of hand-wringing about… I think it’s important to keep that in mind,” Rodriguez said.
