WEBBTIDE 2001-2002 @ SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Volume 37 No.11 Mar. 15 - Mar. 28, 2002 [ ARCHIVE ] [ FEEDBACK ] [ HELP ]
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Lack of funds costs lab aides their jobs

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      Cari Hill had heard the rumors the night before, but she refused to believe them until the next morning.
      After three years as a photo-lab aide at the College's VCT building, Hill came to work on the morning of March 5 only to discover that she and seven of her co-workers could return home jobless.
      A lack of funding had caught the College off guard and forced the administration to lay off all but one of the nine lab aides working on hourly wages at the photo lab, according to photography instructor Chris Simons. The remaining lab aide and two instructors had to quickly pick up the slack in order to continue operation of the photo lab which serves 180 students -many of whom are cramming for their winter quarter final projects.
      "I was just kind of shocked," Hill said. "I couldn't believe it was happening."
      The night before the lab aides were instructed to return home, Dean of Humanities Norma Goldstein called Simons and informed him of the lab's budget status -it was entirely depleted. According to Simons, Goldstein told him that "there is no money to pay the lab employees at all."
      But Dean of Humanities Norma Goldstein, who allocates money for the lab's budget, maintains that the whole fiasco was a case of unfortunate miscommunication.
      "I called Chris," Goldstein said. "But I never directed him to close the lab or lay off the lab aides -never. I think that it was hasty of him to tell the aides to go home, and I was as surprised as anyone else at what Chris did."
      Goldstein stressed that the lab aides would be recalled for the spring quarter with a rearranged schedule and reduced hours.
      "A mountain was made of a molehill," Goldstein said. "We don't need to get hysterical over something that will be resolved in less than a week."
      But those who took the brunt end of the incident weren't happy.
      "We should have been warned," Hill said a day after she was laid off. "I would have really appreciated at least two weeks advance notice."
      Michael Huber, another laid off lab aide was in disbelief.
      "How can the school get away with this crap?" Huber asked, while still under the impression that he had permanently lost his job.
      Simons, now an improvised lab supervisor due to the lab-aides cuts, claims Goldstein lost track of the budget.
      "My feeling is that Norma has a lot to do and sometimes other issues got put on the back burner," he said.
      Goldstein, though stating that the situation is no one's fault and "needs clarification," maintains that she had notified Simons in December of the fact that he had overspent his budget of $10,000 by clumsily scheduling the lab aides' hours, and at times staffing two or three aides on one shift when only one was needed.
      "Chris has always overspent the budget on lab aides," Goldstein said. "But because of the budget constraints we couldn't immediately give him the extra funding."
      Hill supported the double-staffing system, however, arguing that at least two people were needed during specific hours of the day.
      In early February Simons says he sent a memo to Goldstein informing her of the inevitable depletion of the lab's budget by March 1. The forecasted crisis manifested itself on March 4 when Goldstein reportedly called Simons that evening to let him know of the sudden and necessary cut backs, Simons said.
      Goldstein claims she received no such memo.
      The lab's yearly budget has repeatedly evaporated by about this time each year. But in the past the College had granted Simon's pleas for additional funding. This year was different, however.
      "I assumed the money would be allocated to the lab like it has been in years past," Simons said. "But the monetary crisis has made it impossible."
      Simons claims immunity from the whole scenario.
      "It really shouldn't have happened," he said. "Why there wasn't sufficient money in the budget I don't know."
      Both parties were quick to offer their assistance in solving the issue, however.
      "This is a cooperative effort," Goldstein said.
      "Norma is working really hard to try and find the money," Simons said. "As everyone knows, money is really tight."
      Since the announcement on March 5, the lab has operated under cutback hours and with three employees -two of which are instructors who previously did not assist students in the lab. Though the two instructors, Chris Simons and Don Metke, are expected to continue full-time with their teaching duties, they have volunteered to assist the one remaining lab aide in staffing the lab till the end of the winter quarter.
      "It's going to be quite a lot," Simons said, referring to his new work load. "But the students need a photo lab."
      Goldstein remains optimistic about the that lab's future, its employees, and its effects on the students.
      "We're working on a solution right now," Goldstein said. "The budgets are a lot harder and different these days, but we'll get creative and make sure we don't have to shut down the lab next quarter."
      The lab needs approximately $6,500 to remain fully staffed and available to students through the remainder of the winter quarter and the entire spring quarter, according to Simons. Goldstein has offered to patch up the lab's budget through the Humanities Division Funds.
      "(The cut backs are) not going to impact the students that much," Goldstein said. "There will be a slight reduction in hours which will have a minimal impact. The students won't even notice the difference."
      But according to an e-mail issued by Vice President of Academic Affairs Carol Henderson, "Students will be impacted by having less open lab time available to them to work on their individual photography projects outside of class time."
      As stressed by Goldstein and the Henderson e-mail, however, the slashed hours will be those least used by students.
      Before the recent rescheduling of the hours, the photo lab was open from nine a.m. to nine p.m. during weekdays as well as for five hours on Saturday. But the revised schedule for spring quarter allows for only eight hours of open lab time on Monday through Wednesday, seven hours on Thursday, and four hours on Friday. On Saturday, it will be closed.
      "The students aren't going to be allowed the same access as they were before," Hill said.
      The depleted $10,000 budget forced the issue all too suddenly for the now in-limbo lab aides. Simons argues that the ten grand is outdated and "was probably sufficient ten years ago, but not now."
      Henderson speculates that Goldstein had approved Simon's submission of staff hours at the beginning of the school year because it raised no red flags with Goldstein, who is serving her first year as Dean of Humanities.
      "It wouldn't have looked out of the ordinary because it was the first time she had ever seen (the photo lab budget)," Henderson said.
      "It was a little miscommunication," said Judy Yu, Director of Program Information Offices. "Practices and procedures have not been as clear as they could have been."
      Michael Huber, a lab worker who was also told to return home on March 5, said he had contacted the local media after being fired, which had "pissed off" Goldstein, he said.
      But Goldstein hopes that calm will eventually prevail.
      "There was a lot of gossip and rumors," she said, hinting at the sign which was put up by a student on March 5 claiming that the lab had been shut down. "Some people went off the deep end."
      Much of the miscommunication originated in the phone call made on March 4. According to Simons, after Goldstein had stated that the school could not pay the lab aides any longer, he asked, "So let me get this straight -you want me to close the lab and lay off the lab aides?"
      "You're going to have to tell the aides that there's no more money," was Goldstein's reply, Simons said.
      Goldstein maintains that Simon's had misinterpreted her words, however, and that the lab aides were not to be laid off.
      "When somebody's emotional, they only hear what they think they hear," Goldstein said. "It was just a miscommunication."
      Simons intends to weather the storm by taking on the role of a lab assistant while at the same time juggling his duties as an instructor during the final days of the winter quarter. Come spring, Simons has been assigned 14 hours of lab duty per week.
      "I'm not going to let my new position get in the way of my teaching responsibilities," he said, assuredly.
      In spite of the alleged gross miscommunication between the parties responsible for handling the lab's budget and ensuring the students and lab aides' welfare, both Simons and Goldstein hope for a decent resolution. In times where money is a rarity, however, budgeting utopia is sometimes only a distant mirage.
      Though money may be short, Goldstein wants those affected by the cuts to know that nothing was done maliciously.
      "We're on the side of the students," she said. "We feel terrible that the lab aides will have cutback hours."

.

by Chris Collins

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Lack of funds costs lab aides their jobs
.	Cari Hill had heard the rumors the night before, but she refused to believe them until the next morning. After three years as a photo-lab aide at the College's VCT building, Hill came to work on the morning of March 5 only to discover that she and seven of her co-workers could return home jobless. A lack of funding had caught the College off guard and forced the administration to lay off all but one of the nine lab aides working on hourly wages at the photo lab, according to photography instructor Chris Simons. The remaining lab aide and two instructors had to quickly pick up the slack in order to continue operation of the photo lab which serves 180 students -many of whom are cramming for their winter quarter final projects. "I was just kind of shocked," Hill said. "I couldn't believe it was happening." The night before the lab aides were instructed to return home, Dean of Humanities Norma Goldstein called Simons and informed him of the lab's budget status -it was entirely depleted. According to Simons, Goldstein told him that "there is no money to pay the lab employees at all." But Dean of Humanities Norma Goldstein, who allocates money for the lab's budget, maintains that the whole fiasco was a case of unfortunate miscommunication. "I called Chris," Goldstein said. "But I never directed him to close the lab or lay off the lab aides -never. I think that it was hasty of him to tell the aides to go home, and I was as surprised as anyone else at what Chris did." Goldstein stressed that the lab aides would be recalled for the spring quarter with a rearranged schedule and reduced hours. "A mountain was made of a molehill," Goldstein said. "We don't need to get hysterical over something that will be resolved in less than a week." But those who took the brunt end of the incident weren't happy. "We should have been warned," Hill said a day after she was laid off. "I would have really appreciated at least two weeks advance notice." Michael Huber, another laid off lab aide was in disbelief. "How can the school get away with this crap?" Huber asked, while still under the impression that he had permanently lost his job. Simons, now an improvised lab supervisor due to the lab-aides cuts, claims Goldstein lost track of the budget. "My feeling is that Norma has a lot to do and sometimes other issues got put on the back burner," he said. Goldstein, though stating that the situation is no one's fault and "needs clarification," maintains that she had notified Simons in December of the fact that he had overspent his budget of $10,000 by clumsily scheduling the lab aides' hours, and at times staffing two or three aides on one shift when only one was needed. "Chris has always overspent the budget on lab aides," Goldstein said. "But because of the budget constraints we couldn't immediately give him the extra funding." Hill supported the double-staffing system, however, arguing that at least two people were needed during specific hours of the day. In early February Simons says he sent a memo to Goldstein informing her of the inevitable depletion of the lab's budget by March 1. The forecasted crisis manifested itself on March 4 when Goldstein reportedly called Simons that evening to let him know of the sudden and necessary cut backs, Simons said. Goldstein claims she received no such memo. The lab's yearly budget has repeatedly evaporated by about this time each year. But in the past the College had granted Simon's pleas for additional funding. This year was different, however. "I assumed the money would be allocated to the lab like it has been in years past," Simons said. "But the monetary crisis has made it impossible." Simons claims immunity from the whole scenario. "It really shouldn't have happened," he said. "Why there wasn't sufficient money in the budget I don't know." Both parties were quick to offer their assistance in solving the issue, however. "This is a cooperative effort," Goldstein said. "Norma is working really hard to try and find the money," Simons said. "As everyone knows, money is really tight." Since the announcement on March 5, the lab has operated under cutback hours and with three employees -two of which are instructors who previously did not assist students in the lab. Though the two instructors, Chris Simons and Don Metke, are expected to continue full-time with their teaching duties, they have volunteered to assist the one remaining lab aide in staffing the lab till the end of the winter quarter. "It's going to be quite a lot," Simons said, referring to his new work load. "But the students need a photo lab." Goldstein remains optimistic about the that lab's future, its employees, and its effects on the students. "We're working on a solution right now," Goldstein said. "The budgets are a lot harder and different these days, but we'll get creative and make sure we don't have to shut down the lab next quarter." The lab needs approximately $6,500 to remain fully staffed and available to students through the remainder of the winter quarter and the entire spring quarter, according to Simons. Goldstein has offered to patch up the lab's budget through the Humanities Division Funds. "(The cut backs are) not going to impact the students that much," Goldstein said. "There will be a slight reduction in hours which will have a minimal impact. The students won't even notice the difference." But according to an e-mail issued by Vice President of Academic Affairs Carol Henderson, "Students will be impacted by having less open lab time available to them to work on their individual photography projects outside of class time." As stressed by Goldstein and the Henderson e-mail, however, the slashed hours will be those least used by students. Before the recent rescheduling of the hours, the photo lab was open from nine a.m. to nine p.m. during weekdays as well as for five hours on Saturday. But the revised schedule for spring quarter allows for only eight hours of open lab time on Monday through Wednesday, seven hours on Thursday, and four hours on Friday. On Saturday, it will be closed. "The students aren't going to be allowed the same access as they were before," Hill said. The depleted $10,000 budget forced the issue all too suddenly for the now in-limbo lab aides. Simons argues that the ten grand is outdated and "was probably sufficient ten years ago, but not now." Henderson speculates that Goldstein had approved Simon's submission of staff hours at the beginning of the school year because it raised no red flags with Goldstein, who is serving her first year as Dean of Humanities. "It wouldn't have looked out of the ordinary because it was the first time she had ever seen (the photo lab budget)," Henderson said. "It was a little miscommunication," said Judy Yu, Director of Program Information Offices. "Practices and procedures have not been as clear as they could have been." Michael Huber, a lab worker who was also told to return home on March 5, said he had contacted the local media after being fired, which had "pissed off" Goldstein, he said. But Goldstein hopes that calm will eventually prevail. "There was a lot of gossip and rumors," she said, hinting at the sign which was put up by a student on March 5 claiming that the lab had been shut down. "Some people went off the deep end." Much of the miscommunication originated in the phone call made on March 4. According to Simons, after Goldstein had stated that the school could not pay the lab aides any longer, he asked, "So let me get this straight -you want me to close the lab and lay off the lab aides?" "You're going to have to tell the aides that there's no more money," was Goldstein's reply, Simons said. Goldstein maintains that Simon's had misinterpreted her words, however, and that the lab aides were not to be laid off. "When somebody's emotional, they only hear what they think they hear," Goldstein said. "It was just a miscommunication." Simons intends to weather the storm by taking on the role of a lab assistant while at the same time juggling his duties as an instructor during the final days of the winter quarter. Come spring, Simons has been assigned 14 hours of lab duty per week. "I'm not going to let my new position get in the way of my teaching responsibilities," he said, assuredly. In spite of the alleged gross miscommunication between the parties responsible for handling the lab's budget and ensuring the students and lab aides' welfare, both Simons and Goldstein hope for a decent resolution. In times where money is a rarity, however, budgeting utopia is sometimes only a distant mirage. Though money may be short, Goldstein wants those affected by the cuts to know that nothing was done maliciously. "We're on the side of the students," she said. "We feel terrible that the lab aides will have cutback hours."	.
by Chris Collins