Fair compensation for those who teach the Bay State's teachers must be a priority: The Salem Evening News, Monday, November 12, 2001

By Patricia V. Markunas

Recent events have placed incredible stresses on an already delayed state budget.

The worsening recession, the tragedies of September 11th, and the evolving bioterrorism crisis in the US mail system have sapped government resources nationally and in all 50 states. After four months of conference committee meetings, the Massachusetts Legislature appears ready to adopt the state's budget for the current fiscal year -- a budget that is expected to be over a billion dollars less than originally projected only 10 months ago.

Acting Governor Jane Swift has stated that "education" is one of the very few state-funded programs that is "off the table" in terms of budget cuts or program terminations.

As Massachusetts focuses on reform and improvement of education for its K-12 students, it must also be aware that a strong, responsive public higher education system is an indispensable part of that new commitment to educating its citizens throughout adult life.

Over the past decade, the state colleges, working with the faculty and librarians, the Board of Higher Education, and the Legislature, have made significant progress on several fronts. The colleges have invested in deferred maintenance, improved technology, raised admissions standards throughout the system, strengthened programs for the preparation of teachers for the Commonwealth's public schools, and revamped the curriculum where necessary to address immediate workforce demands.

At the heart of the state college's success in serving students, however, is the ability to attract and retain a highly qualified professional faculty and to treat them equitably and justly.

The state colleges compete with public and private colleges throughout the United States for faculty and librarians. To do so successfully requires a stable, predictable collective bargaining process and a reasonably competitive salary schedule.

The public system of universities and state colleges in Massachusetts certify over 80 percent of the K-12 teachers who enter the classrooms in our cities and towns. If educational reform is to succeed at the K-12 level, the teachers who head those classrooms must be prepared by a topnotch faculty at the universities and state colleges.

After three years of protracted and contentious negotiations between the Board of Higher Education and the Massachusetts State College Association, a contract was finally settled in March 2001. Acting Governor Swift submitted the contract to the Legislature for funding in May.

The salary package will improve state college faculty salaries significantly. However, even with these increases, salaries will remain at a level below median salaries for faculty at comparable national institutions. Full funding of the collective bargaining agreement is a must if the problem of competitive faculty salaries is to be remedied at all.

The current national tragedy and economic stresses make access to affordable, quality public higher education even more important for the citizens of the commonwealth. Over the past 10 years the administration has taken steps to prevent the economic meltdown in state finances that occurred during the previous recession. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has more than sufficient resources to meet its obligations to the state college faculty and librarians and continue the state's progress towards educational reform through the post-secondary level.

Legislative support has never been more important to the future of the state college system and the students it serves. Full funding of the collective bargaining agreements negotiated in good faith with the state must be part of the state budget for both FY 2002 and FY 2003. Only with this funding will educational reform become a reality for all Massachusetts students and citizens.

Patricia V. Markunas, a professor of psychology at Salem State College, is president of the Massachusetts State College Association which is the collective bargaining agent for members of the state college faculties.