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Michigan Association of Higher Education Michigan Educational Support Staff Association
1480 Kendale Blvd., East Lansing, MI 48823
Phone: 517-337-5495
Fax: 517-203-2969
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kevin Karpinski at 517-337-5495
Lansing Community College Prioritizes Real Estate over Students, Staff & Faculty
Lansing, Michigan, November 3, 2011 Students, staff and faculty have been following the recent news story about the potential LCC acquisition of Oliver Towers for approximately $2.5 million. The debate rages in town about the reason for the LCC interest in Oliver Towers. Spokespeople from LCC claim that the purchase of the building and property would provide a new training center or be used for future expansion. Others have speculated that it is a defensive move to prevent Davenport College from purchasing the building since it is right across the street from LCC.
Students at Lansing Community College faced a 3.9% increase in tuition this year and when they arrived on campus they had to navigate through a campus that went through a large reorganization, program changes, contracting classes to other institutions with higher fees and the elimination of programs. In addition, their professors and all of the support staff on campus are working without a new contract since the summer of 2010. The $2.5 million being set aside out of the estimated $5.5 million in surplus from last year is apparently not available to settle the employee contracts, even though the MEA unions on campus have thrown their support behind the LCC proposed purchase of Oliver Towers. As the 2011 academic year was set to start, the LCC Faculty and Support Staff members were reeling from significant reductions, reassignments and layoffs college-wide due to budget cuts.
Kevin Karpinski, spokesperson for the MEA unions at LCC, shares the local unions concerns for the students. Our members at LCC have been working without a contract for a year and a half and progress on the contract is very slow. I am hopeful that the LCC administration will place a priority on the students learning environment, which is also our members working environment. In some cases, students found out that they had to extend the number of semesters needed to reach their goal due to drastic program changes implemented by LCC. Our contract talks take a back seat by comparison when you consider the adverse impact on the students.
In Solidarity,
Cindy Storie, LCC-MAHE President
517.483.1891
storie@lcc.edu
LCC-MAHE Office
CB 202
517.483.1891
mahe@lcc.edu
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