Title: An act relating to part-time faculty of community and technical colleges.

Brief Description: Providing for a review and update of the best practices audit of compensation and employment for part-time faculty in technical and community colleges.

Sponsors: Senators Kohl-Welles, Schmidt, Jacobsen, Keiser, Rockefeller, Franklin, Shin, Spanel, McAuliffe and Kline.

Brief History:

Committee Activity: Labor, Commerce, Research & Development: 2/21/05, 2/24/05 [DP].

Passed Senate: 3/9/05, 35-10.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR, COMMERCE, RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Majority Report: Do pass.Signed by Senators Kohl-Welles, Chair; Franklin, Vice Chair; Parlette, Ranking Minority Member; Brown, Honeyford, Keiser and Prentice.

Staff: Jennifer Strus (786-7316)

Background: The 1996 Legislature passed SB 6583 directing the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) to convene a task force to conduct a best practices audit of compensation packages and conditions of employment for part-time faculty. The Best Practices Task Force reported to the Legislature in January 1997. The best practice principles in the report were required to be used in the development of SBCTC's 1997-99 biennial operating budget request. SBCTC was required to encourage and, to the extent possible, require each local governing board to adopt and implement the best practices principles.

The task force was required to include, at a minimum, part-time faculty, full-time faculty, members of the SBCTC, and members of the community college and technical college governing boards.

Summary of Bill: The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) must review and update the best practices audit of compensation packages and conditions of employment for part-time faculty. Community college administrators are added to the list of members of the task force. The task force members must report their findings to SBCTC by August 30, 2005.

SBCTC must use the best practices principles in the development of each biennial operating budget request. SBCTC must encourage and, to the extent possible, require local governing boards to revise the best practices principles.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Committee/Commission/Task Force Created: Yes.

Effective Date: Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For: Eighty-six percent of full-time faculty positions were filled with part-time faculty last year. The best practices study was an important study and renewing the study will help determine what progress has been made. Part time instructors do equal work for half the pay yet they have an equal cost of living.

Testimony Against: The best practices issue has been studied and everyone knows what the problems are so there is no need to have the task force meet again.

Who Testified: PRO: Chris Reykdal and John Buesenberg, State Board of Technical and Community Colleges; Sandra Schroeder, American Federation of Teachers (AFT); Margaret West, Edmonds Community College; Phil Jack, Green River Community College; Ruth Windhover, Washington Education Association; Carol Wilkinson, AFT; Mack Murray, AFT; Lynn Dodson, AFT.

CON: Keith Hoeller, Washington Part Time Faculty Association (WPTFA); Dana Rush, WPTFA; Terry Knudsen, WEA and WPTFA; Doug Collins, WPTFA.