After Cuts, PCC Faces Fine for Teacher Shortage

Pasadena City College is reportedly on the brink of being fined as much as $650,000 if it fails to meet California’s requisite percentage of full-time faculty required for a community college, the school disclosed Thursday.

The deficiency was caused by the retirement of 42 faculty members in 2011, dropping the percentage of full-time faculty below 75 percent.

According to PCC Vice President of Educational Services Robert Miller, the school needs to hire 10 additional full-time faculty to avert being fined a penalty of $65,000 for each unfilled  full-time faculty position shy of the quota.

PCC President of Faculty Association Roger Marheine said the recent budget cut affected the capacity to hire full-time faculty members.

Marheine added the number of part-time faculty employed increased significantly over the years because their overall costs, including overtime and health care, are less than full-time faculty.

Although the penalty can be waived by the Board of Governors, PCC is making steps to meet the requirement by hiring 10 full-time faculty members.

“We are recruiting 10 new faculty. Once those individuals are hired, that will bring our numbers back up so that 75 percent of our faculty are full-time,” Bell told the student newspaper, the PCC Courier, on Thursday.