Rep. Gibbons talks budget in McKay

State Representative Jaret Gibbons spoke about the future of education in Pennsylvania under Governor Tom Corbett, Thursday, April 28 in McKay auditorium. 

Gibbons, a young democrat who graduated from Pitt Law, says he is intimately familiar with the budget battle and how it will affect higher education in Pennsylvania.  

"My wife is a teacher and I know education," he said. "Pennsylvania needs to realize that the manufacturing jobs are gone and supporting higher education is the key for Pennsylvania's future."

Overall, Gibbons said he expects to see plenty of changes to the budget before it is passed in early July.  

He said that he has heard positive things from his colleagues in Harrisburg and believes higher education will weather the storm to some degree.  

Under Corbett's proposed budget, all 14 Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) schools would have their budgets cut by 50 percent—and this includes SRU.  

What the potential 50 percent budget cut means for SRU is a matter of great concern for both students and professors, according to Condravy, chapter president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculty (APSCUF).

"The state system in Pennsylvania is unique in that we have full-time faculty who teach in classrooms," she said.

 The biggest fear of students and faculty is that SRU could potentially lose full-time professors in favor of part-time faculty, she said. 

This would cut down on the availability of professors and the quality of professors who teach for SRU, according to Condravy. 

Temporary faculty often hold less office hours and aren't as invested in the university community, which has a negative effect on student performance, Condravy said.

Condravy's concerns stem from the retrenchment notices that the state sent out to every state-funded university. 

Many students are unaware of what retrenchment really means.  

"Retrenchment announces the administration's intention to fire individuals at universities who are probationary, tenured or pre-tenured due to budgetary constraints or a desire to re-configure academic policy," Condravy said.

A real concern, according to Condravy, is that the retrenchment notification has only served to increase faculty anxiety, distrust the state and threaten the quality of education.  

Also, she said that issuing a retrenchment notification on the basis of potential layoffs breaches their contract.