Faculty members from Iowa’s community colleges lobbied legislators for higher pay today — seeking a $10,000 raise they say would bring them up to the national average in pay. Representative Jeff Kauffmann, a Republican from Muscatine, seeks five-point-six million dollars for the community college faculty members over the next four years.
Kauffman says, "To be honest with you, that five-point-six million over four years is less aggressive than what we’re doing for K-12 and what we’re doing for Regents." Kauffmann, who is on the faculty at Muscatine Community College, said he hopes community college faculty members will be treated as well as university faculty and K-12 teachers.
Kauffman says: "We just did some great things for K-12 faculty, we’re going to put some 41 million dollars into the regents, and once again community college faculty are last in line." Lawmakers recently approved millions of dollars for K-12 salaries, and are promising to cover the universities in this year’s salary bill for the first time in several years.
Kirkwood Community College instructor Bob Sessions, says the pay for community college faculty is better in surrounding states. Sessions says, "We’re $16,000 behind Illinois, $12,000 behind Minnesota, ten behind Missouri, we’re even behind Nebraska." The chair of the House Appropriations committee, Jo Oldson, a Democrat from Des Moines, says a raise for community college faculty is on the table.