The president of Wenatchee Valley College (WVC) has been “an effective leader” and will not be removed from his job, despite calls for his dismissal by the college’s faculty union.
The WVC Board of Trustees, which is responsible for hiring and firing presidents, announced last week that it supports President Jim Richardson and the way he has handled a budget crisis that has resulted in layoffs of 21 college employees at the Omak and Wenatchee campuses.
The trustees were responding to a vote of no-confidence from the WVC Association of Higher Education, the union representing college faculty. Union representatives accuse Richardson of “fiscal mismanagement” that led to a $1 million shortfall in the college operating budget.
At a Jan. 15 board of trustees meeting, the union called for Richardson to be fired, accusing him of misleading the college and community about the causes of the budget problems. In a statement presented to the board, the faculty union said Richardson’s “flawed decisions are affecting Wenatchee Valley College students.”
The four-member board of trustees responded with a statement in support of Richardson on Jan. 22, commending him “for his commitment to putting students first. President Richardson has made it clear since the very beginning that he would do everything in his power to protect students from the effects of this budget crisis. As a result, classes and academic programs have been prioritized.”
In an interview last month, Richardson told the Methow Valley News that WVC is facing challenges that are impacting institutions of higher learning across the country — lower enrollment due to a strong job market and declining numbers of high school graduates. He said WVC also experienced an unexpectedly sharp drop in enrollment rates last fall.
Trustees agreed with that explanation. “The causes of this financial crisis are a strong economy and larger than expected declines in enrollment,” the board statement said.
Patrick Tracy, president of the faculty union, said faculty members “are greatly disappointed” by the board’s position. “By cavalierly dismissing faculty’s concerns with Richardson’s leadership, the board is clearly part of the leadership problem at our college,” Tracy said.
He said the faculty remains dedicated to students. “We are determined to uphold our standards as best we can in the face of the Board and President Richardson’s fiscal policies, which ask students to pay more but receive less,” he said.
In a report to trustees outlining faculty concerns, the union pointed to Richardson’s salary as a contributor to the college’s financial problems. Richardson has the fifth-highest salary –$267,000 annually — among presidents of the 34 community and technical colleges in Washington, the faculty union report said. The report also criticized Richardson for not anticipating the downturn in enrollment and not taking responsibility for the financial crisis, and for incurring debt in capital projects.
The board of trustees said it created the president’s contract to retain him, and praised Richardson for being “transparent, receptive to ideas, and timely in addressing questions.” The board noted that the college created a website, www.wvc.edu/budget, to address questions about the budget.
No faculty positions are among the layoffs, which include classified and exempt employees working in facilities and grounds, administration, student services and IT positions. In addition to the layoffs, the college is also using furloughs to cut costs.
