R ANGER
An independent forum of free voices serving San Antonio College since 1926 and the Alamo Colleges since 1945 Volume 92 • Issue 16
THE
April
16,
2 0 1 8 Journalism-photography program at San Antonio College
www.theranger.org
ELECTIONS
All trustee incumbents are opposed in the May 5 general election for single-member Districts 5, 6 and 7, and the special election for District 9. Early voting is April 23-May 1. The boardwalk portables at Northwest Vista College are an early voting location. Trustees serve six-year terms on
the nine-member board. District 9 is an unexpired term, which ends in 2020, left by the death of Jim Rindfuss. District 9 trustee Joe Jesse Sanchez was appointed by five board members Nov. 7 to fill the vacancy until the next regularly scheduled election. Go online to read candidate interviews. Alison Graef
Freshman finds beauty in struggle with help of advocacy center Students can access food and clothing after filling out two forms. By Victoria Lee Zamora sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Cyber security freshman Elizabeth Deluna, 19, says she isn’t poor. She just needs help. That’s what drove her to take advantage of this college’s student advocacy center for food, cloth-
ing and personal hygiene products beginning in February. “I don’t know what you consider being poor is, but I know that I don’t fall under that category,” she said March 28. “I am very fortunate for the things that I have and the roof over my head.” As Deluna clipped on her H-E-B name tag while running on four hours of sleep, she sat on the floor of her Tobin Lofts apartment looking
Social work sophomore Gerardo Martinez stocks shelves at The Store, managed by the student advocacy center, in Room 326 of Chance. Although the San Antonio Food Bank donates items, Martinez said “students really build this thing up.” Eligible individuals can visit twice a month for food and clothing and once a month for hygiene products. File
close to defeated. “I want to throw in the towel, find a job that pays well and live my life not struggling like the way I am now,” she said. Her hazel eyes glistened as she said, “But there is beauty in the struggle. I know that everything I am going through now will definitely be worth it when I cross that stage and get my degree that I have been working so
See BEAUTY, Page 2
Vice chancellors talk change management, transition of power By Alison Graef
agraef@student.alamo.edu
Dr. Thomas Cleary, vice chancellor for planning, performance and information systems, said to expect some anger and disapproval during the transition of power from Chancellor Bruce Leslie to incoming chancellor Mike Flores, president of Palo Alto College. Cleary and Associate Vice Chancellor Linda Boyer-Owens presented on change management at a special board meeting and chancellor retreat April 7 at the workforce center of excellence. Flores was announced incoming chancellor at a Feb. 8 board meeting. Leslie announced his retirement at the Oct. 23 board meeting and will stay until Sept. 30 to help with the transition. Cleary said most people say they want change, but they are much more reluctant when the reality sets in that change creates uncertainty and requires them to adapt. “People don’t like uncertainty,” Cleary said. “People want to know what is going to be different.” Cleary said change must be “socialized” to promote positive reactions through clear communication of what the change is and how it will affect people. “Change is personal,” Cleary said. “At the end of the day, it’s not about Dr. Flores. People want to know about the agenda.” He said reaction to change is a process. It can start with anger or disapproval, then goes to anxiety before leading into ambivalence or anticipation. He said it ideally results in acceptance and enthusiasm. He said it is best for the transition to the new chancellor to be done quickly because if Flores’ agenda is solidified, employees will be able to relax. He said employees are already wondering how the new chancellor will affect initiatives such as the Alamo Institutes,
See CHANGE, Page 2
Chemical engineering sophomore Eric Allee burns a piece of wood using a solar contractor and the sun while Benjamin Uresti, academic lab tech at the MESA center, records the temperature April 10 north of Chance. The highest temperature recorded was 730 degrees. The SAC Undergrad Research
Program made the solar contractor. The 8-foot satellite dish was donated from Moody, and they added a 97 percent reflective, insulating film. Allee said the next step is to build a stand for the dish, and they hope to generate electricity to see how efficient it can be. Brianna Rodrigue
Dual credit increases still plague Alamo Colleges’ budgets Northwest Vista was the only college with net savings at the end of FY 2017. By Zachary-Taylor Wright sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The district experienced unexpected enrollment growth in fall 2017 that didn’t lead to incremental tuition revenue because of disproportionate tuition-exempt enrollment. This prompted a $6.2 million budget amendment proposal and could lead to tuition increase and charging dualcredit students tuition. The $6.2 million budget amendment proposal was presented to the board of trustees at the Dec. 5 Audit, Budget and Finance Committee meeting at Killen Center, which included a $4 million transfer from the fund balance, the dis-
trict’s financial reserve, and $2.2 million in rollover from multi-year accounts, which include student success funds and student activity fee savings. Rollover from multi-year accounts will be rolled over to the colleges and the fund balance transfer will be distributed between the colleges and district support operations. In an interview after the committee meeting, Dr. Diane Snyder, vice chancellor for finance and administration, said it is uncommon for the board to pull from the fund balance two years in a row. However, because the board agreed to pull $5 million from the fund balance during the FY 2017 budget process and didn’t spend it all, she felt better about requesting $4 million from the fund balance for FY 2018.
In an interview Dec. 6, chief budget Officer Shayne West clarified student activity fee savings are rolled over to their corresponding college accounts, meaning this college’s student activity fee savings are rolled over to this college’s fiscal year 2018 student activity fee. By law, those funds are restricted to student activities. According to a presentation from Snyder, the district experienced an unexpected 3.4 percent growth in headcount enrollment and a 4.2 percent growth in contact hours. Snyder said tuition revenue is only up $1 million despite the unexpected enrollment increase because tuition-exempt enrollment is growing disproportionately to tuition-paying enrollment. When District 2 trustee Denver
McClendon asked Snyder how much tuition-exempt, dual-credit enrollment was costing the district, Snyder said she did not have that information with her and would present it to the board in February. In an interview after the committee meeting, Snyder said about 14,000 dual-credit students are 100 percent tuition-exempt. Tuition-exempt, dual-credit enrollment is costing the district about $30 million in tuition loss. The board debated the prioritization of dual-credit students over native students at a special board meeting Oct. 7 at Palo Alto College, where Snyder warned that increasing tuition-waivered enrollment, lowering state appropriations and increasing maintenance and operation costs warrant a tuition increase. The board describes students who
enroll directly at one of the Alamo College as native. Maintenance and operations costs will increase because of the Alamo Colleges’ expansion from the $450 million Capital Improvements Plan approved by voters in May. During the special board meeting, Snyder said she was able to avoid promoting a tuition increase in the past because of consistent tax revenue increases, but the maintenance and operation cost increase will warrant raising tuition if the board does not raise the tax rate. McClendon opposed a tuition increase at the October meeting and remained consistent in his opposition at the committee meeting Dec. 5, saying the current cost-share model with dual-
See BUDGET, Page 2