Obscure labor-law complaint exposes unrest at Chipola College

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090405/BREAKINGNEWS/90404009

By Bill Cotterell • Florida Capital Bureau Political Editor • April 5, 2009

MARIANNA -- An obscure labor-law complaint filed by nursing professors at Chipola College has exposed simmering unrest among faculty members at the little campus in the tall-pine country of Florida’s Panhandle.

"They used to get paid the same for doing the same work," said Tom Brooks, a Tallahassee attorney for the United Faculty of Florida. "Now they have to work a lot more to earn the same."

Chipola faculty representatives say there’s "an ol’ boy network" that pays handsome salaries to an influential current state legislator and another former lawmaker who serve as roving ambassadors for the college president.

Their faculty organization complains that the school leads the state in spending on athletics -- bringing home basketball and baseball trophies from across the country -- while ranking at or near the bottom in paying teachers. The administration defends its sports-academia budget ratio by saying there’s a lot more to it than numbers.

$15,000 PAY HIKE

State Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna, and former legislator Rob Trammell, who 20 years ago represented the same House district, are high-level aides to Chipola President Gene Prough. They help him do what every college president spends a lot of time on -- raising money -- and Prough said he’s pleased with their performance.

The job description for Trammell’s $57,787-a-year post sounds like lobbying, and he is a registered lobbyist for four commercial clients -- but not the college, since colleges aren’t supposed to hire outside lobbyists.

FULL 3 page story at link.