Politics, Faculty Pay and Community College Taxes

With many parts of the country experiencing a wave of anti-tax politics, many community colleges are being especially careful about proposals that would raise local taxes. The Grand Rapids Press reported that Grand Rapids Community College is studying the possibility of going for a tax increase by promising that none of the new revenue would support faculty salaries or pay. In past votes, anti-tax groups have criticized faculty pay (which administrators say is high when factoring in funds professors earn on top of base salary -- a view contested by faculty leaders). So the college may frame the tax increase in a way such that it could not contribute to faculty compensation.