Policy may force French lecturer to bid 'adieu'

The French program's enrollment and retention are high. New levels have been added.

And French Lecturer Pierre Schmitz was told that if he built the program, he would have a full-time job.

Now he may be forced to leave the college over district policy that prohibits full-time lecturers from teaching more than two years.

This past summer, as he was getting ready to teach his French 3 class, Schmitz was called into his chair's office and informed that he would only be teaching half time. "Schmitz is an outstanding instructor and I would love to keep him," foreign languages Chair Anna Budzinski said. "He developed the program, and he poured a lot of work into it."

Because of the budget, the district is moving toward hiring only adjunct faculty, Budzinski said.

Part-time faculty receive a fraction of the pay of a full-time faculty member and no benefits, making it more cost-effective for the district.

Schmitz has worked here since 2005 as a full-time adjunct instructor, meaning that even though his contract needed to be renewed each semester, he was allowed to teach a full load of classes. "I was promised a full-time position if I built up the program. I built up the program and was teaching full-time until Aug. 25, and then whack!" Schmitz said. Last semester, Schmitz taught five classes. Now, he is able to teach only half of those classes.

"It was completely unexpected. I was told that the French 3 class would be canceled. If I were to teach that class, it would make me full time," Schmitz said.

At the beginning of the semester, he decided to go ahead and teach the French 3 class, but at one-third pay.

"It's not financially sound, but it's right," Schmitz said. "I built the program, there's a record number of students, and I'm a half-time teacher."

Schmitz decided to try to talk to the administration about what was happening to him and other adjunct faculty.

After an e-mail from the chancellor saying that the district is committed to fairness and integrity, Schmitz believed that his troubles would soon be over. However, although he received the correct pay for this semester, Schmitz spoke to President Robert Zeigler.

"It was wonderful. He was very open and kind, but he made it clear that there was no hope of future full-time employment," Schmitz said.

"Dr. Zeigler explained to me the reason behind the fact that instructors are only allowed to teach full time for the first two years and then demoted to part time," Schmitz said. "It's borderline use and abuse."

As for next semester, no one is sure what will happen.

Budzinski said, "It's difficult to find an adjunct who will teach one or two classes. It used to be easier but now people look for full-time positions. We don't have any applications."

Schmitz, for his part, is looking for another job.

"The sad news is that the situation has to change for me. I have a wife and two kids, and part-time pay doesn't cut it," Schmitz said. "Professionally, there's nothing that I would enjoy more than teaching."

Schmitz is not the only one who could be losing out.

Students who began their language studies here in French could have to wait until they transfer to complete all the hours required for a bachelor's degree.