South Suburban College board passes tentative budget amid union negotiations

View of the South Suburban College main campus in South Holland. Photo from SSC website

This story was originally published in the Harvey World Herald on July 22, 2024.

Clad in red, members of the union for South Suburban College faculty and staff showed up at the board’s recent meeting to petition for better pay as the trustees approved a tentative fiscal year 2025 budget.

For Megan Tabag, a sociology professor and SCC union delegate for Cook County College Teachers Union Local 1600, it’s personal.

“South Suburban College was my grandmother’s first job after becoming widowed,” Tabag said. “Today, I stand before you as a first generation, tenured professor with a doctorate, grateful for the opportunities SSC has provided me and my family.” Tabag reflected.

In her public session remarks, Tabag shared that while the teachers are committed to “supporting underserved students”, it does not come without financial strain.

Now, budget season is here, and professors are vying for a new contract with increased pay.

The plea for salary increases

“For the last 20 years, faculty salaries have been falling further and further behind other institutions because the numbers in our actual salary schedule have not been adjusted for inflation,” shared English professor Lynn Wollstadt during public comment. “This means that faculty are being paid at rates that were appropriate 15 to 20 years ago.” 

Wollstadt suggested low faculty pay impacts the College’s ability to hire qualified teaching staff so students receive “robust college level academics that prepare them to transfer to four-year schools.” 

New teachers at SSC who hold a master’s degree and no teaching experience earn $33,171, according to the current faculty agreement. That figure jumps to $40,551 if they also have a doctorate. 

That’s woefully behind other colleges, Wollstadt said, referring to Triton College, another public community college in northwest suburban River Grove where first year teachers earn a base of $51,332 and $68,306 respectively, for similar credentials and experience, according to the 2021-2025 negotiated agreement.

But Triton also has twice the enrollment, according to data from the United States Department of Education, and is surrounded by more financially well-off communities. SSC serves many low-income populations across the area.

The board approved the 2025 fiscal year operating budget, with longtime trustee and finance committee chair Tony DeFilippo emphasizing that this was a “tentative operating budget.” 

Board Chairman Terry R. Wells declined to comment due to ongoing union negotiations. 

Property tax pain and ‘modest’ revenue streams

The college expects a 4.18 percent increase in tax revenue for operating and non-operating budgets.

At the finance committee meeting preceding the regular session, treasurer Tyhani Hill said the revenue increase is a result of property tax increase in Thornton Township.

Trustee Janet Rogers asked if homeowners were calling the school to complain about the increase in taxes that are designated for SSC. School administration assured her that they have received no calls. 

Rogers’ question comes as south suburban property owners saw some of the highest bills in 30 years, according to a report from the Cook County Treasurer’s Office.

In addition to the increased tax revenue, the College anticipates $300,000 in income from the new Cook County Household Hazardous Waste Facility that the college will manage, set to open in 2025. 

This revenue is coupled with the existing Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) facility that opened last spring, and the waste that has been sold off. Hill notes that the figure is “a modest, very conservative estimate,” which was met with celebration from DeFilippo and the rest of the board.

The college will run at an estimated $100,000 surplus this next fiscal year.

Internal hires in trade programs

The Board approved the hiring of two new full-time instructors that will jumpstart two career training programs. Tiffany Washington will lead the cosmetology program. Jasmine (Jai) Rodriguez will lead the barbering program. Both internal hires will be effective August 5, 2024. 

The board also approved hiring Deronzo McNeal as a trades II maintenance instructor, and Dr. Muriel Lee as a full-time nursing instructor pending a successful background check. 

That evening, DeFilippo was recognized and congratulated by the Illinois Community College Trustees Association for 35 years of dedicated service to the board of South Suburban College, Community System District 510, and the Illinois Community College System. 

ICCTA Executive Director Jim Reed presented the award. DeFillipo is the second longest serving college board of trustee in the state of Illinois.