The verdict awaits

In what seemed like an episode of Judge Judy fraught with courtroom antics and displays of blatant disrespect for the law and the dignity of the principles of tenure, MJC faculty layoff hearings concluded Wednesday with no ruling until at least May 18. After Administrative Law Judge Jonathan Lew reviews the mountain of files and documents submitted as evidence, two days worth of witness testimony and the closing and written arguments from YFA lawyer Bob Bezemek and District lawyer Marilyn Kaplan, a ruling will be made and a recommendation will be given to YCCD Board Trustees. On May 25 the Board will have another vote to either adopt or reject the recommendation from this proceeding.

     In opening her statement Counsel Kaplan defended the district's actions by claiming they followed the law in every aspect since layoff notices were issued by the March 15 deadline. Bezemek pointed out that it is unlawful to terminate tenured faculty in the first place because every one of the respondents meet minimum qualifications in other departments or programs  and should have "bumped" adjuncts or junior faculty who have less seniority. In many of the cases faculty who sat on pre-screening committees for determining whether these faculty meet equivalency to the minimum qualifications were denying equivalency either to protect their own position or the position of a colleague, he said.

 The public hearing was held in the YCCD board room amid tight security. Given the number of cases to review, the proceedings went on all day Tuesday April 12 and were extended through Wednesday morning, which was as much time as the judge and YCCD attorney could spare. Even so, the defense in particular ran short of time.

     In the case of Haleh Niazmand, who has been teaching art courses for the last six years, the district decided to keep a Graphic Arts instructor at Columbia College who was hired last year with the same degrees as Niazmand, yet lacks industry experience of Niazmand. According to state education laws and the contract between the Yosemite Faculty Association and the District, Niazmand should never have received a layoff notice and should have been reassigned to teach at Columbia College, if the college desired, as it said, to close the Art Gallery.

     Printing and lithography instructor Alan Layne is facing similar circumstances; his testimony implied that he should have bumped faculty in Graphic Arts with less seniority since he has already taught computer graphics courses at MJC after demonstrating competency in that area.  Current computer graphics instructor Joel Hagen testified that the skills Layne possesses were different than those required by instructors in that department; Layne countered that he has kept up with new computer-based technologies and already teaches most of the software programs used in computer graphics.

     The scope of the issues contained in this precedent–setting hearing seemed to dawn on the judge as Bezemek strove to lay out some of the implications of the layoffs. As he explained in a post-hearing interview with the Pirates' Log, "What this case was about, in part, is that many of these employees have been employed for 15 or 20 years and have minimum qualifications to perform a variety of services and teach a variety of courses.

     "The district didn't seem to pay attention to that," Bezemek said.

      The District's point of view seemed to be that layoffs were necessary due to the budget shortfall, but it then sought to justify at least some of the layoffs by discrediting the qualifications of some faculty, either to teach an alternate assignment or, in at least one case, the subject that she has been teaching for the past 14 years.

     At one point on the first day, while off the record and discussing documents requested for evidence, Judge Lew said "This whole proceeding has got me scratching my head." 

     At no time, however, did the hearings examine the overall effect of the layoffs on the college's programs and curricular offerings.

     "Over a thousand students will be turned down from art classes and the college will lose the state's apportionment (funding) for those students," said Haleh Niazmand, explaining how this is going to impact students at MJC.

     In the unique case of journalism instructor Laura Paull, who is advisor the Log, the district made the claim that she did not meet minimum qualifications or the equivalency for teaching journalism, or even the subject she was originally hired to teach, Spanish which she taught at CSU Stanislaus prior to MJC. Bezemek argued that her education plus 20 years of experience as a professional journalist met requirements for equivalency to a Masters Degree in Journalism.

     When testifying about Paull's qualifications MJC President Gaither Loewenstein said her transcripts did not include any coursework in journalism and that this was not favored by the state. When presented with a document from the State Academic Senate defining the requirements for meeting equivalency to minimum qualifications, Loewenstein testified that he had never seen and was not familiar with the document.