DID YOU KNOW??

Read about your rights as a student and some facts about our situation!

Drafted by an independent body of Concerned Students of SFAI

FACT 1: As a PAYER OF TUITION, YOU have the ultimate say in what decisions are made and how they are made!  SFAI’s Budget is made up of approximately 74-81% TUTION dollars, thus putting the STUDENTS in the position of the most authority!  PLUS, we have Constitutionally protected rights to FREEDOM OF SPEECH, protected by CA LAW, that cannot be violated!

FACT 2: SFAI is expecting a budget SURPLUS of $800,000 to $1MIL. FOR JULY 2009; based on most recent financial audits, announced by Espi Sanjana at the March 26th Board of Trustees meeting! This surplus is due BEFORE any savings from the layoffs!! How can financial exigency be declared and Faculty laid off when we are looking at such a substantial SURPLUS??

FACT 3: TUITION IS GOING UP BY 2.5%, PUSHING ONE SEMESTER’S COSTS TO $15,440 FOR UNDERGRADS AND $16,570 FOR GRADS!! In the Mar. 25 Student Union Meeting with Espi Sanjana, he confirmed that tuition is going up for the fall. Students will PAY MORE FOR LESS, as there will be FEWER teachers, LESS access to facilities (due to increased enrollment) and there will be a NEW $200 ‘technology fee’ for anyone enrolled in 6 or more units, not seen in prior semesters!

FACT 4: DURING THE WINTER FURLOUGH, SFAI PAID BACK $100,000 OF A RESIDENTIAL LOAN TO PRESIDENT BRATTON!  Our latest financial audits report that $100,000 of Chris Bratton’s $200,000 home loan was REPAID; meanwhile ALL STAFF AND FACULTY were on UNPAID FURLOUGH and STUDENTS were BANNED from CAMPUS FACILITIES!

FACT 5: THE LAYOFF DECISIONS were made in CLOSED meetings BETWEEN the TOP THREE ADMINISTRATORS, WITHOUT due involvement from the Faculty Senate, Union, or Heads of affected departments! As quoted from Espi Sanjana on March 25th at a Student Union Meeting, these decisions were made in closed executive meetings; considering ‘seniority’ and ‘curricular impact’.  These teachers have SERVED a range of 31-10 years at SFAI and all teach REQUIRED COURSES for graduation, majors, and as part of a sequence of courses.

FACT 6: The manner by which these layoffs were carried out is in gross VIOLATION of the LEGALLY binding contract between the Faculty and the Administration and likely reflects discrimination on the basis of AGE, DISABILITY, AND UNION ACTIVITY!  AND, no facts have been given to the STUDENTS to prove this otherwise, despite THREE separate student REQUESTS at LOGS, Student Union, and Board of Trustees meetings on Feb 23, Mar 13, and Mar 26. LAWSUITS COST MORE THAN SAVINGS FROM LAYING OFF FACULTY!!!

FACT 7: SFAI is NOT in the same situation as other schools that have declared extreme financial hardship and laid off tenured Faculty. In a January 20, ‘09 Board of trustees Meeting, Espi Sanjana reported that November 2008 budgets, “are running well against budget.  Most departments are under budget.” Other schools taking this extreme measure CLOSED as a result of their financial problems and we are NOT in danger of CLOSING!

<Drafted from various SFAI documents, FUSFAI Collective Bargaining Agreement, public meetings with administrators, Faculty and Staff Union representatives, and California State Law documents. Please feel free to contact the administrator of this page with any questions or comments about the contents of this page.>