Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau Will Audit MATC

UPDATED July 20, 2010   

It has come to my attention that the information I had posted here concerning this meeting was wrong.  Let me state at once I am not pleased this happened!!  As such, I have deleted that portion of the post.  The part that remains is like that of the other posts found on my blog.  Facts are presented, with my opinions added.  This blog is my version of an OP-Ed page that can be found in any newspaper.  

I am not pleased that I was misled by one who spoke to me on the phone with authority about matters that were later proved to be not accurate.  Though the person did not know I was going to write a blog post about the matter under discussion, it still is a mystery how false information was imparted to me so easily.   I need to state that this person has long been a competent and knowledgeable source, but it is still not clear to me how such a situation like this happened.  It was based on that phone call which then led me to unfairly take to task  MATC President Bettsey Barhorst.  She was not in attendance at this Executive Session of the Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau.  I am sorry to have stated otherwise.   

Anyone who reads this blog knows it is not my style to mislead.   I come from the old school of living life where at the end of the day the only thing  I have is my good-name.  That is something that was passed down to me from my depression-era dad, and it is something I strongly identify with.  As such,  a matter like this disturbs me greatly.   While I have no problem speaking plainly about the issues, I do so from a factual background.  I do not knowingly fabricate or mislead.  I find that the facts of any matter are always more than enough for me to make my case.      

I have deleted all the misleading information, and am most sorry this matter developed.      

The Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau decided on Wednesday that there will be an audit of the technical school system in the state.  The memo from state auditor Janice Mueller listed a series of areas that the LAB will evaluate.  The one that encompasses the concerns of CP is as follows.      

…examine the Wisconsin Technical College System Board’s statewide policies and standards for educational programs, particularly any pertaining to when courses are scheduled, as well as the relevant policies that the technical college districts have promulgated; 

 

There has been a long-simmering issue at MATC over the pay structure and class assignments of part-time instructors versus that of the full-time staff.  Students have felt that as a result of the discrepancies the quality of their education is lacking.  While the part-time union has fought for the rights of its members it has often met with resistance and disdain.  Just this week MATC President Bettsey Barhorst wrote a letter to the part-time staff urging a positive vote on the latest tentative agreement.  An agreement, I might add, that would short-change the professors, underserve the students, and place the tax payers in an awkward position of continuing to pay for a system that does not best serve the  community. MATC fancies itself a bigger type college than it is. MATC felt that it deserved a name change over the past year, even though the mission and scope is still one that is designed to serve our local communities.  To do that, however,  MATC needs to treat part-time staff with respect which will allow the students to receive a better education for the money they pay. As such these matters should be considered by the Wisconsin Audit Bureau.  This will be the proper avenue to evaluate the issues that effect a broad swath of those who live and work in Madison and the surrounding areas.