Editorial By: The CNM Chronicle Editorial Board
The clothing drive to be hosted by the Job Connection Center, featured in the article ”Job Connection Center to host clothing swap” is not only a wonderful resource for the CNM community, but it also provides a glimpse of the income gap among faculty and staff versus members of the administration.
In the article, President Kathie Winograd is praised for donating her and her husband’s old clothing items. The seeming awe that maintenance workers can get their hands on suits that Winograd used to own is insulting.
It is nice that there is a drive and that Winograd donates, but it is insulting to faculty and staff for them to have to rummage through the old clothes of Kathie Winograd. Staff and faculty should be able to afford the nice clothing they need.
Winograd’s recently approved raise and bonus, covered in the Volume 18, Issue 13 article “Governing Board approves raise, bonus for President Winograd” give her the ability to buy nice clothes whenever she wants.
On the sidelines, most teachers are struggling to make ends meet and living paycheck to paycheck. They lack the luxury of buying professional clothes suitable to their profession.
The faculty and staff deserve better. The administration needs to look carefully at the college’s priorities. It is time to move employees to the top. Faculty and staff dedicate their time to creating a productive environment to educate thousands of community members per term. Professional educators scrounging for professional clothing is unseemly.
They deserve to be able to afford a nice, new suit as needed.
