The Appalachian State
University Faculty Senate opposes the increase in pricing for on-campus
parking and is developing a plan to help reduce the costs.
The Faculty Senate is formulating an idea that would use visitor
parking fees to offset the 85 percent parking permit price increase
Faculty Senate vice-chair Andrew M. Koch said.
“[The Faculty Senate] requested an unspecified contribution
from [the Department of] Cultural Affairs and Athletics [Department]…to
maintain the parking facilities,” Koch said. “It’s
a matter of fairness…to get people who use the facilities to
share in the cost.”
Faculty Senate chair Paul H. Gates said visitors and alumni should
be charged to park on-campus when attending events such as football
games and concerts.
“People are not charged at all,” Gates said. “They
park all over the place [for] free.”
Gates also said that increasing ticket prices to reflect the costs
of holding events such as football games and concerts would also
help generate funds.
The increase in fees came after a court decision upheld the North
Carolina law stating that all state agencies must turn over revenue
raised through fines to the school board.
The money Appalachian had intended to use to pay for the Rivers
Street Parking Deck was diverted to Watauga Public Schools, Gates
said.
Appalachian lost approximately $600,000 in the lawsuit.
“We lost a large portion of our funding, and an increase [in
parking fees] is the only way to make it up,” Parking and Traffic
director Barry D. Sauls said.
The result was an 85 percent increase in parking permit fees for
students, faculty and staff, Sauls said.
The price of the lots increased from $110 to $204. The price of
the parking deck, however, only increased 1.02 percent, from $500
to $504.
The faculty has taken the increase in fees the hardest, Koch said.
“The parking deck was originally built to house faculty parking,”
Koch said. “Now we are in a situation where we are very uncomfortable
that our parking fees almost doubled in order to subsidize [a deck]
we do not use.”
Few faculty members purchase spaces in the parking deck because
of the cost, Koch said.
The faculty also received a pay-cut this year and no salary increases.
The price for health care has gone up as well, Koch said.
“When you add together the increase premiums, the increase
in health care…and parking fees, many people on this campus
are seeing a pay-decrease,” Koch said. “It has produced
a lot of bad feelings among the faculty.”
“The debt has to be paid,” Gates said, “but…it
should not all be put on students, staff and faculty.” |
