By Regis L. Roberts
Nearly two months after the campus Bookstore Committee met Sept. 13, questions raised during the meeting remain unanswered, much to the chagrin of some of its members.
These questions affect students’ wallets and bank accounts, and money the campus receives from textbook sales.
English Instructor Mariano Aguilar, a committee member, said during the meeting he questioned the policy of barring instructors from advising students to buy their textbooks from Amazon or L&M as opposed to the Follett bookstores on the campuses.
Mona Aldana-Ramirez, coordinator of the center for educator preparation and member of the committee, said there was no paper trail and no way to confirm that this was the case because no one at the meeting had a copy of Follett’s contract with the district that contains the rule.
“San Antonio College Bookstore’s 2007 Annual Review,” provided to committee members during the Sept. 13 meeting, does shed some light on Follett’s concerns over losing business to competition and reduced patronage from students.
“The textbook industry is changing,” the report reads. Students are opting to not buy their textbooks for various reasons, and instructors are relying on Internet tools to a greater extent, the report continues.
The report goes on to list several reasons to choose Follett over other providers, including the store’s investment into the school through 13.5 percentage of its revenue with scholarships revenue for the district, the amount of materials provided by the store and the store’s “reasonable” policies.
Aguilar said he would not have a problem following the rule if he could only be shown the rule on paper.
Because he has not seen the rule, however, he said he considers it hearsay and does not feel he should have to abide by it.
Jorge Posadas, director of student life, said he has not seen the contract but has heard the wording of the rule.
He said he does not have a problem with competitors like Amazon and L&M, but because Follett is a source of revenue for the district, it is best for students to buy books from a store that gives back to the district through scholarships.
According to minutes from the committee meeting, Vernell Walker, chair of the business department and chair of the committee, said she would try to acquire a copy of the contract from Contracting Coordinator Karen Gottfried to show the members.
When contacted, Walker said she had received no new information concerning members’ questions and she did not obtain a copy of the contract.
Gottfried said, to her knowledge, Walker did not contact her directly for a copy of the contract.
Obtaining the contract between Follett and the district has proved to be difficult for several people.
Gil Castillo, associate director of student life, said he went to district at the request of Posadas to obtain a copy but was unsuccessful.
Posadas said he was told by Gottfried that President Robert Zeigler had a copy and Posadas could obtain an electronic version through him.
Posadas said he has had problems receiving the e-mail that contains the contract because it is such a large document.
Aguilar said he asked Emma Mendiola, interim dean of student affairs, if she could get a copy; he said her position gives her more clout, thus making it easier for her to get a hold of it.
Mendiola said when Aguilar contacted her, she had already been trying to obtain a copy of the contract, and Aguilar’s request was another impetus to getting a copy, which she said she was able to do through Gottfried.
Another concern among the committee members that remains unsolved is the issue of how money from Follett’s book sales given to the district is allocated.
Follett’s sales are up at all campuses, resulting in the company paying $1.5 million to the district and $462,479 to this college alone, according to the meeting minutes and the 2007 report.
Ramirez said during the meeting, eyebrows were raised when those numbers were presented.
She said the numbers were significant and that more questions about how the money is allocated were warranted.
Follett pays the district 13.5 percent of the revenue it receives from sales at its campus stores.
No one at the meeting knew how the money from Follett was being allocated.
Some of the $462,479 goes to the office of student life’s auxiliary accounts, Posadas said, but exactly how the money is allocated is not clear.
In addition to the $462,479 the bookstore generated for the district, $25,000 went to the district for scholarships, Posadas said.
The 2007 report shows $8,713 for scholarships for this college alone.
According to the meeting minutes, the scholarship money goes to the women’s center, which Posadas said is given in the form of textbook scholarships.
Aguilar said students and faculty, himself included, complain about the price of books, but Follett is not alone in the blame.
This is because 13.5 percent of Follett’s 25 percent markup on merchandise is for the district.
He said he could tell students that part of the money they spend on books is going to a good cause, but he cannot do that because he does not know that for sure.
An attempt to obtain a copy of the contract for this story was not successful.