By REBECCA SALINAS
rsalinas191@student.alamo.edu
Alamo Colleges received information from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas of a rule that limits adjunct teaching in September 2011.
Linda Boyer-Owens, associate vice chancellor of human resources and organizational development, said the district received the information in a technical manual on how to administer benefits.
The rule is just now being implemented because the district and legal counsel had to research it, she said.
The rule states adjuncts teaching 7.5 or more semester hours will have to contribute 6.4 percent of their salary to TRS.
The district would also have to match the contribution.
Boyer-Owens said the two questions for district officials are whether the district needs to implement the rule and how the district would implement the rule.
The legal counsel advised the district to implement the rule. She said the district will do so in the spring semester.
Boyer-Owens said there were no guidelines on when the rule needed to be implemented, and officials are looking into how to implement it.
“People assume we’re going to cancel adjunct workload. That’s one way to deal with it, but that’s not the only way to deal with it,” she said.
President Robert Zeigler sent an email Sept. 27 saying the three implementing options are to hire more adjuncts, keep adjuncts teaching 7.5 or more hours or cancel classes.
Boyer-Owens said there are no plans to cancel classes because of a lack of adjuncts.
“We’re not going to take actions that will be harmful to students or their education,” she said.
She said it will come down to the district contributing 6.4 percent or workloads will be adjusted.