County College Board Approves Two Budgets

Washtenaw Community College (WCC) trustees adopted an operating budget totaling $1,B41.250 and a building and site tudget of $2,706,000 at the close nf a brief public hearing last hight. Ctaly fóur of the six boardÉ members were present for the hearing and all voted to approve the budget proposed by President David H. Ponitz and Lloyd H. VanBuskirk, college business manager.
Those voting were Samuel T. I H a r m o n, board chairman, I I Ralph C. Wenrich, vice i I man, Evart W. Ardis, and ; I ard C. Creal, secretary. 1 I ward Adams Jr. and Kenneth : I L. Yourd were absent. Only four persons attended the public hearing and t h r e e questioned individual items such as the salaries of librarians, and types of equipment necessary for various operations. One woman commented that the salaries set for librarians, I jf at $12,000 for head librarían and I i $10,000 for an assistant librariI an, seem "rather high." I Ponitz replied that the salI ary scale of $6,500 to $12,500 for I ■ persons with master's degrees I land some experience puts WCC j in the top 10 per cent of MichiI fgan community colleges. Bj The budgeted amounts are I i b a s e d on salaries offered I ithrough the New York Times I i advertisements for librarians I land comparisons with the UniI Iversity, Ponitz said. ■ Wenrich pursued the same line of questioning as he had iiwhen the budget was first pre■ i! sented to the board, expressing I [■ his concern at the budget preI ': diction that 60 per cent of the I I students in the first year will I j enroll in general studies with 40 I per cent in occupational educaI Wenrich, who is U-M profesI ' or of vocational education, said I i the trustees had from the first I i; committed themselves to stress I t vocational education, that this I lis more expensive than general ■ P, college courses, and that the I budget did not adequately re1 jjflect the original commitment. '1'ln' budget adopted shows $323,000 for occupational inI struction and $357,620 for genH 3 eral education instruction. ■ Ponitz said that the 60-40 I B visión of students "is the best I Iwe can find from other colII ■ lege's experience." I I Asked by a member of the II laudience where classes and the II llibrary would be housed, Ponitz I said the college is still 11 I; ing for the use of several II j'ings in Ann Arobr and Ypsilanti I I for a or three-year period. I I There is no one buildig large