BY ABIGAIL BELL
EPCC is hiking parking fees by $20 students and $30 for faculty for the 2024-2025 academic school year.
The new parking rate for the annual sticker is $60 for students and $70 for faculty while the semester permits will be $40 and $50 for students and faculty, respectively.
Albert Burnham, faculty senate president, pointed out that this is a 50% increase for students and a 75% increase for faculty.
“People were justifiably outraged at a 75% increase,” he said. “Of course they like to say, ‘UTEP charges $400 and NMSU $210’, and my answer to that is we’re not UTEP, we’re not NMSU.”
The increase comes at the request of the EPCC Chief of Police Jose Ramirez and Vice President of Student and Enrollment Services Carlos Amaya. The fees are to “support staff, parking lot maintenance, and vehicle purchases and maintenance,” according to their proposal.
The sudden increase came as a surprise to many faculty members. Out of the four associations that the college administration has set in place to help with governance of the college, only the SGA was consulted about the fee proposal.
“We're supposed to have what's called ‘shared governance’ here between the four constituency groups and administration and some of the faculty senators feel that was bypassed,” Burnham said.
The proposal was passed by the Tuitions and Fees Committee, the Board of Trustees, and the Student Government Association.
The Faculty Senate voted to express their displeasure at not being consulted about the increase to the board. The parking increase will likely still take effect this upcoming academic year.