State rep defends Chipola job
— Floridan File Photo
State Rep. Marti Coley, left, is seen with Chipola College President Gene Prough during a past press conference at the college. Coley says her job at Chipola and her role as a legislator are not a conflict of interest.
Floridan Staff Writer
Published: January 9, 2009
Rep. Marti Coley, R-Dist. 7, has no plans to give up her $60,000 job at Chipola College, unlike fellow state legislator and Speaker of the House Ray Sansom, who resigned his post at another college amid criticism about his dual role.
The legislator said she sees no conflict in her two jobs and she’s puzzled by the air of criticism surrounding legislators who also work at Florida colleges.
Coley had worked as an adjunct professor at Chipola for two decades before taking the job she now holds there — special assistant of business and community affairs. Her pay started at $45,000 when she took the postion, but she got a 33 percent raise in July of this year, bringing her salary to $60,000.
Her job entails, among other things, fund-raising activities for the Chipola honors program and the school at large.
But Coley says her efforts in that regard do not include actively soliciting the acquisition of state grants as a legislator.
“I have never been directly involved in any state grants (for Chipola). I couldn’t name any state grant they’ve got,” she said.
She also points out that her employment with Chipola began “long before I ever thought of being a legislator.” She doesn’t believe her job is in conflict or constitutes a violation of ethics.
Coley worked part-time at Chipola as an adjunct professor for more than 20 years before taking her new position in late 2006. The new job started about a year-and-a-half after she was appointed by the governor to serve out the term of her late husband, David Coley.
She subsequently was elected to serve a second term and is paid just under $30,000 a year in that role.
Adjunct professors are typically paid $1,200 to $1,600 per course, per semester, and Coley normally taught two or three courses a term before switching to the full-time position at Chipola. She got her associate of arts degree at Chipola back in 1981, and holds a bachelor of science degree in English education from Florida State University. She also studied English education at Murray State University in Kentucky.
Coley said her husband’s death made it necessary for her to start working full-time, and that she was set to take a full-time classroom position at Chipola when the school offered her the new job.
She said it was both an economic factor and a personal reason that led her to take this particular job.
Had she taken the classroom position, she indicated, she couldn’t have finished out her husband’s legislative term.
“I couldn’t let David’s seat just go,” she said.
As for speculation that her double service puts Chipola at special advantage come budget time in the legislature, Coley said that’s just not so.
She readily admits to advocating for the school she works for — she sees it as part of her job as a representative of the district where Chipola is located — but said her work on the school’s behalf is above-board and really begins after funding requests have made their way through a certain process.
As a legislator, she said, it would be her duty to advocate for the college, whether she was employed by Chipola or not.
“I represent nine counties, and any entity in that community is going to get 100 percent effort from me in the legislature. Even with budget cuts, we have a very large budget and that money is going somewhere,” she said.
“Do we want it all to go to South Florida? Certainly, if Chipola is in line for money from a certain source allocated for use in education, I’m going to push as hard as I can for them to be in the budget. Why would people be upset if I’m advocating for any entity in my district?” she said. “One of my key interests is with economic development, and Chipola plays a huge role in Jackson County’s economy.”
She also talked about how she handles the two demanding jobs, and pointed out that legislators were never meant to be full-time.
Coley said she is on campus a lot more these days, and she sometimes puts in time there on weekends. Working the two jobs is a balancing act, she said, but not a conflict of interest.
“If I’m not in session, or off campus at some event related to my job, I’m at Chipola,” Coley said. “Often, especially if I know I will be out of the office some during the week, I’ll go up there on Sunday afternoon or Saturday morning. I was there last weekend, as a matter of fact.”
She said she doesn’t understand why people would criticize her situation.
Former state Rep. Robert Trammell is also on the Chipola payroll, although he is set to retire in June from his $57,787 position as special assistant for development and alumni affairs.
In a written response to inquiries about these employees, Chipola College President Gene Prough expressed his continuing support of Coley and Trammell in their respective roles at the college.
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Reader Reactions
Why is the Tallahassee Democrat printing news EVERY day about Samson and his conflict of interest with holding office and having the position at the college and this article is almost two weeks old with no follow-up? How can that be; does the Floridan lack courage?
Didn’t Chipola create the athletic director just for O’Daniel when he retired from Chipola? Didn’t O’Daniel have to pay back Chipola $40,000 because he retired early but was fully compensated? I believe the auditors caught this and O’Daniel repaid the $40,000 at that time. The deals just continue…
Hey FL Man, is that a violen I hear playing in the background for Ms. Coley? You write a lot to not say anything. You did not state one thing she has accomplished for the good of Chipola in her job there, or for the district in her job as a Rep.!
GatorFan, You explain this mess so well. I wish you would contact the FL Ethics Commission and/or Channel 13 News to get them to do an investigation on these big salaries that are not earned. To me, this is all worse than Rep. Sansom who is getting questioned about his job with a college that he actually works for, unlike Trammel who does not even show up!
Flman, Just because the Reps. only get paid $30,000. a year does not mean Chipola College should fork over $60,000+ along with an office, phone and secretary. I am sure Ms. Coley isn’t renting her office and paying her secretary. Why should she get a raise this year and no one else on campus did? It was bad enough at $43,000+ for a job as an adjunct that she did very little to earn and only had a Bachelors degree when everyone else teaching had a Masters or Doctorate.
Chipola College is suffering from the state budget crunch. If they don’t want to quit spending the MOST AMOUNT OF MONEY ON ATHLETICS OF ANY COMMUNITY COLLEGE in the state of Florida, then the money needs to come from somewhere!
The new Bachelors Programs are sure suffering and so are the nurses in the Nursing Program. No raises this year for faculty, staff, and administrators that don’t agree with Prough’s unethical spending. O
Of course, those that do agree make UNBELIEVABLE salarys compared to everyone else!
Again, why should Ms. Coley get a raise? Why is Trammel still on the payroll? As I said before, he doesn’t even come to work at the college? Why is O’Daniel still making $80,000+ and taking state retirement, too? Maybe Chipola can get rid of him next year when community colleges no long have to have an Athletic Director. Hopefully it will be Goodbye, O’Daniel!
What about this Louis Harris guy? I heard Friday that he spends most of his day writing or having someone help him write his dissertation because he is being groomed to be the new President because he is pro-athletics? I hear Louis Harris is paid $40,000+ a year by Chipola to WRITE HIS DISSERTATION? Oh, wrong, he is also watching special building projects that O’Daniel was suppose to monitor and didn’t.
Ms. Coley, Trammel, O’Daniel, and Harris are guilty of taking money they DO NOT earn. These unethical salarys would give the hardworking faculty, staff, and administrators (which make up 90%+) of the people on campus who actually educate, advise, counsel, register, etc. THE STUDENTS! ACADEMICS at Chipola make the money. ACADEMICS should come first. STUDENTS should come first!
Do you know the athletic events brought in only about $6,000.00 last year? Yea, athletics are really paying their way at Chipola.
The Board of Trustee must stop this nonsense. Surely, they need to at least investigate. Otherwise, they might be included in an ethics investigation by the state. President Prough and some of these others will be lucky if they don’t have to defend ethics complaints.
I am amazed and appalled at the impoverished mind set of so many here. Do any of you have any idea how many hours a state rep puts in for their meager salary? Rep Coley is doing a good job at both positions. Most politicians on the state and national level are wealthy, some what you would consider “ultra wealthy”. The people in district 7 are very fortunate to have a representative like Coley in Tallahassee. This is a person who understands the working class of north Florida. Mrs. Coley is the very kind of person we need in politics today, not the self serving career politician, but a person who is interested in the good he or she can do in government. The problem with most north Floridans is they cannot allow themselves to think past their impoverished, welfare state of mind. If people were really interested in making a difference, they should pay representatives a salary that would allow real people, such as Rep Coley, to work full time on behalf of their constituents. North Florida has come a long way in the last 20 years in becoming a viable place for business and growth. I believe Rep Coley will continue to do everything the position allows to make sure District 7 is on the cutting edge rather than chasing to catch up with the rest of Florida and the US.
Citizen, I am still waiting for something that Marti has done for Chipola and Jackson County. I am sure that you know that she doesn’t teach anything out there anymore. It would be so nice if EVERYONE had a job paying $60,000. a year to do nothing!
The board met this week, does anyone know what or if anything was done or said?
I hope that I am still around when election time comes!
Good to hear from you again, Not Surprised,your comments are so-o-o appropriate. You are right about bringing Jackson County into the 21st Century.
The folks I have talked to that are Faculty and STAFF at the college (and please, believe me when I say it is not just the faculty),all want the grease and grime cleaned up on Indian Circle. It’s a start, right? By the way, GOOD FOR THEM FOR STICKING THEIR NECKS OUT! IT TAKES COURAGE!
Maybe some of the like-minded administrators will throw in their help and support! GO…faculty,staff, like-minded administrators, Trustees Chipola retirees,students, citizens, Your voices and your help are needed!
I am going to check out this Glen S. McGhee from the Florida Higher Education Accountability Project and see what he has to say about all this Chipola College information. Maybe he can get involved?
Thanks govman65 for recommending that people start talking and DOING…you sure motivated me.
I guess the folks in Jackson County got tired of “politics as usual” when it came to Sims; that might just be the first such change of many to come. And 20 years behind is not much of an exaggeration…look how few on-line courses Chipola offers compared to surrounding community colleges. But when folks really get tired of it, they can put a stop to it using votes and tuition money. If the interest in this blog is any indication, change may be coming.
Oh and how did I forget to include the legal system in Jackson County. Well, “the good old boys” really run that show - it is all about who you are - just like in the school system. Again, the leaders and self appointed leaders of this community need to understand that it is a new day and the general public is fed up with “politics as usual”.
I’m not sure why Chipola College is getting all of the heat for doing things supposedly underhandedly. They are just doing what all the other institutions around here do - do whatever they want because nobody is going to do anything about it. Take a look at the School Board under Sims - how many of his family worked for the school system? Look back when your kids were in school who got all of the honors and recognition or were not given the same punishment that other kids were given for doing the same thing - the children of the people who were born and raised here, and the doctors and lawyers kids. Look at the Jackson County Hospital Board and it’s Foundation Board and even the employees - there are husbands and wifes and all their children and their brothers and sisters and in laws and every other family member they can get hired there. Look at who serves on the hospital board and who serves on the hospital foundation board and who works for the foundation board. Look at the flyer that the hospital just sent out to introduce the doctors to the community and to announce who got scholarships from the hospital medical staff - mostly the children of doctors, lawyers, or children whose parents had a connection to Chipola college, or the children of parents who were born and raised here. Look at who serves on the Chipola Board and their Foundation Board. And look at the Chamber Board. They are all the same people - they all just serve on each others boards to “keep it in the family”. It is all so incestous that it is sickening. And there is a small core group in this town that calls all of the shots - one person in particularly who has much influence over who is appointed to serve on many of these boards. But they need to understand that just like this country cannot stand anymore “politics as usual”, this county also cannot stand any more “politics as usual”. I have to chuckle when I hear the leaders of the community wanting businesses and people to move into this area. No they don’t! They will lose all of their power because it quickly becomes obvious when you do move here how nobody really wants anything to change - and they will quickly take you out (no matter what they have to do) if you even suggest a better way to do things. “My Daddy did it that way and that’s the way we need to continue doing it”. “I was born and raised here and I deserve certain considerations as well as my children”. These are the excuses and attitudes that will not allow this area to grow and will create an atmosphere that will not attract others to move here. But the good old boys (and women) do die off and of course their sons and daughters take their rightful place in keeping things in Jackson County like “they always have been” - 20 years behind the times.
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