2/22/1977, Burlington Free Press

FINANCIAL TROUBLES THREATEN GODDARD

By GAYLE GERTLER, Free Press Staff Writer

PLAINFIELD -- At first the setting seems idyllic, with rustic, snow-covered buildings and arbors backlit by the sun. But the effect is spoiled by a series of plastic-looking, box-like structures scattered over a nearby hillside.

Look at the first group of buildings and it's easy to believe the legend of the dead butler who haunts Martin Hall, upsetting Ouja boards and knocking on doors in the middle of the night.

Look at the second group of buildings and it's hard to understand where they fit in.

The answer is that they don't. The contrast between the old and new campuses of Goddard College is blinding, and it seems fair to say that the school that scorns the classification of "regimented educational institution" went off its track somewhere.

The undergraduate unit of Goddard College is in financial trouble, with close to $400,000 in outstanding debts that may force the firing of 15 to 30 teachers.

But the solutions proposed so far seem to do little but add to the problem. On Friday, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)-affiliated faculty filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming the school's administration has not lived up to the terms of its contract.

The faculty is aware of the financial problem, said Carla Thomas, president of the local chapter of the teachers' union. But it wants the administration to consider other methods of cost-cutting, such as reducing what the teachers "consider to be a rather heavy administration for such a small college," before making reductions in the faculty.

The problem stems from a 1974 Farmers Home Administration (FHA) $750,000 loan to the college. According to interim President John Hall, the money was used to pay off a loan from Chittenden Trust Co. The school is now unable to pay back the FHA.

He said enrollment in the residential undergraduate program is down 64 students, to 380, and "that's the problem right there."

As a result of the dwindling enrollment, the operative word at Goddard is "retrenchement." Expenses, said Hall, must be brought into line with enrollment.

The question, of course, is why Vermont's third-largest educational institution, with a national reputation, is facing a shortfall of $400,000.

Hall spoke briefly of mismanagement at the highest levels of administration.

"I wasn't here two years ago," he said, "so I don't know if it (the FHA loan) was the wisest thing to do. But retrenchement should have begun two years ago."

In the meantime, both faculty and staff have affiliated with the AFT. The staff unionized in March of 1976. The union filed its first unfair labor practice charge in May.

"I feel that unionization has restricted our freedom of movement and that of our faculty and staff," Hall said. "But the Board of Trustees has given me explicit directions to live up to our contracts."

Hall also laid much of the blame for the school's problems on the lack of an active recruitment policy over the last five, or six years, and an educational program that has not kept up with the interest of high school students.

"We were ahead of our time once and we're not now," he said. "That's another part of the problem."

From the time the school moved to Plainfield in 1938, until around 1970, Hall said, Goddard offered an experience-oriented education not available at other institutions. But then, he said, the school made the mistake of acceding to student demands of the early 1970s.

The school had allowed its students to develop their own educational programs, but Hall said faculty and administration always insisted that the program "add up to something."

The boxy buildings of Goddard College's new campus, above, form a rough contrast to the old Clock House, right. . . Also rough is the economic outlook of the school, in debt and accused by teachers of unfair labor practices. . . Interim President John Hall, below, thinks 'retrenchment' is the key.

The early '70s, according to Hall, saw the administration join with student activists in "destroying the faculty. Suddently, there was no accountability. We were going up a dead-end creek."

Backing down that creek will involve, among other things, reducing the student-faculty ratio from 9.5 to 1, which Halls says is "too rich a mix", to a more nearly average 15-1.

It will probably also involve cutting back on the amount of free tuition the college extends to students who cannot afford the $5,800 annual fees. The school now shoulders $500,000 a year in tuition remissions.

The annual charges increased this spring, but Hall said the college has no plans to increase them again.

Goddard does plan to return to teaching students how "to deal with the society in which they live. A lot of colleges have forgotten that. And this college, I think, forgot it."

If the crisis gets worse instead of better, central Vermont stands to lose its largest employer. While "it isn't that they come and greet us with open arms," Hall said the school's relationship with surrounding communities has generally been cordial.

"Vermont has a great tolerance of individual life styles," he said. "This school would not have flourished in any other state."

Although Vermonters make up only 10 per cent of the student body, Hall considers Goddard firmly rooted in Vermont traditions of independence and individuality.

"We are a very Vermont-like college in that we are frugal and straightforward and have a great respect for the individual."

Goddard's frugality is about to be tested. The faculty, according to the terms of the contract, must be informed by March 1 where cuts are to be made. The college admitted to being on a "financial tightrope" in the spring of 1975 now must balance itself.

"I think it may be time to laugh at this crisis," Hall said. "There comes a time when that's the only thing to do. But it really isn't that bad. Entrenchment in the long run can only strengthen us."