Rep. Marti Coley got 33% raise in July at Chipola

Who knew she was even on the payroll out there? No one - because she isn't even listed on their employees list at their website. Wonder what her actual office hours are? Does she take personal leave or leave without pay when she has to be out making "public" appearances.

What about when the Legislature is in session. Does she take leave then?

How can she look people in the face and talk about all these "tough" budget decisions that have to be made when she is drawing a $60,000 a year salary at Chipola......accepting that big 33% pay hike this past summer.

Seems to me there needs to be a big investigation into all this. Doesn't seem ETHICALLY right.

That is ridiculous. No wonder she walks around with that smug "I'm better than you" smirk/prissy attitude about her. Who wouldn't to make $60,000 a year and do nothing? Is the Speaker of the Houes is having ethics charges brought against him for his high paying job, what makes Miss Priss an exception?

Marti Coley is a great person and a great legislator. Don't even act like you wouldn't take the raise either. Let's don't forget she lost her husband (also a great person), that's makes her a single mom. Personally, I am glad that she got the raise. Mrs. Coley you are doing a great job and you are a great person. Don't listen to these soothsayers. They would take the money too. Please keep going and don't give up!!

Yeah wrote:

Marti Coley is a great person and a great legislator. Don't even act like you wouldn't take the raise either. Let's don't forget she lost her husband (also a great person), that's makes her a single mom. Personally, I am glad that she got the raise. Mrs. Coley you are doing a great job and you are a great person. Don't listen to these soothsayers. They would take the money too. Please keep going and don't give up!!

Whether she is a nice person or not, and whether or not her husband died, is NOT the question at hand here people. The fact is that NO OTHER EMPLOYEE at Chipola College got a 33% raise; in fact, no other employee at Chipola got a raise because of the budget cutbacks. Additionally, if she going to draw that kind of a salary and be a full time employee at Chipola, she needs to put in her 40 hours a week just like everyone else out there does.

I have no doubt she is a great lady - she has done A LOT for North Florida and has been an excellent legislator. However, being a nice widow doesn't mean it's OK for you to take big money when you aren't really putting in 40 hours a week at a TAX-FUNDED institution.

Go to Chipola's website: she isn't even listed on their employee directory. If that's the case, is she even employeed there at all?

Have you all seen the blog on the Jackson County Floridan's website...go to jcfloridan.com and click on news. Then keep scrolling back until the January 9th stories and read the blogs attached to the headline with Coley's and Prough's picture beside it. You must read these blogs...in one headline Coley says that cutbacks are inevitable, and the very next headline says that Coley gets a 33% raise.

Did you all know that Chipola ranks #1 out of Florida's 28 community colleges for the most money spent on athletics, and 26th out of the 28 in faculty salaries. Talk about ethics!

The only way for things to change at Chipola is for taxpayers to loudly voice their displeasure with the way that their tax dollars are spent at this institution. If the taxpayers want to give the majority of the tax money to the athletic department so that athletes from out of the state and the country can play ball (yes, they are usually not from the five county area and you can confirm this by looking at a catalog), then so be it. However if tax payers do not want their hard earned money spent in this manner, loudly voice your opinion about how the money is spent. To add a minor correction to the comment from info, faculty salaries at Chipola are 25 out of 28 in the state. Chipola is number 1 out of 28 states in terms of the percentage of operating funds spent on athletics and 26 out of 28 states in terms of the percentage of operating funds spent on academics. If you are outraged by this fact, let the board of trustee members know. The faculty at Chipola College could really use the help of the public in regards to this issue. The faculty have declared impasse with administration because of this problem.

I happen to think that Marti Coley is a fine Christian person. It is to our benefit (as a district) that she has a job that is flexible and she can do both. Frankly, I am proud to have someone that is committed to her district. She is serving us well.

Once again, it is not questioning whether or not Marti Coley is a "fine Christian person"; it is questioning how Chipola College is spending the money that taxpayers have entrusted to this institution to provide academic instruction.

concerned wrote:

I happen to think that Marti Coley is a fine Christian person. It is to our benefit (as a district) that she has a job that is flexible and she can do both. Frankly, I am proud to have someone that is committed to her district. She is serving us well.

Being a "fine Christian person" is not OK when she is the only person at that college receiving a 33% percent raise when others didn't get anything. She has a Bachelor's Degree and makes more money than people with Doctorates at Chipola who ARE there every week.
How can you say she is serving us well when she is contradicting herself: she discusses how we have no choice but to face cutbacks but accepts a 33% raise.
Would I accept a raise like that? Hell yes. However, she should have seen the ethical issue with that -- I say it's time pressure is put on her like with the guy from Northwest FLorida State College.
Marti - choose one and stick with it.

Everyone else out there (meaning state agencies, schools, etc.) are talking about budget cutbacks; she has even said herself budgets are going to short-fall. Did she consider not accepting the entire 33%??? Even a TEN percent raise would be nice - but one third of your salary? That is unacceptable.

I also agree with those that say she is a fine Christian widow woman. This has nothing to do with that.

This is an example of a typical politician - saying one thing (such as we all should prepare for budget cuts) but thinking the rules don't apply to them (as in accepting a 33% raise).

I'd like to hear her reasoning for this. And I also checked the Chipola website - she is not listed there as an employee.(Yet they pay her over $60,000 a year......some of the people there with Doctorates don't make that much...... and she only has a Bachelor's Degree)

concerned wrote:

I happen to think that Marti Coley is a fine Christian person. It is to our benefit (as a district) that she has a job that is flexible and she can do both. Frankly, I am proud to have someone that is committed to her district. She is serving us well.

You are right - she's a great Representative. However, this isn't about that. She is making tons of money at Chipola yet isn't putting in 40 hours a week there.

Looks to me this is Chipola College's way of paying to keep themselves in good with the Legislature.

tax payer wrote:

The only way for things to change at Chipola is for taxpayers to loudly voice their displeasure with the way that their tax dollars are spent at this institution. If the taxpayers want to give the majority of the tax money to the athletic department so that athletes from out of the state and the country can play ball (yes, they are usually not from the five county area and you can confirm this by looking at a catalog), then so be it. However if tax payers do not want their hard earned money spent in this manner, loudly voice your opinion about how the money is spent. To add a minor correction to the comment from info, faculty salaries at Chipola are 25 out of 28 in the state. Chipola is number 1 out of 28 states in terms of the percentage of operating funds spent on athletics and 26 out of 28 states in terms of the percentage of operating funds spent on academics. If you are outraged by this fact, let the board of trustee members know. The faculty at Chipola College could really use the help of the public in regards to this issue. The faculty have declared impasse with administration because of this problem.

What's happened at Chipola between the administration and faculty? Still at impasse or has the administration tried to at least make some sort of effort to do what's right?

The politics in this county are ridiculous. Between Marti Coley and FPU, our money is going down the drain. How can Coley justify a $60,000 job and a 33% raise in this climate? What a hypocrite, telling people to buckle down for hard times, that we need to brace for budget cuts at our educational institutions and she takes a huge raise while the education budget is cut. It is simply astounding! Why doesn't she give that money back since it isn't earned and is simply a form of payola and do something about FPU. They raised rates twice because of the price of oil; however, now that oil prices have dropped, they haven't reduced their rates accordingly. Progress Energy a couple of weeks ago announced plans to reduce their rates in light of the lower oil costs and the present bleak economic climate. Why doesn't FPU follow suit? They don't, because they have a monopoly and the people have to get their power from them and our legislature and the public service commission (I'm sure FPU pays them well) are not looking out for the people. Instead, they are getting 33%raises while everyone else is either losing their job or taking a pay cut. During the next election, I don't want to Coley's pitch about being there for the people, she is there for the money.

This is ridiculous! She is telling everyone to prepare for hard times and for all state institutions, including schools, to prepare for significant budget cuts --- and here she is taking a huge raise to make her salary over $60,000 a year. Combined with her State Representative salary, she is taking in $100,000 a year.

Can't for the election and to hear her talk about how she understands what people here go through.

It is my strong opinion that she is like all over politicians........says one thing but does another.

She tells us to prepare for budget cuts while she adds 33 percent to hers.

Nice going Representative Coley. You really set an example for everyone.

What the ironic thing here is, is that each of you that are talking bad about Ms. Coley would take the raise too. Bunch of hypocrites. I know I would take the raise if it were presented to me.

Yeah wrote:

What the ironic thing here is, is that each of you that are talking bad about Ms. Coley would take the raise too. Bunch of hypocrites. I know I would take the raise if it were presented to me.

Maybe, but I am not paid with taxpayer money and am not telling everyone that hard times are and we all have to tighten our belts while I take a 33% pay raise from a state entity and while real teachers are taking pay cuts and/or losing jobs. If you can't see that problem, you must be blind.

You wouldn't take a pay raise and you expect me to believe that? Yeah right.

Hypocrite wrote:

<quoted text>
Maybe, but I am not paid with taxpayer money and am not telling everyone that hard times are and we all have to tighten our belts while I take a 33% pay raise from a state entity and while real teachers are taking pay cuts and/or losing jobs. If you can't see that problem, you must be blind.

I never said I wouldn't take a pay raise. However, there is a difference; I am not an elected official determining how taxpayers' money is spent and voting on spending cuts for government entities such as Chipola while taking a huge raise. The point is that it is hypocrital to tell others that budget cuts for education are necessary while taking a pay raise from one of the educational institutions whose budget has been cut. Her raise is at the expense of either some educational programs or instructors pay.

Hypocrite wrote:

I never said I wouldn't take a pay raise. However, there is a difference; I am not an elected official determining how taxpayers' money is spent and voting on spending cuts for government entities such as Chipola while taking a huge raise. The point is that it is hypocrital to tell others that budget cuts for education are necessary while taking a pay raise from one of the educational institutions whose budget has been cut. Her raise is at the expense of either some educational programs or instructors pay.

That is putting the nail on the head!!!!! Would I take a 33% raise? You better believe it. But EXACTLY like you said: I'm not the state representative who is on the news telling educational agencies that they have to cut back spending and cut their budgets when she is taking a huge raise FROM an educational institute who has lost nearly a million dollars in budget cuts SINCE after her raise was implemented, and are expected to lose even more. She is a hyprocite and by accepting this raise, has lost her credibility as a legislator.

I feel this is a complete conflict of interest and borders on the point of being absolutley unethical.

This is politics at its best right here. Looks like it's a "these rules [budget cuts] don't apply to me."

Vote her out - with this she's proved she can talk the talk but will not walk the walk.

I voted for he last time, but cannot vote for again now that she has shown her true colors. As for everyone's interest, she's getting a raise with government money - our money. That money can be put to much better use than giving Marti Coley a big raise. Between Chipola's huge athletic budget and raises for non-educational pesonnel like Coley (exactly what is Coley's job at Chipola, is it legal for a legislature to be a lobbyist)where exactly does education fit in at Chipola?