Faculty Union Asks for Delay, But Lake Land Board Approves New Stipends and Postpones Grievance Response

The Lake Land College Board of Trustees approved new part-time rates and stipends for fiscal year 2026, moving forward with the vote despite a request from the faculty union to delay action amid an ongoing grievance.

During the public comment portion of the June 9 board meeting, Casey Reynolds, President of the Lake Land College Faculty Association (LLCFA), asked the board to table the vote. He stated the union had filed a Step Four Grievance and requested the board not act on the stipends “until the Board can be more informed of the issue.”

Despite the request, the board later voted unanimously to approve the new rates. Key changes outlined by Dr. Ikemefuna Nwosu, Vice President for Academic Services, include a $15 increase per equated credit hour for adjuncts and various updates for Academic Program Directors and Leads.

Following a nearly three-hour closed session to discuss collective bargaining and other personnel matters, the board took separate action related to the union’s complaint. In open session, trustees voted to formally “postpone the response to the Formal Grievance, Step Four, filed by the Lake Land College Faculty Association… until the July 14, 2025 Board of Trustees meeting.”

The sequence of events suggests the board opted to approve the new compensation structure while deferring its official answer to the union’s grievance. Details of the grievance were not discussed in open session. The approved changes to part-time rates and stipends will go into effect on July 1, 2025.