LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Minutes - March 11, 2009
1. Attendance
Board members present: Bob Ackerman, Pat Albright, Roger Hall, Paul Holman, Susie Johnston, Tony McCown and Pat Riggs-Henson. Also present were: President Mary Spilde; Executive Assistant to the President Tracy Simms; Vice President Sonya Christian; Chief Financial Officer Greg Morgan; Lane Community College Education Association President Jim Salt; Lane Community College Employees Federation President Bob Baldwin; and Associated Students of Lane Community College President Josh Canaday.
A. Chair Johnston called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
B. President's Report
There is not much new information to report on the budget since the last meeting. The bill to rebalance this year's budget did pass, and we received no additional cuts. We are still awaiting the co-chairs' budget. In the meantime, the Budget Development Subcommittee has been meeting, and we will begin to review proposals for balancing the budget next week. We are looking at both revenue and reduction proposals related to the strategies that the board approved. Since we don't have an indication of the state revenue, at this point we are working with the $440, $460, and $485 million projections and will likely do a tiered approach and “if . . . then” methods so that the board has something to work with. I believe it will be necessary to schedule an additional meeting in mid-April to share the proposals publicly. As I have said before, it is my goal, and I believe it is shared by the board, that we keep as many people working as possible. Depending on the number we get from the state, this may or may not be possible. To achieve preservation of jobs, it will take shared sacrifice. I will be the first in line to be part of that sacrifice once we have the co-chairs' budget. However, it means that we can continue to serve students and deal with enrollment growth, which improves the situation for everyone. Unfortunately, I can't guarantee at this point that there will not be layoffs since we don't know how much the economy is going to decline. April and May will prove to be challenging months for all of us.
We are still waiting to hear about the capital construction. We have a strategy to receive Senator Carter's endorsement to lift the limit on the lobbying effort so that we can make a strong push for our Downtown Center project. We are tracking a number of bills that affect community colleges.
Now for some good news. Our appropriation for $333,000 for equipment for the Health and Wellness building was included in the Omnibus Budget bill passed by the Senate yesterday. President Obama signed it today.
The state stimulus package is creating a large amount of work for the college. We are moving forward and doing a lot of planning and hiring. We will start fifteen projects in April.
I am pleased to recommend approval of the collective bargaining agreement with LCCEA. I want to congratulate both bargaining teams for reaching agreement under difficult circumstances. Though we are right back into bargaining, we should take a moment to celebrate this accomplishment.
You are aware that we have been working with experts in International Education to review the feasibility and help us develop plans for moving forward. Mike McIntyre has visited Lane and completed a needs analysis that indicates that international program will be a revenue generator for the college. We are now in Phase 2 of our planning process where Sonya Christian, Cathy Lindsley, and Mike McIntyre will be developing a detailed business plan, staffing plan, and marketing plan which will be completed in April for implementation next year.
Velda Arnaud has been selected to serve as the regional coordinator for the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Rocky Mountain Cascade Region. Arnaud teaches business courses at Lane and advises the college's Sigma Zeta Chapter of PTK, the international honor society for two-year colleges. She is a three-time winner of the society's Paragon Award for Advisors and is one of only 24 people nationally selected as a 2009 Faculty Scholar for the International Honors Institute. Our PTK chapter president, Terri Sullivan, was selected as a recipient of the Coca Cola scholarship and is in the running for the All American student award.
Lane student Toby Kubler was invited to the Clinton Global Initiative. Toby is one of a dozen students recognized for the commitment he has made to the initiative for our student-run learning garden.
Our women's basketball team won their last game of the regular season—their 72nd win on our home court. It was also the 400th career win for Coach Greg Sheley. The team went on to win the regional championship last weekend. Go Titans!
2) February Highlights
February highlights at Lane Community College as offered in the board mailing were presented.
3) Personnel
The college's current personnel appointments were presented.
C. Board Agenda Review/Changes
Item 3.A.1, the second reading of the Possession of Firearms policy, was pulled from the agenda.
D. Statements from Audience
Justin Blakely, former student, expressed dissatisfaction regarding services received from Disability Resources.
Brendan Lynch, former Energy Management student, encouraged the board to support the ASLCC fee to provide funding for the student-run Learning Garden.
Jennifer Steele, Bookstore Manager and Chair of the Management Steering Committee, expressed concern regarding recruitment and retention of managers.
Susan Carkin, Dean of the Language Literature and Communication Division, highlighted the contributions of Lane's deans, directors, and administrators.
Rick Williams, Dean of the Arts Division, stated that, due to the budget outlook, managers are proposing a wage freeze in management compensation for fiscal year 2010.
2A. Consent Agenda
Ackerman moved to amend the minutes to incorporate his comments on the discussion regarding board policy D.070, Equality of Opportunity in Admissions, as follows:
"Ackerman noted that restricting admission to persons 18 years and older for credit classes may conflict with ORS 351.505(1) which does not have an age limitation on this class of applicants. He requested that the issue be referred to legal counsel for review."
Riggs-Henson seconded.
McCown moved, and Holman seconded, to approve the Consent Agenda consisting of:
•The approval of the amended February 18, 2009, minutes
Motion passed unanimously.
3. Policy Review
A. Second Reading
1. Equality of Opportunity, D.060
Riggs-Henson moved, seconded by Albright, to approve the second reading of board policy D.060, Equality of Opportunity.
Motion passed unanimously.
POLICY NUMBER: D.060
POLICY TYPE: MISCELLANEOUS
POLICY TITLE: EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY
The board directs strict adherence to the principles embodied in Oregon and Federal "Equal Employment" legislation.
Lane Community College shall provide employment opportunity to all qualified persons and prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race, color, religion, physical or mental disability, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, veteran's status, familial relationship, expunged juvenile record, association with anyone of a particular race, color, sex, national origin, marital status, age or religion, opposition to safety and health hazards or application for Worker's Compensation benefits.
ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVIEWED: June 9, 2004
REVISED: October 17, 2006
REVIEWED: March 11, 2009
B. First Reading
1. Conflict of Interest, D.080
The following changes were recommended to this policy. A second reading will be held in April.
POLICY NUMBER: D.080
POLICY TYPE: MISCELLANEOUS
POLICY TITLE: CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Board Members and employees shall avoid actions as a public official or public employee that have the effect of being to the private, personal or financial benefit or avoidance of detriment of the person or the person's relatives. Relatives include spouse, children of the person or spouse, or the brothers, sisters or parents of the person or the person's spouse. The Government Standards and Practices Act set forth in ORS Chapter 244 is applicable to Board Members and employees. If questions arise, Board Members and employees are urged to contact Oregon Government Standards and Practices Commission, 100 High Street SE, Suite 220, Salem, Oregon 97301-3607; Telephone Number 503-378-5105.
ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVISED: September 8, 2004
REVISED: May 10, 2006
2. Student Activities Fee, D.090
No changes were recommended to this policy. A second reading will be held in April.
POLICY NUMBER:D.090
POLICY TYPE: MISCELLANEOUS
POLICY TITLE: STUDENT ACTIVITIES FEES
FOR STUDENT-INITIATED PROGRAMS
Students may be assessed a mandatory fee for the purpose of supporting a board approved student-initiated program. The board may approve those student-initiated programs that it determines provide educational value to the students consistent with the college mission and goals. After board approval, the fee initiative will be placed on the ballot for the student elections. The student election results, as they relate to the fee initiative, are advisory only. After the student elections, the fee initiative will come before the board for final approval or disapproval.
ADOPTED: November 9, 1998
REVISED: July 12, 2000
REVISED: December 2002 (former Policy Title: Tuition and Fees)
REVISED: July 27, 2004
REVISED: June 14, 2006
4. Discussion/Action Items
A. Specialized Support Services Presentation
Sharmean Heffernan, Director of Specialized Support Services (S3), Katherine Vos, Director of Public Safety and Housekeeping, Mike Sims, Recycling Coordinator, and George Floyd, S3 student worker, presented an overview of the S3 program. The program receives grant funding to cover the majority of resources needed and provides on-the-job training on campus and in the community to adult students with developmental disabilities. On campus, work is performed in Laundry, Recycling, Food Services, Housekeeping, Grounds, and the S3 shop. The S3 program has always been beneficial to college departments, and even more so with the current enrollment increase as staff are overextended. Successful partnerships in the community include the Downtown Athletic Club, the Ems Stadium, Sizzler, Safeway, Mt. Pisgah, and The Dollar Store.
B. Bond Planning Update
Alen Bahret, chair of the Bond Leadership Team (BLT), thanked district voters for entrusting us with a large sum of money to improve infrastructure needs and acknowledged that hard work of the facilities staff. There are 22 members on the BLT with 11 representatives from council groups. The Project User Groups from the group one projects are meeting to provide input into planning.
C. LCCEA Contract Ratification
Spilde recommended approval of the contract between the Lane Community College Education Association (LCCEA) and the Lane Community College Board of Education.
Riggs-Henson moved to approve the contract between the LCCEA and the Lane Community College Board of Education. Albright seconded.
Motion passed unanimously.
D. Budget Development FY10
Spilde reported that the College Council Budget Development Subcommittee is meeting weekly to prepare budget recommendations. She expressed appreciation to the managers for recognizing budget challenges and proposing a wage freeze.
E. ASLCC Ballot Measures
McCown moved that the board approve the proposed ASLCC ballot measure language as a non-binding recommendation for inclusion in the May 2009 election. The ballot measures propose that the student activity fee 1) continue to support the Native American Longhouse at the rate of $3 per student, per term; 2) increase the student activity fee to support Athletics and Recreational Sports at the rate of $4 per student, per term; 3) increase the student activity fee to help stabilize funding for the International Student Program at the rate of $1 per student, per term; 4) increase the student activity fee to support the student-run Learning Garden at the rate of $1 per student, per term; and 5) increase the student activity fee to provide additional funding for the Women's Program and Transiciones at the rate of $1 per student, per term. Riggs-Henson seconded.
Motion passed unanimously.
F. Marketing Plan
Tracy Simms, Executive Assistant to the President, Mark Williams, Dean of Computer Information Technology, and Todd Lutz, Chief Information Officer, provided an update on marketing goals. One of the first initiatives is to build a modern technology infrastructure for our website. Existing resources will be repurposed to cover most of the cost of providing technical support, web applications and administrative support. Additional cost to the college is estimated at $40,000. This will allow us to incorporate features that students are most familiar with and utilize the latest web trends.
G. Resolution No. 528, Selection of Bond Underwriter
Riggs-Henson moved to award the contract to provide bond underwriting services to Seattle-Northwest Securities Corporation in an amount not to exceed $366,030 and to adopt Resolution No. 528 authorizing the issuance, negotiated sale and delivery of general obligation bonds; designating an authorized representative, bond counsel and underwriter; delegating the approval and distribution of the preliminary and final official statements; authorizing execution of a bond purchase agreement and related matters. McCown seconded.
Motion passed unanimously.
H. Resolution No. 529, Budget Authority for Financial Aid
Morgan explained that increased enrollment and use of financial aid this year has exceeded the adopted budget. Resolution No. 529 will provide the additional budget authority needed to continue the trend through the rest of this year.
Albright moved to Adopt Resolution No. 529 to allow increased student aid. Holman seconded.
Motion passed unanimously.
5. Accountability/Reports
A. Benchmarks
Craig Taylor, Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning director, responded to questions and comments on the following Benchmarks:
•Percent of County Population Enrolled (Age 18 years+)
The board requested the number of students under 18 years of age that are not in College Now.
6. Reports
ASLCC President Josh Canaday reported that the students will be involved in two lobby days at the Capitol in the near future and that ASLCC will be sending seven students to Washington, D.C. for lobbying. He recently met the new University of Oregon president and felt that he will be a good ally for Lane. Canaday thanked the board for supporting the ASLCC ballot measures.
LCCEF President Bob Baldwin was in Salem on Monday and met with Representative Barnhart and Senator Morrisette. Both are happy to know that we are on our way to making good use of the deferred maintenance money. The union has reached an agreement with the college for bond and deferred maintenance positions. There will be benefits in these positions with some limitations. Baldwin noted the different economic reality of classified staff versus management and faculty. In many classified positions, families qualify for food stamps. He pointed out that areas which have recently been cut are now being rebuilt, such as Information Technology and Marketing. There seems to be a lot of time spent rebuilding from past decisions rather than taking actions one year after next which build on previous actions that will move us toward financial sustainability.
LCCEA President Jim Salt reported that the community college funding coalition met a couple of weeks ago. Many attendees were from the community college system. He will be attending the National Education Association conference in Portland this month. Salt responded to a comment made earlier in the meeting that the average daily wage of a manager is less than that of a faculty member. That statement is based upon the false assumption that faculty only work 175 days a year.
Vice President Sonya Christian concurred with Salt that faculty do indeed work more than 175 days. However, when she has tried to recruit faculty into vacant management positions, the salary is one of the main factors stated as being the reason why they do not consider applying for the position. The Academic and Student Affairs leadership team has been visiting department meetings regarding the difficult budget situation we are currently facing. Departments have been informed that the budget will be balanced through three approaches--revenue increases, program cuts, and conversations at the bargaining tables regarding wages. Christian recognized Cathy Lindsley for her work with international students. She acknowledged the managers at Lane for their commitment to the college and their willingness to take on additional responsibilities.
Chief Financial Officer Greg Morgan acknowledged the work involved in completing the deferred maintenance projects. Lane was fortunate to get the largest allocation of deferred maintenance funding. There will be a lot of hiring in a short period of time to accomplish the work. It is an exciting and challenging time.
Board Reports
McCown appreciated management showing up in force as a unit and speaking with one voice.
Hall congratulated the faculty and administration on reaching an agreement on the faculty contract. He noted that management is doing a fabulous job with maximum stress and appreciated managers attending the board meeting.
Riggs-Henson acknowledged the work of all staff and wished that the community could see all of the ways that staff step up to the plate and try to help in times of a budget crisis. We need to stay healthy so that we can be ready to help the increased number of students in this economic situation.
Albright congratulated Rowlett for keeping the community college message out there. Albright met with legislators and superintendents at a meeting hosted by the Oregon State Board Association at the Lane County Educational Service District. At Lane, we are blessed with the problems associated with increased enrollment, but many school districts are facing decreased enrollments.
Johnston also attended the Lane ESD legislative meeting and agrees that it is better to worry about increased enrollment than decreased enrollment. She represented Lane at the League for Innovation CEO/Trustee retreat in South Carolina.
7. Date, Place, and Proposed Agenda Items for the Next Regular Meeting
Wednesday, April 8, Boardroom, Building 3, Lane Community College
8. The board meeting unanimously adjourned at 8:40 p.m.
| _____________________________ | _____________________________ | |
| Mary Spilde, President/District Clerk | Susie Johnston, Board Chair |