MINUTES
Board Work
Session - Board of Trustees
In
accordance with the terms and provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act,
Chapter 551 of Texas Government Code, the Board of Trustees of the Austin
Community College District convened in public session at a Board Work Session
on Monday, April 21, 2003, at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room (201) of the Highland
Business Center of Austin Community College located at 5930 Middle Fiskville Road, Austin, Texas, with the following members
present: Rafael Quintanilla, Chair/Presiding Officer; Barbara Mink, Vice Chair;
Allen Kaplan, Secretary; Beverly Watts Davis [arrived at 7:00 p.m.]; Lillian J.
Davis; John Hernandez; Nan McRaven; Beverly S. Silas
and John Worley.
It is
further found and determined that in accordance with the policies and orders of
this Board, the notice of this meeting has been posted and return thereof made
pursuant to the terms and provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter
551 of the Texas Government Code, and there has been full compliance with the
terms and provisions of said act, including the timely posting of the subjects
of this meeting.
ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/POSSIBLE ACTION
Agenda Item 7677
Financial Report—March 2003 and Projected FY04
Revenue
Chair Rafael Quintanilla introduced the item and Austin
Community College Vice President Ben Ferrell provided the monthly financial
report for March 2003, with detailed year-to-date expenditures and revenues
against the budget and a monthly revised fiscal year projection of expenditures
and revenues. He stated that, as of the
end of March 2003, the College would have a positive balance of revenues versus
expenditures for the current fiscal year and would meet the expectations of the
minimum reserves level policy (G-6) or the corrective action plan
requirements. He further noted that
State appropriations are expected to be reduced by 7% in Fiscal Year 2003. If this were to occur, there is the possibility
of a deficit in the current operating budget and the Minimum Reserves Level
policy requirements (G-6) may not be achieved in the current year without
Fiscal Year 2003 budget reductions. He
stated that the Board will be asked on
Mr. Ferrell distributed information on Fiscal Year
2004-Fiscal Year 2006 Projected Revenues versus Expenditures. Projections were based upon the current tax
rate of $0.05% with a 12% cut in State appropriations for FY04 and reduced
group insurance funding. The projected
revenues less projected expenditures indicated a deficit of $17,324,686 for
Fiscal Year 2004, $20,064,034 for Fiscal Year 2005, and $23,151,339 for Fiscal
Year 2006.
Trustees discussed the
financial report and projected revenues and expenditures. Dr. Fonte, College
President, stated amendments to the budget would be presented at the
Agenda Item 7678
Report—South Austin Campus Advisory Committee
Chair Rafael Quintanilla
introduced the item. Guadalupe Sosa, Co-Chair of the South Austin Campus
Advisory Committee and Jim Walker, ACC Coordinator, Institutional Effectiveness,
provided a drawing of a possible look for the proposed South Austin
Campus. Ms. Sosa invited Trustees to a
third committee forum at
Agenda Item 7679
Discussion of Board Policy A-2, Intended Results: Statement of Values and Ideals
Chair Rafael Quintanilla
introduced the item and Vice Chair Barbara Mink provided information on the
status of review of Board Policy A-2.
She stated that Dr. Ray Marshall and Dr. Christopher King have also
reviewed and contributed comments regarding the proposed policy. Trustee Nan McRaven
distributed information on proposed core indicators of achievement, and Trustees
discussed measures for
Agenda Item 7680
Discussion of Proposed Review of Board Policy B-2, Duties and Responsibilities
– Board of Trustees
Chair Rafael Quintanilla
introduced the item and Board Secretary Allen Kaplan provided information
regarding proposed revisions to Board Policy B-2. Trustees discussed the policy and suggested
additional revisions. This item will be
included on a future agenda.
Agenda Item 7681
Discussion of Proposed Board Travel Directive
Chair Rafael Quintanilla
introduced the item and Barbara Mink stated the proposed travel directive had
been reviewed by the administration and several Trustees. Trustees discussed the proposed directive, proposed
approval authority, the need for Board travel to be the same as employee travel,
and travel rates. This item will be on a
future agenda.
Agenda Item 7682
Proposed Amendment to Board Policy F-10, Employee Compensation
Chair Rafael Quintanilla
introduced the item.
John Worley moved and
MOTION: The
Board of Trustees approve the proposed amendment to
Board Policy F-10, Employee Compensation.
Trustees discussed the
proposed revision..
VOTE: The
motion passed on a vote of 8-1.
FOR: Beverly
Watts Davis, Lillian J. Davis, Allen Kaplan, Nan McRaven,
Barbara Mink, Rafael Quintanilla, Beverly S. Silas, and John Worley.
AGAINST: John
F. Hernandez
***********
F-10 Employee Compensation
Principles:
ACC
intends to compensate employees so as to (1) attract and retain a workforce
with sustained high effectiveness in meeting student learning needs, (2) act
as an ethical and responsible employer, and (3) make efficient use of student
and public higher-education expenditures.
The President shall accordingly, consistent with fiscal constraints and
meeting the College's other needs, develop plans and proposals to meet the
following goals:
[1]
Provide employment primarily on stable professional terms with an adequate
level of regular staff to achieve excellence goals. However, the College shall use hourly,
part-time, and temporary staffing when appropriate to match variations in work
load.
[2]
Have all employees receive fair pay for their contributions to the College
mission, with no employee paid less than the community-accepted level of a
"living wage".
[3]
Provide a compensation package (including salary, benefits, time off, stipends,
and awards) that is market-competitive.
Priority for increasing compensation shall be for those positions that
are at 95% or less of the market average or any other compensation target
included elsewhere in this policy or set by the Board.
[4] For each type of
position, the incumbents' compensation shall, on the average, be
market-competitive with those at the primary institutions for which the
College competes for employees. Job
content is the most important comparison point, but the size of the institution
(i.e., its workforce) shall also be considered.
For adjunct faculty, the average ACC compensation shall be the average
of the middle half of the distribution.
The primary relevant comparison markets shall be: for non-faculty staff
and administrators, similar local, regional, or national positions, as
appropriate for the position; for full-time faculty, nine-month averages of
full time faculty with equivalent experience and education in Texas metropolitan
community colleges; for adjunct faculty, lower-division classroom sections
taught in the
[5]
Arrange workloads of employees so that there is an equitable and reasonable
assignment of responsibilities generally based on objective factors, and
provide appropriate extra compensation or release time to employees who are
asked to work significantly more than normal or during vacation/holiday
times. Incorporate sufficient
flexibility in leave rules to allow tradeoffs between salary and time off,
whenever appropriate given the work needed by the College.
[6] Adjust pay scales annually to reflect
cost-of-living changes (including inflation), with cost-of-living adjustments
applied on the same basis to all pay scales.
However, cost-of-living increases shall be adjusted appropriately to reflect the greater impact of inflation in
the necessities on lower-income persons.
[7]
Provide salary ranges that reflect appropriate adjustments for changes in
effectiveness due to applicable education/experience and completion of any
mandatory professional development.
Decision Process:
[8]
Compensation rates and proposed changes in them are to be publicly announced
and shall normally be implemented as part of the budget process. Compensation changes at other times shall be
made only in cases of documented urgent need approved by the President, after
informing the employee associations and considering their comments. Changes require specific Board approval if
the action increases a person's compensation rate by 10% or more or if the
cumulative unapproved changes to the budget during the year would exceed
$10,000/month.
[9]
As part of the budget process, the President shall recommend pay scales and
stipends that, in his or her judgment, reflect the above principles to the
extent feasible given other Board directives.
Projections shall be provided with the planning/budget proposals of the
funds needed for cost-of-living adjustment, market adjustments, changes in
staffing levels, and the net cost of any experience increments. Board approval of pay scales and rules shall
be based primarily on the extent to which the President's recommendation is
consistent with the provisions of Board policy and planning directives.
[10]
When a budget falls short of meeting the goals of this policy, the budget shall
allocate between 4% and 6% of projected annual revenues for professional
development, market-level adjustments, cost-of-living increases, experience
adjustments, stipends, and awards.
[11]
An appropriate relationship shall be maintained between the compensation
packages of executives and senior administrators and the compensation for other
classes of employees. Any compensation
increase in excess of the average percentage increase for other employees for
an employee serving as a College administrative officer requires specific Board
approval.
************
Agenda Item 7683
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)
Chair Rafael Quintanilla and Donetta Goodall, Associate Vice
President for Academic and Workforce Education Programs, provided information
concerning the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act which was
passed into law in 1966. Ms. Goodall stated that action would be requested by the Board
of Trustees at the May 5, 2003, meeting.
Yvonne Van Dyke, ACC Dean of Health Sciences, advised that the purpose
of the law was to guarantee security and privacy of health care.
Mr. Quintanilla stated that
this item will be included on the agenda for the
Executive
Session
There
was no Executive Session.
Announcements
·
A delegation from Old Urlu,
Imo State, Nigeria were introduced and welcomed to Austin Community College: Dr. Cajetan Ajoku Duraji, Chairman of
Governing Council and Leader of Delegation; Engineer Cyril Akaleme
Dirmoji, Director of Technological Skills Acquisition
Centre; Engineer Orjika Igwe,
Head of Department, Electrical and Electronics Technology; and Mr. Leonard Azubike, Department of Woodworks and Building
Technology. Trustees were advised that
the visitors would be at ACC for approximately one month to review ACC
programs.
Trustees
commented regarding the meeting:
What we did well: discussions were good—especially in policy
areas; policy discussion was good; brings
forward how important clarity is in our policies really is, need to be very
diligent in reviewing each and every policy; very good meeting and discussion
about policy, Ben’s presentation was very enlightening regarding our future
potential problems, encourage all to go out and vote; very good meeting, really
glad to I hope we sent the message to the people who are the heart and soul of
ACC, that we really do care, and that we are willing to put what little money
we have where out mouth is; very good meeting, great discussion, great length
of time; agree with Beverly and hope we have sent the right signal tonight;
ditto, ditto, ditto.
What we can do better: disappointed that we seemed to exceed time on
every area—but were eager to cut me off, need to be consistent in all timelines.
Adjournment
Having
no motion before the Board, the April 21, 2003, Work Session of the Austin
Community College Board of Trustees was adjourned at
Approved By
Allen
H. Kaplan, Secretary