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 on Monday, April 19, 2004, 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
P. Mink, Board Vice Chair; Allen H. Kaplan, Secretary; Lillian Davis; John
Hernandez; Nan McRaven [arrived at 6:09 p.m.];
Beverly Silas; and John Worley. Trustee
Beverly Watts Davis resigned effective
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
7903
Fiscal Year
2005 Compensation
Mr. Quintanilla introduced
the item and Ben Ferrell, Vice President of Business Services, and Dr. Gerry
Tucker, Associate Vice President of Human Resources presented data and
information for decision making and implications for the Fiscal Year 2005
budget. Trustees discussed Board Policy
F-10, Employee Compensation—including cost-of-living adjustments, market
adjustments, and adjustments to the pay scale, compensation goals and the
results of the Annual Compensation Survey related to budget implications for
FY05. Mr. Ferrell and Dr. Tucker
responded to questions from Trustees.
Trustees requested additional information for review and consideration.
Agenda Item
7904
Proposal to
Create a New Classification with Benefits for Adjunct Faculty
Mr. Quintanilla introduced
the item and Dr. Gerry Tucker provided information regarding a proposal to
create a new category with benefits for adjunct faculty. The objective of the proposal is to make adjunct
faculty who teach more than half-time, but less than full-time, eligible for
life, accident, and health benefits under Employee Retirement System (ERS)
regulations. She stated that Senate Bill
1370 was recently passed and authorized ERS to provide benefits, at the
College’s cost, to adjunct faculty members who are employed at least half-time
but less than full-time. Upon receipt of
the ERS guidelines, staff will conduct an analysis of the budget implications
of implementing the provisions of SB1370.
Dr. Tucker introduced Mr.
Charles Zucker, Director of the Texas Faculty
Association. Mr. Zucker
distributed information and spoke regarding the need for creation of a new
category with benefits for adjunct faculty to make them eligible for benefits
under the Texas Employee Uniform Group Insurance Program. Dr. Tucker and Mr. Zucker
responded to questions from Trustees.
Additional information was requested regarding the category of
lecturer/researcher. Dr. Tucker stated
information will be brought back to the Board upon receipt of information from
ERS regarding the impact of implementation of Senate Bill 1370.
The agenda was re-ordered.
The Austin Community College
Board of Trustees recessed into Executive Session at
The Austin Community College
Board of Trustees reconvened in Public Session at
Agenda Item
7910
Possible
Selection of College President
Chair Quintanilla introduced
the item.
John Hernandez moved and Allen Kaplan seconded
that:
MOTION:
The Board of Trustees direct the Board Chair to
enter into negotiations with Dr. Roberto Aguero as
President of
VOTE: The
motion passed on a vote of
FOR: John
Hernandez, Allen Kaplan, Barbara Mink, Rafael Quintanilla, Beverly Silas, and
John Worley.
AGAINST:
Lillian Davis.
ABSTAINING:
Mr. Quintanilla expressed appreciation to all individuals
who worked during the process, members of the Presidential Search Advisory
Committee; College employees and community members who attended the forums and
provided comments; the team which visited Eastfield
College of the Dallas County Community College District last week and met with
the people there, including Board Vice Chair Barbara Mink, Trustee Nan McRaven, Faculty member Larry Willoughby, and
Professional-Technical Association member Marilyn Lee-Taylor.
Mr. Quintanilla stated that Dr. Aguero
is an individual who is tremendously experienced and collaborative.
Agenda Item
7905
Southwest
Quadrant of Service Area
Mr. Quintanilla introduced the
item and Bronson Dorsey, Associate Vice President for Facilities and
Operations, provided information and Trustees discussed current and future
facility needs of the Southwest quadrant of the College’s service area which is
currently served by the Pinnacle Campus and the
Agenda Item
7906
Mr. Quintanilla introduced
the item and Bronson Dorsey stated this item requests the Board to authorize
staff to hire an architectural/engineering firm to conduct an analysis of
redevelopment options for the Rio Grande Campus with an anticipated cost of
$75,000, as included in the 2003 General Obligation Bonds. He presented
information regarding the professional services for redevelopment of the Rio
Grande Campus, the process for selection of the architectural/engineering firm,
and options for redevelopment of the Rio Grande Campus. Dr. Steve Kinslow,
Interim President, and Mr. Dorsey responded to questions from Trustees and
stated this item will be brought back to the Board for possible action at the
May 3 Board meeting.
Agenda Item
7907
Term Contract
for Architect/Engineer Services
Mr. Quintanilla introduced
the item and Bronson Dorsey stated this item concerns the potential use of a
Term Contract for the delivery of Architectural/Engineering services for
renovation and mid-sized new construction projects which will enable the
College to meet the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)
recommendations for increasing Student Services space. Rather than conduct a solicitation for each
project, staff recommends the use of Term Contract for
architectural/engineering services for these and other projects anticipated
over the next three years. Once projects
were designed and permitted, bids for construction would be solicited for each
project. The Board of Trustees would be
asked to approve each construction contract at the conclusion of bidding. Funding for the proposed contract would be up
to $450,000 and was included in the 2003 General Obligation Bonds. The construction contracts were requested to
be submitted to the Board for approval.
Agenda Item
7908
Proposed
Mr. Quintanilla introduced
the item and Bronson Dorsey said the item requests the Board to approve a
contract with Bartlett Cocke, LLP in the amount of
$131,700 for construction of code-required and safety upgrades for the Austin
Community College Service Center.
Mr. Kaplan recused himself from any discussion or vote on this item
since he has worked with Bartlett Cocke.
Mr. Dorsey stated this item
will be on the agenda for the
Agenda Item
7909
Southern
Association of Colleges and Universities (SACS) Update
Mr. Quintanilla introduced
the item and Dr. Kinslow presented a report regarding
preparation for the August SACS report and September SACS Special Committee
Visit. He stated that the College is at
the mid-point of its two-year period to address Recommendations of the March
2003 Reaffirmation of Accreditation Committee Report, and is preparing for a
Special Committee visit in September 2004.
Dr. Kinslow stated it was appropriate for the
Board to discuss progress toward the two key areas cited in the December 2003
SACS warning to the institution:
documentation of faculty credentials and demonstration of a clear
distinction between the policy-making function of the Board and the
administrative functions of the College.
He provided a summary of the Recommendations and a FAQ regarding Faculty
Credentials and Board/Administrative Relationship. Dr. Kinslow stated approximately 7 full-time faculty will remain as qualified by exceptions
and the College will develop an action
plan to bring 12 full-time faculty into full compliance with the stated
criteria. For adjunct
faculty. the College will continue to defend 12
as exceptions and about 191 have credentials which are questioned. He stated a number of the 191 will have easy
resolutions, while others may entail the need for additional coursework in
order to teach in Fall 2004 or thereafter. Dr. Kinslow said
the College will not cancel sections for Fall 2004 and would complete a departmental analysis. He indicated that the Board will be asked in
May to make a decision authorizing the administration to hire needed full-time
faculty before Fall 2004. Regarding the second SACS recommendation,
Dr. Kinslow stated that the Board would need to: schedule an Orientation Program for all Trustees
prior to August; adopt and have made significant progress on individual Trustee
development plans; and work with a consultant at the June Board Retreat on the
two primary areas that relate to the report.
He stated it was his belief that
SACS still expects the Board to address the specific instances that were cited
in the December report, so at some point between now and August, Dr. Kinslow will ask the Board to publicly discuss those
elements of the report.
Announcements
· Beverly Silas and Allen Kaplan attended the Classified Employees Association’s Breakfast on Friday, April 16.
Meeting Review
Trustees commented regarding
the meeting:
What we did well: good meeting; good meeting; very good meeting; good meeting and I want
to personally add my comments from the dais too, I think that when Dr. Fonte left and Dr. Kinslow
stepped into the roll with a level of professionalism and maturity and really
helped the College continue and I look forward to working with him for several
more months in this capacity and appreciate what you have done; talked about a
lot of important issues tonight and had some good discussion; good meeting, I
also would like to thank Dr. Kinslow for all of the
fine work he has done since I have been on the Board; good meeting, I
especially appreciated Dr. Tucker’s presentation, the timing of it--ahead of
time rather than after the fact, raised the issues and got us focused on the
questions we need to answer, so I thank Gerry Tucker for that.
What we can do better: No
comments.
Adjournment
Having no motion before the Board, the April
19, 2004, Board Work Session of the Austin Community College Board of Trustees
was adjourned at
Approved By
Allen H. Kaplan, Secretary