MINUTES

Regular Meeting – Board of Trustees

July 6, 2004

 

 

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 Tuesday, July 6, 2004, at 6:04 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 (arrived at 7:25 p.m.); John Hernandez; Nan McRaven; Jeffrey Richard; Veronica Rivera; 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.

 

Swearing-In of Board Member – Places 6, Veronica Rivera

Judge Darlene Byrne administered the Oath of Office to recently elected Austin Community College Trustee Veronica Rivera, Place 6.

 

The agenda was re-ordered to elect Board Officers later in the meeting.

 

Recognitions

There were no recognitions.

 

Citizens Communication

·        Larry Willoughby, ACC faculty, spoke regarding compensation.

·        Daniel Traverso, ACC faculty, spoke regarding expectations for President/Board of Trustees.

·        Al Purcell, ACC faculty, spoke regarding definition and spirit of “aloha” and “mihallo”.

·        Catherine Watson, ACC faculty, distributed information and spoke regarding employee records and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)

·        Mark Goodrich, President of ACC/AFT, spoke regarding the proposed Fiscal Year 2005 Budget and compensation.

·        Christopher Butler, ACC student and Student Fees Committee member, spoke regarding the proposed Fiscal Year 2005 Budget/Student Activity Fee/tuition.

·        Beaux Tschiernet, ACC student, spoke regarding tuition.

·        Guadalupe Sosa, Chair, South Austin Campus Advisory Committee, spoke regarding the South Austin Campus.

Reports from Associations

·        Adjunct Faculty Association – Caleb Buckley, President-Elect, welcomed College President Robert Aguero and new Trustees, and spoke regarding Austin Community College/open access.

·        Classified Employees Association – Judy Green, President, welcomed College President Robert Aguero and new Trustees, spoke regarding Association activities, and Fiscal Year 2005 Budget/compensation/market value.

·        Full-Time Faculty Senate – Daniel Traverso, President, distributed information and spoke regarding the proposed Student Activity Fee, proposed tuition increase; South Austin Campus Resolution; and compensation.

·        Professional-Technical Employees Association – John Kennie, President, spoke regarding professional-technical employees/compensation/equity/benefits/and Association activities.

·        Student Government AssociationJames “Levi” Barnes, President, spoke regarding Student Activity Fees and recommendation.

 

Reports to the Board

·        Report on Achievements and Recognitions –Dr. Gerry Tucker, Associate Vice President for Human Resources, distributed the Kudos Report and called attention to recent awards/recognitions received by faculty/programs, staff, students, and Austin Community College.

·        Financial Report – May 2004 – Ben Ferrell, Vice President for Business Services, called attention to the May 2004 financial report noting that the College will have a positive balance of revenues versus expenditures for the current fiscal year and will meet the expectations of the Board Policy G-6, Cash Reserves, or the corrective action plan requirements.

 

CONSENT AGENDA

 

Chair Quintanilla introduced the items and Trustee John Hernandez requested that Agenda Item 7948 be pulled for discussion.

 

Agenda Item 7947

Proposed Approval of Contract for Office and Print Shop Paper

 

Board Secretary Allen Kaplan moved and Trustee Nan McRaven seconded that:

MOTION:  The Board of Trustees approve the contract for office and print shop paper with Western Paper Company, Inc., in an estimated amount of $125,000.

VOTE:  The motion passed on a unanimous vote of 8-0.

FOR:  Lillian J. Davis, John Hernandez, Allen Kaplan, Barbara Mink, Veronica Rivera, Rafael Quintanilla, and John Worley.

AGAINST:  None.

Absent for the Vote:  Trustee Jeffrey Richard

 

Agenda Item 7948

Proposed Approval of Contract for Printing and Distribution of the College Credit Course Schedule and Credit Schedule Mailer and the College Continuing Education Course Schedule

Chair Quintanilla introduced the item and Trustee John Hernandez inquired regarding the length of the contract period and  local vendors.  Trustees discussed the contract period and vendors/printing needs.  Chair Quintanilla suggested a feasibility study was needed.

Trustees Nan McRaven moved and John Hernandez seconded that:

MOTION:  That the Board of Trustees approve a one-year contract with Liberty Press and with a review by the College of actual printing needs to determine if there is a less expensive or comparable method of printing and mailing.

VOTE:  The motion passed on a unanimous vote of 9-0.

FOR:  Lillian J. Davis, John Hernandez, Allen Kaplan, Barbara Mink, Veronica Rivera, Jeffrey Richard, Rafael Quintanilla, and John Worley.

AGAINST:  None.

 

Item for Discussion/Possible Action

 

Proposed Approval of Fiscal Year 2005 Budget

Chair Quintanilla introduced the item and Dr. Stephen B. Kinslow, Executive Vice President, provided information regarding the alternative Fiscal Year 2005 Budget proposal.  Dr. Kinslow and Ben Ferrell responded to questions from Trustees.

 

Board Vice Chair Barbara Mink moved and Trustee Nan McRaven seconded that:

MOTION:  The Board of Trustees approve the Fiscal Year 2005 budget presented at the July 6, 2004, Board meeting, with the following changes:

·        Student Life Fee set at $1 per credit hour for Student Life;

·        $5 tuition increase per credit hour for Fall 2004 for in-district students with no increase for Spring and Summer 2005;

·        $8 tuition increase per credit hour for Fall 2004 for out-of-district students with no increase for Spring and Summer 2005;

·        course fees remain the same as in Fiscal Year 2004---not folded in tuition, but are the ones based on the different courses;

·        fully funding health expansion at $947,094;

·        15% of new monies for Master Plan initiatives;

·        minimum wage increased to $10.20 for hourly employees;

·        additional $250,000 to go to full-time faculty for market adjustments; and

·        include the 26 new faculty approved by the Board at an earlier meeting.

 

Nan McRaven requested a Friendly Amendment:

FRIENDLY AMENDMENT:  That the Administration make appropriate funding decisions through appropriate shared governance committees regarding capital outlay and technology requests;

Dr. Mink accepted the Friendly Amendment.

 

Trustees discussed hourly employees and Teacher Retirement System (TRS) eligibility.  The Human Resources Department was requested to issue guidelines to ensure that hourly employees would not become eligible for TRS benefits paid by the College.

 

Trustee Veronica Rivera requested that Board Policy F-10, Employee Compensation be reviewed by the Board as soon as possible.

 

The Motion, as amended, passed on a Vote of 5-4.

FOR:  Allen Kaplan, Nan McRaven, Barbara Mink, Rafael Quintanilla, Veronica Rivera.

AGAINST:  Lillian Davis, John Hernandez, Jeffrey Richard, John Worley.

(Exhibit A).

 

Election of Board Officers

MOTION:  Trustee Lillian Davis nominated Dr. Barbara P. Mink for Board Chair. 

There were no additional nominations.

VOTE:  Trustee Barbara Mink was elected Chair on a unanimous vote of 8-0.

FOR:  Lillian J. Davis, John Hernandez, Allen Kaplan, Nan McRaven, Veronica Rivera, Jeffrey Richard, Rafael Quintanilla, and John Worley.

AGAINST:  None.

 

Trustee Allen Kaplan nominated John Hernandez for Board Vice Chair.

There were no additional nominations.

VOTE:  Trustee John Hernandez was elected Board Vice Chair on a unanimous vote of

8-0.

FOR:  Lillian J. Davis, Allen Kaplan, Barbara Mink, Nan McRaven, Veronica Rivera, Jeffrey Richard, Rafael Quintanilla, and John Worley.

AGAINST:  None.

 

Trustee Nan McRaven nominated Jeffrey Richard for Board Secretary.

There were no additional nominations.

VOTE:  Trustee Jeffrey Richard was elected Board Secretary on a unanimous vote of 8-0.

FOR:  Lillian J. Davis, John Hernandez, Allen Kaplan, Barbara Mink, Nan McRaven, Veronica Rivera, Rafael Quintanilla, and John Worley.

AGAINST:  None.

 

President’s Administrative Report

Dr. Robert Aguero expressed appreciation to the Board for action taken on all of the items which are very important for the College in the upcoming year.  He stated the College would strive to achieve the goal policy of shared governance as we look forward to the next year, be vigilant with the FY2005 Budget that was passed and work to meet the goals the Board allocated for the College.  He again expressed appreciation to the Board for the work that was done in passing the Budget so the College can move forward to meet the goals the set by the Board for the College.

 

Executive Session

There was no Executive Session.

 

Announcements

There were no announcements.

 

Meeting Review

Trustees commented regarding the meeting: 

What we did well: sorry I missed the first of the meeting, thought the process was excellent, good meeting; good meeting, expressed appreciation to Steve Kinslow for all of his work on the budget and the SACS review; and Ben’s team; good meeting, questions we asked were thoughtfully answered, good information; good meeting, glad people did not come to the meeting with their minds made up, we were able to work through the issues; very fine meeting, example of stability, and hope that we can continue on this path; hope it was an example of “aloha”, excellent meeting; thanks for the introduction to the process, thought it was a really good meeting, very educational.

What we can do better:  No Comments.

 

Student Government President James “Levi” Barnes expressed appreciation to the Board for thinking of the students, having heard their comments, thinking of the big picture; really truly appreciate it; did not get what we wanted, but it was a very good start, it was a monumental move by the Board of Trustees, new Trustees, and Dr. Aguero; look forward to being fully part of the  shared governance process and being fully updated and informed in order to keep the students updated and informed; thank you again.

 

Trustee Rafael Quintanilla expressed appreciation to Dr. Steve Kinslow for his valuable assistance as Interim President, and to Ben Ferrell and staff for all of the assistance. 

 

Adjournment

Having no motion before the Board, the July 6, 2004, Regular Meeting of the Austin Community College Board of Trustees was adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

 

Approved By

Allen H. Kaplan, Secretary