MINUTES
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, September 20, 2004, at 6:09 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: Dr. Barbara P. Mink, Chair/Presiding Officer; Mr. John F. Hernandez, Board Vice Chair; Mr. Jeffrey Richard, Secretary [arrived at 6:15 p.m.]; Dr. Lillian J. Davis; Mr. Allen H. Kaplan; Ms. Nan McRaven; Mr. Rafael Quintanilla; Ms. Veronica Rivera; and Dr. 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.
Agenda Item
7975
Expenditures
in Excess of $100,000
Chair Mink introduced the item and Mr. Ben Ferrell, Vice President for Business Services, presented a listing of vendors projected to have expenditures over $100,000 in Fiscal Year 2005. Mr. Ferrell and Gilbert Rodriguez, Purchasing Manager, responded to questions from Trustees.
[Board
Secretary Jeffrey Richard arrived at
Mr. Ferrell stated that contracts expected to exceed $100,000 are brought to the Board for approval. During the year, other contracts are monitored and submitted to the Board for approval if a contract approaches $100,000. He advised that Board policy requires a quarterly report to the Board on all contracts.
This
item will be included on the agenda for possible action at the
Agenda Item
7976
Board Report/Discussion: South Austin Campus
Dr. Mink introduced the item and Ben Ferrell and Bronson Dorsey, Associate Vice President for Facilities and Operations, provided a two-page update regarding the South Austin Campus including Recent Activities, Current Status, and Schedule. Mr. Dorsey and Mr. Bill Mullane, Project Manager, discussed the information and responded to questions from Trustees regarding the South Austin Campus. Specifically, Trustee McRaven asked:
1. What happened on this project that caused it to go over budget and why?
2. Why didn’t the Construction Manager at Risk approach, which has been touted as an improvement, protect the College’s interest from “busting” the budget?
Board Secretary Jeffrey Richard asked:
1. On how many acres is the site in question?
2. What is an “ideal” size of a community college campus, from benchmark data?
3. Does the Administration still believe, as was communicated in the July 2004 budget discussions, that one of the reasons it is difficult to make true comparisons between ACC and other community colleges is the relatively small average size of our campuses—from the point for view of economies of scale and maintenance costs?
4. As to space: after the redesign on which we are being briefed tonight, does the new design now favorably compare to the usual ratios, e.g., faculty-space per square foot; student services space per square foot, instructional space per square foot) and if not, what measures would be out of alignment?
5. As to programs, are all of the programs that were originally promised for the South Austin Campus going to be possible with tonight’s redesign? Stated another way, what programs beside general education would be resident at the South Austin Campus, as now proposed?
Trustee Rivera asked:
1.
What was the original timeline that the community was
led to believe for a
2. What is the basis for the initial estimate that $21 million would build a South Austin Campus—how was that figure chosen out of the $99 million total package?
Trustee Kaplan asked:
1. What are the lessons that we have learned from the South Austin Campus issue?
Mr. Dorsey and Mr. Mullane responded to questions. Mr. Dorsey introduced Ms. Guadalupe Sosa, Chair of the South Austin Campus Citizens’ Advisory Committee, and Ms. Sosa asked Mr. Richard Cilley, head of the Facilities Sub-Committee of the South Austin Campus Citizens’ Advisory Committee, to speak. Mr. Cilley provided information concerning the original planning; original schedule; and the anticipated new completion date of the South Austin Campus. Ms. Sosa stressed the need to complete the campus at the current location and requested accountability on the project.
Dr. Mink summarized a sense of the Board that Board members needed a written evaluation of the lessons learned from the South Austin Campus situation, with a view toward learning from past mistakes. She asked that President Aguero coordinate such a document.
The Austin Community College
Board of Trustees recessed into Executive Session at
The Austin Community College
Board of Trustees reconvened in public session at
Chair Mink introduced the item and Dr. Robert Aguero, College President, distributed a draft statement regarding reaffirmation of policy governance. Trustees and Dr. Aguero discussed the information and various policy governance models. Trustees requested information regarding other policy governance models and stated their desire to discuss policy governance at a Board retreat. Dr. Mink stated the Board officers would meet with Dr. Aguero to determine a date for a Board retreat.
Chair Mink introduced the item and Board Secretary Jeffrey Richard stated discussion of this item would be deferred until the Board completed the discussion of policy governance. Mr. Richard provided an anticipated order for discussion of the Board policies:
1. Group B, Board Operations;
2. Group A, Results to be Produced;
3. Group G, Budgeting
4. Group E, Planning and Evaluation;
5. Group F, Personnel; Group C, College Operations; and Group D, Instruction;
Chair
Mink introduced the item. Dr. Aguero stated that this item was presented in anticipation
of a new Recommendation for
**********
B-8:
REMOVAL OF TRUSTEES
NOTE: Italicized type is quoted from TACC
policy statement.
In commitment to the SACS
Principles of Accreditation regarding Trustee expectations, and in accordance
with applicable Texas Education Code, the ACC Board of Trustees will follow its
policy regarding dismissal of Trustees for just cause and following due
process.
Under Texas law,
Board members may be removed from Board membership for incompetency,
official misconduct, intoxication on or off duty caused by drinking an
alcoholic beverage (but not if it was caused by drinking such beverage on the
directions and prescription of a licensed physician), or conviction by a jury
for any felony or for misdemeanor official misconduct. “Official misconduct” includes conviction of
an offense relating to violation of purchase procedures. (Cite
Due process will require the
governing board to discuss allegations of misconduct, and for a majority of
Trustees to vote to initiate a suit in
district court for removal.
Under
**********
President’s Administrative Report
There was no report.
Announcements
· Board Vice Chair John Hernandez advised that a students, employees, and friends of ACC golf tournament was scheduled for October 23 at the ACC golf course at Riverside Campus. Trustees were encouraged to participate.
·
Board Secretary Jeffrey Richard reminded
Trustees of the Third Quarterly Education Roundtable on Best Practices in Closing Minority Student Achievement Gaps hosted by the Greater Austin Area
Chamber of Commerce and
·
Chair Mink stated the Board Retreat scheduled
for September 17 was cancelled due to the inability to attend by three
Trustees. She stated that the Board
Retreat would be rescheduled.
Meeting Review
Trustees
commented regarding the meeting:
What we did well: Good meeting; good discussion on all of the
topics; also thought it was a good meeting, too; good meeting; personally liked
the last item where we were really looking at our own policy and some of the
stuff that Dr. Worley brought together too I think will add to the wording of
this.
What we can do better: In regards to SACS, we need to learn to
take “yes” for an answer; With regard to our work sessions, I guess up here on
the dais I feel they are a little more formal and perhaps the discussion may
not happen as depth as we would like it to because we are up here on the dais,
just wondered if it was a problem for us to be down on the floor with tables in
a little more informal atmosphere for our work sessions; would like to move to
the back of the Board Room need to learn to take “yes” for an answer; had hoped
to have a more in-depth discussion of policy governance; echo that, this is a
more formal approach, I had thought that by now we would already be in the back
area with rectangular tables, for example, I had a number of questions about
the South Austin Campus—and still do—but in the interest of time, I just
didn’t, no one likes to hog the dais, but when we have an interchange, I think
it would be more appropriate, this would have been the time for such a thing.
Adjournment
Having
no motion before the Board, the September 20, 2004, Work Session of the Austin
Community College Board of Trustees was adjourned at
Approved By
Jeffrey
Richard, Secretary