MINUTES
Regular
Meeting – Board of Trustees
September 4,
2007
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, September 4, 2007, at 6:16 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: Mr. John F.
Hernandez, Chair/Presiding Officer; Mr. James W. McGuffee, Board Secretary; Mr.
Allen H. Kaplan [arrived at 6:35 p.m].; Mr. Jeffrey Richard [arrived at 6:30
p.m.]; and Ms. Veronica Rivera. Trustees
Lillian J. Davis, Nan McRaven, Barbara Mink, and Rafael Quintanilla were absent
from the meeting.
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.
Recognitions
·
Ms. Mary Kohls, ACC Advisor to the Alpha Gamma Pi Chapter
of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society recognized Phi Theta Kappa
students who were scholarship winners:
Academic
All-American Third Team Winner – Ruby Becerra
Leader of
Promise Award sponsored by Phi Theta Kappa International – Jeremy Dertien, current
Phi Theta Kappa President
Ms. Kohls
introduced Julie Thomas, Past President and a Coca-Cola Scholarship winner. Ms.
Thomas presented the Year-In-Review of the Alpha Gamma Pi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa
and provided information concerning the activities, events, and awards of the
Chapter during the past year.
Ms. Thomas
introduced the 2007-08 President of Alpha Gamma Pi Chapter, Jeremy
Dertien. Mr. Dertien expressed
appreciation for having the opportunity to speak at the Board meeting regarding
the achievements of the organization during the past year. He provided information concerning upcoming
events, activities, and the recognition of the 30th year of the
Alpha Gamma Pi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at
·
New Employees – There were no new employees.
·
Unveiling of Library Services Ad Campaign – Dr. Julie
Todaro, ACC Dean of Library Services, Pam Spooner, Saidah Ochoa, Melinda
Townsel, expressed appreciation for the support for Library Services at the
College and provided information regarding the “Know How” Campaign. Attention was called to the posters regarding
the Campaign and framed posters were presented to Mr. John Hernandez and Dr.
Stephen B. Kinslow.
[Trustee Jeffrey
Richard arrived at the meeting at 6:30 p.m.]
·
Report on Achievements and Recognitions – Mr. Ben
Ferrell, Vice President of Business Services, presented the Kudos Report and
called attention to recent awards/recognitions received by faculty/programs,
staff, students, and
[Trustee
Allen H. Kaplan arrived at the meeting at 6:35 p.m.]
Citizens
Communication
No
one was registered to speak to the Board.
Reports from
Associations
·
Adjunct Faculty Association – Mr. Jim Nelson,
President, Adjunct Faculty Association, expressed appreciation for the service
and leadership of the Board of Trustees, and for the leadership and
encouragement of Dr. Stephen B. Kinslow, College President.
·
Classified Employees Association – Ms. Lisa Buck,
President – No report was presented.
·
Full-Time Faculty Senate – Dr. Mariano
Diaz-Miranda, President, introduced Senate Officers: Dr. Dan Dydek, President-Elect; Professor
Stacey Thompson Stover, Parliamentarian; Professor Linda Welsh, Past-President;
and Professor Devorah Feldman, Secretary.
Dr. Diaz-Miranda provided information concerning the activities of the
Senate regarding HSB 1231 and a proposed revision to Board Policy B-4. Appreciation was expressed for the assistance
of Linda Kluck, Director of Admissions and Records.
·
Professional-Technical Employees–
Mr. David Borden, President, expressed appreciation to former ATPE President
Judy Van Cleve. He provided information
regarding Association Officers: Susan
Thomason, President-Elect, and Rebecca Frances, Secretary-Treasurer.
·
Student Government
Association – Mr. Josh Whitcomb, President, spoke regarding the upcoming
activities and events of the Association.
He introduced the Executive Council of Student Government
Association: Ivan Doyle, Vice President;
Brad Burnett, Director of Communications; Mike Reed, Parliamentarian; Robert
Bailey, Senate Chair.
President’s
Report
Dr. Stephen B.
Kinslow, College President, spoke regarding a slight increase in student
enrollment of just under 2% in contact hours for the Fall Semester. He expressed appreciation to Chair Hernandez,
Roland Hayes, Neil Vickers, Veronica Obregon, Alicia Del Rio and others for
contributing to the success of the recent ACC Golf Scramble, an annual golf
event to raise money for the Student Emergency Fund. Dr. Kinslow stated the South Austin Campus
Parking Garage Expansion was certified and was officially open. He called attention to a Thursday, September
6,
Reports to the Board
·
Facilities Update – Mr. Bill Mullane, Director of
Facilities and Construction, called attention to the Facilities Update on Bond
Projects, availability of full parking capacity at the South Austin Campus
Parking Garage; Cypress Creek Campus Expansion – Renovation of Building 1000
was open and functioning as of the opening of the first day of classes; and
completion of various other projects.
Mr. Mullane and Mr. Mike Midgley, Vice President for Work Force Education
and Business Development, responded to questions from Trustees regarding
Cypress Creek Campus parking; relocation of the Trucking School; and Pinnacle
Campus parking.
·
Financial Report – July 2007 – Mr. Ben Ferrell, Vice
President, Business Services, called attention to the information provided
including:
o the College’s
budget was on track and projecting approximately $6.9 million increase in
Unrestricted Net Assets, and a $10.1 million increase in Total Net Assets;
o The $3,678,942
appropriated from the State in HB15 for restoration of the College’s 2006-2007
ERS appropriation was received. The FY06
portion of $1,788,586 would go towards restoring Net Assets which funded the
shortfall last year. The $1,890,356 for
FY07 was expected as part of the FY07 budget and, therefore, had no impact on
the financial statements.
o FY07 enrollments were up about 4.0%. This exceeds original projections of 2%
growth, and therefore tuition revenues were projected to exceed budget by $1.8
million.
o As for expenses,
Adjunct Faculty and Overloads were expected to exceed original FY07 estimates
due to the increased enrollments and vacancies in Full-Time Faculty
Salaries. This would be offset by
increased tuition revenues and lapsed salaries in F-T Faculty. Total salaries were projected to be under
budget by about $1.2 million.
In summary,
adjusting revenues by $6.8 million and expenses by $0.1 million, Net Revenues
over Expenses projected a budget surplus of about $6.9 million and an increase
in Total Net Assets of about $10.1 million.
Cash and investments were in line at approximately $89 million,
including $39 million in bond proceeds.
CONSENT ITEM(S)
Mr. Hernandez
introduced the Consent Items:
Agenda Item 8371
Proposed Approval of Minutes of
Recommendation: That the Board of Trustees approve the
minutes as presented.
Agenda Item 8372
Adoption of Resolution in Response to Governor’s Veto
Recommendation: That the Board of Trustees adopt the
Resolution in Response to the Governor’s Veto.
Trustees Veronica Rivera moved and James McGuffee seconded
that:
MOTION: The Board of
Trustees approve Agenda Item 8371, Minutes of July 9, 2007, Regular Meeting;
July 23, 2007, Special Meeting; and August 6, 2007, Regular Meeting of the
Austin Community College District Board of Trustees; and Agenda Item 8372,
Adoption of Resolution in Response to Governor’s Veto, as presented.
VOTE: The motion
passed on a vote of 5-0.
FOR: John Hernandez;
Allen Kaplan, James McGuffee, Jeffrey Richard, and Veronica Rivera.
AGAINST: None.
ABSENT: Trustees
Lillian J. Davis;
* * * * * * * * *
A RESOLUTION OF THE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES, AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
IN RESPONSE TO GOVERNOR’S VETO ACTIONS
THE 80TH LEGISLATIVE SESSION
WHEREAS,
WHEREAS,
WHEREAS,
WHEREAS, Texas community colleges are the State’s primary resource to achieve Closing the Gaps goals, which include and must be accessible and affordable to increase the percentage of college-going youth, and to promote higher education for first in family college goers and underrepresented populations; and
WHEREAS, publicly elected Trustees of the Austin Community College District (ACC) are deeply concerned about the impact of Governor Perry’s recent veto actions, reducing health benefits to community colleges statewide totaling $154,000,000, and striking funds for new campus costs to numerous colleges around the state; and
WHEREAS, any reductions to State funding create increased tuition, increased local taxes or reductions in programs and services which impact our ability to respond to the diverse needs of Central Texas business and industry; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of Austin Community College District made difficult decisions to increase the General Fee for all students, and reduced planned expenditures in facilities maintenance and capital equipment for instructional programs, to offset the impact of the Governor’s veto action; and
NOW, THEREFORE, it is accordingly resolved by the Board of Trustees of Austin Community College District that:
The Board of Trustees of Austin Community College District, Central Texas’ most important resource for meeting Closing the Gaps goals and for economic development and social equity, commends the recent effort of Governor Perry to find appropriate measures for restoring funds to all community colleges of the State, and encourages quick action to put such measures in place;
The Board of Trustees of Austin Community College District urges the Governor to ensure that all State efforts to improve higher education include community colleges as full and equal partners with four-year institutions;
The Board of Trustees of Austin Community College District urges the
Governor to address funding issues in an open, respectful, and inclusive
manner; and finally,
The Board of Trustees of Austin Community College District requests the Governor to begin an open, collaborative dialog that includes the leaders of both two-and four-year institutions of higher education to establish an equitable plan for funding higher education in Texas and to direct such planning to be aligned with the Closing the Gaps initiative of the State of Texas.
Passed, resolved, and adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Austin Community College District, at a meeting at which a quorum was present and a majority of the Board voted for and at which this resolution, in written form, was before the Board at the time of its adoption, on the 4th day of September 2007.
Austin Community College District
John Hernandez, Board Chair
ATTEST:
James McGuffee, Board Secretary
* * * * * * * * * *
Agenda Item 8373
Board Retreat Follow-Up
Chair Hernandez introduced the item
and Dr. Kinslow noted the information provided regarding the
Dr. Kinslow also called attention
to the summary of the priorities for the President/Board of Trustees.
Executive Session
There was no Executive Session.
Adjournment
Having
no motion before the Board, the September 4, 2007, Regular Meeting of the
Austin Community College District Board of Trustees was adjourned at
Approved By
James
W. McGuffee, Board Secretary