MINUTES
Regular
Meeting – Board of Trustees
October 1,
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 Monday, October 1, 2007, at 6:10 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; Ms. Nan McRaven, Board Vice Chair;
Dr. James W. McGuffee, Board Secretary; Mr. Allen H. Kaplan; Dr. Barbara P.
Mink [arrived at 6:30 p.m.]; and Ms. Veronica Rivera. Trustees Lillian J. Davis, Rafael
Quintanilla, and Jeffrey Richard 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.
Agenda Item
8375
Public Hearing
on Continuing Taxation of Goods in Transit
Chair Hernandez
opened the Public Hearing on continuing the current taxation of goods in
transit as authorized by Section 11.253 of the Texas Property Tax Code. He stated that no one had registered to
speak.
Trustees
MOTION: The Board of
Trustees close the Public Hearing on Continuing Taxation of Goods in Transit.
VOTE: The motion
passed on a vote of 5-0.
FOR: John Hernandez,
Allen Kaplan, Dr. James McGuffee,
AGAINST: None.
ABSENT: Dr. Lillian
J. Davis, Dr. Barbara P. Mink, Mr. Rafael Quintanilla, and Mr. Jeffrey Richard.
Recognitions
·
New Employees – There were no new employees.
·
Student Profile – Dr. Kathleen Christensen, Vice
President for Student Success and Support System introduced Ms. Erica Guajardo,
Visual Communications student. Ms.
Guajardo provided information regarding her interest in Graphic Design in high
school which led to a move from Port Lavaca to
·
Report on Achievements and Recognitions – Dr. Mary
Hensley, Vice President for College Support Systems and ISD Relations, presented
the Kudos Report and called attention to recent awards/recognitions received by
faculty/programs, staff, students, and
Citizens
Communication
The
following persons addressed the Board of Trustees:
·
Dr. Mariano Diaz-Miranda, ACC employee,
distributed information designed by Graphic Arts student Erica Guajardo regarding
A College-wide Hispanic Student Event and expressed appreciation to Mr. Ben
Ferrell and staff of the Business Services Department regarding assistance
provided for the Tejano Exhibit. He also
expressed appreciation to Trustees and Dr. Stephen B. Kinslow, College President,
for their participation in a recent Dies y Seis event at the Riverside Campus
and ACC staff for their assistance in organizing the Hispanic Student
receptions.
·
Ms. Allison Mosshart, Capital IDEA, spoke
regarding a former adjunct who was not rehired.
Reports from
Associations
·
Adjunct Faculty Association – Mr. James Nelson, President,
expressed appreciation to Trustees and Dr. Kinslow for their time and
commitment. He invited attendance at the
·
Classified Employees Association – No report was
presented.
·
Full-Time Faculty Senate – Dr. Mariano
Diaz-Miranda, President, spoke regarding textbooks and cost and introduced
Faculty Senate Officer Devorah Feldman.
·
Professional-Technical Employees– Mr.
David Borden, President, spoke regarding the “rule of 6” and comments from
Association members. He stated the
Association will review the compensatory time and impact of the rules. Mr. Borden invited Trustees to attend the
upcoming general business meeting lunch to be held on October 31.
·
Student Government
Association – Mr. John Whitcomb, President, spoke regarding a recent
meeting in
[Trustee Barbara P. Mink arrived at
President’s
Report
Dr. Stephen B.
Kinslow, College President, reported on College enrollment of 34,000 credit
students; College Connection program;
and meetings of the Association of Community College Trustees Summit, Texas
Association of Community Colleges; and Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board, and
Reports to the Board
·
Facilities Update – Mr. Bill Mullane, Director of
Facilities and Construction, called attention to current construction and
renovation projects, GO Tax Bond Projects including installation of the
elevator at the South Austin Campus garage, Usage of Interest Earnings,
District-Wide Renovations Details and Other Projects and noted that the
District-wide Security Audit was begun in September and ACC is working on the
lease for the Truck Driving School parking.
Mr. Mullane responded to questions from Trustees regarding restoration
of landscaping at the South Austin Campus, an update regarding the
·
Financial Report – August 2007 – Mr. Ben Ferrell, Vice
President, Business Services, called attention to the information provided
including:
o The College’s
budget would finish FY2007 with an $8.4 million increase in Unrestricted Net
Assets;
o The FY2007
expense budget tracked the year much as it has for the past several years. The unusual increases in Unrestricted Net
Assets and Total Net Assets were due to:
(a) additional taxable properties and valuation added to the tax rolls
by the Travis County Appraisal District ($3.4 million); (b) Interest Income
above budget estimates ($1.3 million); (c) Lapsed salaries were no longer
budgeted ($3.3 million); and (d) Utilities lower than normal. While these revenues were due to factors
beyond the College’s control, and all were not likely to be repeated in any
given year, the budget was structured to take advantage of these factors. As intended, the College would benefit from
these additional funds for land acquisitions and district advancement.
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, has no impact on
the financial statements.
o FY2007
enrollments were up about 4.0%. This
exceeded the original projections of 2% growth and, therefore, tuition revenues
were projected to exceed budget by $1.8 million.
o As for expenses,
Adjunct Faculty ad Overloads were projected 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 Full-Time Faculty. Total salaries were projected to be under
budget by $1.8 million.
In summary, adjusting
revenues by $7.8 million and expenses by $0.6 million, Net Revenues over
Expenses projected a budget surplus of about $8.4 million and an increase in
Total Net Assets of about $12.4 million.
Cash and investments were in line at approximately $100 million, including
$37 million in bond proceeds.
·
ACC Foundation Board Meeting – Trustee Nan
McRaven reported on the September 20, 2007, meeting of the ACC Foundation held
at the ACC South Austin Campus. She
noted that Mr. Alex Brown is Chair of the Foundation. Ms. McRaven provided information regarding
two reports which were presented at the meeting: ACC’s new Marketing program and campaign and
the ACC Alumni program. She stated that
they participated in a tour of the South Austin Campus following the meeting.
·
2007 ACCT Leadership Congress,
CONSENT ITEM(S)
Mr. Hernandez
introduced the Consent Items:
Agenda Item 8376
Proposed Approval of Minutes of
Recommendation: That the Board of Trustees approve the
minutes as presented.
Agenda Item 8377
Proposed Approval of the Board/President Priorities 2007-08
and the Board of Trustees Calendar/Work Plan 2007-08
Recommendation: That the Board of Trustees approve the Board/President
Priorities 2007-08 and the Board of Trustees Calendar/Work Plan 2007-08 as
presented.
Trustee Mink
requested that Agenda Item 8377, Proposed Approval of the Board/President
Priorities 2007-08 and the Board of Trustees Calendar/Work Plan 2007-08, be
pulled for discussion.
Agenda Item 8376
Proposed Approval of Minutes of
Chair Hernandez
introduced the item.
Trustees McRaven moved and McGuffee seconded that:
MOTION: The Board of
Trustees approve Agenda Item 8376, Proposed Approval of Minutes
of August 10-11, 2007, Retreat; August 23, 2007, Special Meeting; September 4,
2007, Special Meeting; September 4, 2007, Regular Meeting; and September 10,
2007, Special Meeting of the Austin Community College District Board of
Trustees.
Trustees discussed approval of the minutes
and abstentions from vote on the minutes of meetings in which Trustees were
absent.
Trustee
McRaven withdrew the motion.
Trustees
MOTION: The Board of Trustees approve the Minutes of
the
VOTE: The motion passed on a vote of 6-0.
FOR: Mr. John Hernandez, Mr. Allen H. Kaplan, Dr.
James W. McGuffee, Ms. Nan McRaven; Dr. Barbara P. Mink, and Ms. Veronica
Rivera.
AGAINST: None.
ABSENT: Dr. Lillian J. Davis, Mr. Rafael Quintanilla,
and Mr. Jeffrey Richard.
Trustees
Allen Kaplan moved and Veronica Rivera seconded that:
MOTION: The Board of Trustees approve the Minutes of
the
VOTE: The motion passed on a vote of 5-0.
FOR: Mr. John Hernandez, Mr. Allen H. Kaplan, Ms.
Nan McRaven; Dr. Barbara P. Mink, and Ms. Veronica Rivera.
AGAINST: None.
ABSTAIN: Dr. James W. McGuffee
ABSENT: Dr. Lillian J. Davis, Mr. Rafael Quintanilla,
and Mr. Jeffrey Richard.
Chair Hernandez stated that the Minutes of
the September 4, 2007, Special Meeting; September 4, 2007, Regular Meeting; and
September 10, 2007, Special Meeting of the Austin Community College District
Board of Trustees would be included on the agenda for approval at the November
5, 2007, Board meeting.
Agenda Item 8377
Proposed Approval of the Board/President Priorities 2007-08
and the Board of Trustees Calendar/Work Plan 2007-08
Trustee Mink called attention to the need
for additional information to be provided for Board/President Priorities for
2007-08: 5. Continue to Increase
Diversity of Students, Faculty, and Staff.
She also requested that 7.
Institutional Advancement be reviewed and divided.
Trustee Rivera questioned the date for
discussion of Environmental Sustainability Practices. Trustees discussed possible substitute
dates. It was decided that the Board
Officers will review the proposed calendar and determine a possible date.
Chair Hernandez stated that these Consent
Items would be included on the agenda for the
Agenda Item 8378
Order Continuing the Taxation of Goods in Transit
Chair Hernandez
introduced the item and Mr. Ben Ferrell stated The 80th Texas Legislature
passed House Bill 621 allowing a property tax exemption of “goods in transit”,
described as an inventory stored in a location not owned by the owner of the
goods. The Act allows governing bodies
to adopt a resolution prior to
Chair Hernandez
stated this item would be on the Consent Agenda for the
Agenda Item 8379
Policy Compliance Report:
E-4, Organizational
Performance Evaluation/Auditing
·
Internal Audit Work Plan
·
Internal Employee Survey
(FY07)
Chair Hernandez
introduced the item. Dr. Kinslow
provided information regarding the Internal Audit Work Plan. Ms. Soon Merz, Associate Vice President,
Effectiveness and Accountability, provided information and responded to
questions from Trustees regarding the Internal Employee Survey. Trustees requested additional information. Dr. Kinslow noted that the Board Officers would
discuss this item.
Agenda Item 8380
Resolution to Create Public Facilities Corporation
Chair Hernandez
introduced the item and Mr. Ben Ferrell provided information regarding the
proposed Resolution to authorize the creation of the “Austin Community College District
Public Facility Corporation” pursuant to the Public Facility Corporation Act,
Chapter 303, Texas Local Government Code.
The PFC would provide additional facility financing options for the
District in meeting ACC’s Closing the
Gaps goals. The necessary documents
were drafted and provided by ACC’s Legal Counsel.
Trustees
discussed the documents and suggested changes.
This item will be included on the agenda for the
[Trustee Nan
McRaven left the meeting at
Agenda Item 8381
Selection of a Construction Delivery Method for Proposed
Round Rock Campus
Chair Hernandez
introduced the item and Mr. Ben Ferrell provided information and stated that
staff recommended the Construction Manager at Risk method as the best value due
to the complexity of the project, and the work to be performed.
Trustees
discussed the construction delivery method for the proposed Round Rock Campus.
Trustees Veronica Rivera moved and Allen Kaplan seconded
that:
MOTION: The Board of
Trustees approve the Construction Manager at Risk method for the proposed
campus in Round Rock.
VOTE: The motion
passed on a vote of 5-0.
FOR: John Hernandez;
Allen Kaplan, James McGuffee, Barbara Mink, and Veronica Rivera.
AGAINST: None.
ABSENT: Trustees
Lillian J. Davis, Rafael Quintanilla, and Jeffrey Richard were absent from the
meeting and Trustee
Executive
Session
There was no Executive Session.
Adjournment
Having
no motion before the Board, the October 1, 2007, Regular Meeting of the Austin
Community College District Board of Trustees was adjourned at
Approved By
James
W. McGuffee, Board Secretary