Summary of the March 3, 2026 Board of Trustees Meeting

Published on Mar 3 2026

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that College of the Redwoods is located on the unceded territory of the Wiyot, Hupa, Karuk, Mattole, Tolowa, Wailaki, and Yurok people where they have resided from time immemorial. We encourage all to gain a deeper understanding of their history and thriving culture. As an expression of our gratitude we are genuinely committed to developing trusting, reciprocal, and long lasting partnerships with the Wiyot people as well as all of our neighboring tribes. 

Consent Calendar Action Items

The Board of Trustees approved twenty-three pieces of curriculum at this meeting. I want to note that two courses, Data 1 and Data 5, were approved as part of our new Data Science degree. Data 1 is a foundational data science course for a new degree and Data 5 is a course required for students transferring to Cal Poly Humbolt to begin upper-level courses. It is important for all of us to acknowledge and thank our Curriculum Committee for the countless hours they put in to ensure that we adhere to our established curriculum stoplight process. Recognizing the herculean effort and the increased hours needed by the curriculum committee to review and approve new and revised curriculum, the Administration has approved hiring Dr. Sean Thomas as a resource expert to the Dr. Crystal Morse and Dr. George Potamianos, Chair of the Curriculum Committee. 

The Board approved several contracts, MOUs, and agreements at this meeting. I want to call attention to the $834,807.00 agreement with Overwatch Construction Management to provide construction management services for our Del Norte Healthcare and Revitalization project. This agreement serves as another example of our commitment to the Del Norte Campus and the Del Norte community.

The employee change of status for Stephanie Freyermuth’s move to Manager of Student Wellness, Advocacy, and Support was ratified. By Board action at this meeting, we welcome Gabriel Holtski as our new tenure track Assistant Professor, Biology starting fall 2026. Gabriel holds a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine from National University of Natural Medicine, an EMT certification, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Reed College. Gabriel is also one of our associate faculty members in the biology department. By Board action we welcome several new classified staff to our college community: Makena Arnold (Student Services Specialist IV), Denise Crlenjak (Academic Affairs Specialist), Melody Hayhurst (Student Services Specialist IV), Samuel Kuckens (Campus Safety Officer), Dylan McGuffey (Technology Specialist I), and Miles Richardson (Campus Safety Officer). We also welcome three new associate faculty to CR for this spring semester: Jared Coyle (Music), Kelley Metcalf (Nursing), and Danielle Chodrick (Nursing). 

Action/Discussion Items

The Board approved the Monthly Financial Status Report that showed that we adjusted the Student-Centered Funding Formula (SCFF) revenue budgets to align with the Period 1 Apportionment Report “Exhibit C” (P1) that was produced on February 5, 2026.  The P1 includes the most current FTES, as well as supplemental and student success metric counts. As a result of the updated figures, specifically higher than anticipated supplemental metric counts, the District’s current Total Computational Revenue (TCR) is $43.522 million, which is approximately $776,000 higher than the TCR that was assumed when the 2025-26 Final Budget was adopted. Currently the P1 includes a 3.036% ($1.321 million) revenue deficit factor, meaning that the State does not have enough identified resources to fully fund the District’s TCR. As per the Chancellor’s Office Period 1 Apportionment Memo, the deficit factor should be reduced to 0% by the time the 2025-26 Recalculation Report is published in February 2027. As a result, Administration is recognizing the total TCR in the Monthly Financial Status Report.

Another important item to note is that the P1 TCR is based on what resources the State currently has available to fund growth. Growth funding must be prorated to fund growth system wide. Since system-wide enrollments will not be finalized until after the 2025-26 year is over the amount of growth the State can fund will be changing. In summary, the major assumptions behind recognizing the total TCR currently are that the State will eventually have enough resources to fully fund the TCR and the State will have the ability to fund a portion of the District’s enrollment growth. It should also be highlighted that the District will have approximately $2.463 million in 2025-26 SCFF revenue deferred to 2026-27. The deferred amount should be paid after July 2026, which is in the following fiscal year. This could create a cash flow issue for the District and the matter will be closely monitored. The monthly financial status report shows a projected 2025-26 Unrestricted General Fund ending fund balance of $6,666,594, or 13.2% of Unrestricted General Fund expenditures.

Informational Reports

In the Recognition Report, I acknowledged and thanked several employees and students for their various accomplishments. CR students Chetna Sidhu and Ishika Sidhu, the Writers’ Club, and Professor Kendra Guimaraes were recognized for starting the student-led newspaper The CR Chronicle. I recognized Vice President Julia Morrison for her selection as a panelist on a California Community College organized 2026 Student and Workforce Housing Conference and Expo in Los Angeles, scheduled for May 7-8. Julia’s selection as a panelist is strong indicator of how highly regarded Julia is in the California Community College System. I also recognized Irene Gonzalez-Herrera, Molly Blakemore, and Corrie Watson for working closely to develop the District’s procedures and protocols to ensure that CR’s students, staff, and faculty will be protected from unlawful federal government immigration enforcement efforts.

Organizational and Administrative Reports

In her written report, Academic Senate President Johnson spoke to several important items, including the following:

• At the February 6th Senate meeting the President Johnson facilitated a very robust discussion about the evolution of Assessment at College of the Redwoods in response to my creation a new ad-hoc committee (Jon Pace, Colin Trujillo, Wendy Riggs and Bernadette Johnson) to collaborate with all faculty and staff to evaluate and shape the future of assessment at College of the Redwoods we have begun to engage everyone on campus in this conversation. The invitation to all department/program groups was to agendize a discussion that asks the following questions: Why is assessment important? (Imagine that compliance is not the main motivation); What part of the current process works well for you? What part of the current process is not working for you? And what would make our assessment process more meaningful to you? In March, the ad-hoc committee will host a series of Open Campus Meetings to present the themes gathered from the feedback and facilitate a broader dialogue. 
• The Senate and the Administration continue to be focused on supporting faculty and our Curriculum Committee as they diligently work toward updating all outdated curriculum by March 1st. President Johnson extended a special thank you to Dr. George Potamianos, Nicole Bryant-Lescher and Cameron Papp for their generous guidance and encouragement to everyone striving to meet the March 1st deadline. 
• At the February 20th Senate meeting President Johnson facilitated a conversation about the role of faculty counselors and to be sure that all CR faculty understand the unique “bridge” that faculty counselors provide between the student services world and the shared governance work of the College. 

Interim CRFO President Erik Kramer, shared that several of faculty from CRFO travelled to Sacramento for the FACCC Advocacy and Policy conference to visit with legislator offices. They met with Ignacio Castillo from Chris Roger’s office and Marco Martinez from Mike McGuire’s office. Their discussions ranged from budget priorities to the impact of AI. They also talked about AB 1171, a bill that puts a stronger guarantee on the fund for associate faculty healthcare, which has passed the assembly and is currently making its way through the senate. Management Council President Leigh Dooley congratulated Seargent Corrie Watson, who will receive the Soroptimist International of Eureka Courage Award in a ceremony on March 18. She also congratulated Amber Cavanaugh for being invited by Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Johnson of Eureka City Schools to deliver the keynote address at the district’s annual “Every Student Succeeding” Ceremony.

In my written administrative report, I communicated that CR is collaborating with Cal Poly Humboldt to plan and implement a summit to challenge sexualized violence in April 2026. The initial vision is to create student-to-student workshops/discussions to talk about ethical bystander action. Ms. Julie Gilbride will serve as CR’s liaison with Cal Poly Humboldt. I verbally shared that one of my goals since 2020 was to position the College to offer baccalaureate degrees in the future. I wanted to at first focus on offering one or two healthcare related baccalaureates. I subsequently expanded my goal to include career education/workforce degrees a potential baccalaureates CR may offer in the future.

Dr. Crystal Morse shared that we successfully achieved full operational deployment of the Ad Astra platform. This launch included the direct participation of academic deans and initial scheduling users, marking the transition from more than six months of technical configuration to active institutional use. This initiative focuses on moving from a historically manual scheduling model to one driven by student demand and predictive analytics, ensuring that course offerings align directly with student completion pathways. To ensure the system's long-term success, ongoing training and the standardization of operations will continue over the next six months. This implementation is a critical component of our broader strategic enrollment management efforts, providing the analytical framework necessary to sustain enrollment growth while maintaining fiscal responsibility and operational transparency across all the District’s learning sites and modalities. 

Marty Coelho’s report noted that the Foundation Board approved the appointment of Jessica Mosier of Hoopa as a new Board member, the Foundation Board is collaborating with the Library and the Art Department on several fundraising initiatives, he is working with a former faculty member to return the Corsair Speed Car to the Eureka Campus, he attended a memorial service for Chris Smith, former co-owner of Abruzzi restaurant in Arcata, and he will also attend a memorial service on March 6 for former Foundation Board Director John Corbett.  Marty also provided a summary of the March 2 Rodeo Advisor Committee meeting.

In Julia Morrison’s written report, she noted that the Del Norte Healthcare and Revitalization Project will be submitted to the Division of the State Architect (DSA) in two phases. The first phase to be submitted to DSA will be the revitalization part of the project. It is estimated that the design will be submitted to DSA on March 27, 2026, with DSA approval around the end of July 2026. The second phase to be submitted to DSA will be the new healthcare building part of the project. It is estimated that the design will be submitted on September 3, 2026, with DSA approval around the end of January 2027. Julia also provided the timeline below for demotion of Old Administration and Forum Building. I want to state that we are aware that the demolition of the building will occur when the fall semester begins. We will try to minimize as much of the noise caused by the demolition as possible. 

• February 27, 2026: Hosted informational pre-project job walk to introduce project scope, answer preliminary questions, and gather contractor feedback to inform final project planning and bid documents.
• Late April / Early May 2026: GHD completes demolition plan documents and submits them to the Division of the State Architect (DSA) for review and approval.
• May 2026: Host mandatory bid job walk for contractors using proposed demolition documents and begin cataloging items proposed for surplus for Board of Trustees to approve at the June meeting.
• May 31, 2026: Final day of occupancy for the Old Administration/Forum Building.
• June 1, 2026: Relocate the main fire alarm panel.
• June 2026: Invite local county school districts to select surplus items and host a surplus sale open to the public at the end of the month.
• Late June 2026: Anticipated DSA approval for demolition contract documents.
• July 7, 2026: Award demolition contract at the Board of Trustees meeting.
• July 2026: Finalize demolition contract and execute agreements.
•  August 1, 2026: Demolition activities begin.

Future Agenda Items

I am going to agendize presentations on the Pelican Bay Prison Education Program Analysis, the District's Counseling/Advising function, and the history and status of AB 1705.