Published on 1/8/2019.
Meeting of the Audit Committee of the Board
Action/Discussion Items
Approve Audit Report: We look to our auditors to help us keep our fiscal house in order and identify issues that the Board and the Administration must attend to. Joy McNulty, our representative from the KCoe Isom, LLP auditing firm, discussed the District’s Audit Report with the Audit Committee today. I am pleased to report that the auditors gave us an unmodified clean audit and the Audit Committee approved the report.
The fact that the auditors did not note any findings is a testament to Julia Morrison’s and Ericka Barber’s leadership. If you’re interested in reading the report, Julia Morrison will have it posted on the CR website under Business Office Reports, 2017-18 Audited Financial Statements.
RFP for Independent Audit Services: One of the primary responsibilities of the Audit Committee is to select an auditor who has the expertise and knowledge to perform the District’s audit. It is good practice to change auditors every few years. To that end, we’re initiating a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to select an independent certified public accounting firm to perform the annual financial audits for the 2019-20 through 2022-23 fiscal years. We expect to have an auditing firm identified in April and approved by the Trustees at the May Board meeting.
Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Comments/Board Business
Member Comments: Trustee Mathews commented that she attended the Nurses pinning ceremony on the Del Norte campus last month. Trustees Dr. Deister and Biggin commented that they attended the Police Academy graduation in December. Trustee Biggin also commented that the KT site staff is using social media to encourage student registration.
Board Committee Reports: President of the Board Emad noted that the Audit Committee met just prior to the regular meeting of the Board. He also informed the Board that the Audit Committee directed me to have our auditor present the audit report to the full Board in February.
Appoint Trustees to the Ad Hoc President/Superintendent Evaluation Committee: President of the Board Emad appointed Trustees Dr. Mullery, Biggin, and himself to President’s Evaluation Committee.
Appoint Trustees to the Ad Hoc Board Self-Evaluation Committee: President Emad appointed Trustees Dr. Deister, Mathews, and Dorn to the Board Self-Evaluation Committee.
Appoint Trustees to the College of the Redwoods Foundation Board: Trustees Dr. Mullery and Kelley were appointed as new members to the Foundation Board for 2019-20.
Appoint Trustees to the Audit Committee: Trustees Mathews and Kelley will join President of the Board Emad on the Audit Committee.
CCCT Board Nomination: The Board, by unanimous vote, nominated Trustee Biggin for the California Community College Trustees (CCCT) Board. The election results will be announced at the CCCT annual conference in May.
Consent Calendar Action Items
Approve Contracts/Agreements/MOUs: I want to highlight two of the contracts/agreements that were approved by the Board.
- Collaborative Results Consultants Eureka, CA—This is an addendum to the original contract we had with Ms. Lynette Mullen to support our CR Homeless Student Initiative. We contracted with Lynette in the fall 2018 to coordinate our participation in a few joint HSU/CR/HCOE homeless student projects and to help us facilitate fundraising activities for the homeless student scholarship. To continue this important work, I’ve contracted with Lynette for the spring semester to work with Joe Hash, Kintay Johnson, and Marty Coelho to create a collaborative CR/HSU/HCOE student homeless three year strategic plan and to support the District's visibility and involvement in important community themes including implicit and explicit bias, racial equity, and LGBTQ issues.
- Humboldt State University—This is a contact where HSU”s North Coast Concussion Program will provide concussion testing services for our student athletes for the academic years 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21.
Approve/Ratify Personnel Actions: With the Board’s action today several new colleagues will join our college community. Kasey Hiner will begin service as the Library Technician (Del Norte), Stacy Matheson will assume the Payroll Technician (Eureka) position, and Molly Blakemore will serve as the Career Outreach and Marketing Manager (Eureka).
We welcome 13 new Associate Faculty to the faculty ranks for spring semester: Valerie Baker – Nursing (Eureka); Brian Farr – Interdisciplinary – Basic Skills: Noncredit (Del Norte); James Floss – Communication Studies (Eureka); Laura Gentry – Communication Studies – (Virtual); Sheila Jackson – Sign Language – American (Eureka); Caroline Murphy – Nursing (Eureka); Jesse Leimer – Art (Del Norte); Byron Smith – Anthropology (Klamath-Trinity); Shawn Thompson – Construction Technology (Eureka); Darren Turpin – Coaching (Eureka); Megan Valente – Coaching (Eureka); Thomas Weisend – Nursing (Eureka); and Cynthia Wilshusen – Business (Virtual).
Edith Ramirez changed status from the Administrative Office Coordinator – Adult Education to the new Construction Projects Specialist position.
Approve Disposal of Surplus Property: Kerry Mayer and the Welding Program faculty purchased 20 new welders with Measure Q funds recently. I recommended that the Board approve a “Student Only” closed bid auction at the end of January 2019 that will provide students an opportunity to purchase the old welders. Per Administrative Procedure 6550 Disposal of Surplus Personal or Real Property, I can sell the welders at a private sale without advertising if the Board, by a unanimous vote of those members present, finds that the property does not exceed in value the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000)” The total cost of the items for bid is under $1,100.
Action/Discussion Items
Monthly Financial Status Report: This month’s monthly financial report covered July 1, 2018 to November 30, 2018. It’s important to note the following:
- Revenue is only 27.9% of the budgeted amount but here will be a significant revenue increase in December as property tax and state lottery revenue come in;
- Expenditures are at 41.1% of the budgeted amount;
- Planned annual transfers out are comprised of $90,000 Child Development Center, $95,762 Shively Farm, and $250,000 OPEB fund; and
- The monthly financial status reports shows a projected 2018-19 ending fund balance of 6.3%.
Authorize Mid-year TRAN or Financing Lease: I requested that the Board approve participation in a Mid-Year Tax and Revenue Anticipation Note (TRAN) or financing lease offering. We’ve been approved for two state funded capital projects – Utility Infrastructure Replacement and Creative Arts Drop and Replace. These projects require that we cover expenditures with District funds in the first half of 2019 until the State’s reimbursements are realized. We may not have the cash to front these funds, so borrowing cash to bridge the gap may be necessary.
We will present an action item to approve a specific TRAN or financing lease (if needed) at an upcoming Board meeting.
First Read of the Draft March 1, 2019 Accreditation Follow-Up Report: The Board conducted a first read of the March 1, 2019 Follow-Up Report. Thank you to Angelina Hill, George Potamianos, and Julie Morrison for their work on the Report. The Board will execute a second read of the report in February. I attached the draft report to this blog article in case you want to read it.
First Read of Administrative Procedures: A few administrative procedures were included as a first read at this meeting—AP 2715 Board Protocols for Effective Trusteeship, AP 4021 Program Revitalization, Suspension or Discontinuation, and AP 4231 Grade Changes. APs 4021 and 4231 will be uploaded to the website as “active.” AP 2715 will go back to the Board as a second read in February.
Second Read of Board Policies and Administrative Procedures: The Trustees approved AP 2220 Committees of the Board (with a small amendment), BP 2305 Annual Organizational Meeting, and AP 2305 Annual Organizational Meeting. President of the Board Emad appointed an ad hoc committee comprised of Trustees Dr. Mullery, Biggin, and Dorn to review and revise BP 2210 Officers.
Informational Reports
Capital Projects Update: Steven Roper discussed the status of the UIR, Creative Arts Drop and Replace, and the Physical Education/Fieldhouse Complex projects with the Trustees. Here’s a brief summary of his report.
- UIR: The presumptive low bidder was Wahlund Construction for a $27,920,000. The list of subcontractors include Sequoia Specialties Inc., 06M Industries Inc., Maples Services Inc., Redwood Electrical Services, Mercer-Fraser Co., and Advance Security Systems.
- Creative Arts: Steven and the architect worked closely with the Dean and faculty of the Arts and Humanities division to design the new Creative Arts building. The design is very impressive. Take a look at the attached schematic of the building.
- PE/Fieldhouse Complex: We expect the State Department of Finance to approve the funds for the PE complex project within the next few weeks.
Student Success Data: Angelina provided some terrific student success data relative to career of degree/transfer students. The table below shows the percentage of students successfully completing degree-applicable courses in the most recent year for which data is available (fall 2016). Of the 5,014 students declaring their goal as earning a degree or transferring, successful unit completions were higher at CR than statewide.
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15+ units
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12+ units
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CR
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18%
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33%
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Statewide
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12%
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25%
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Organizational Reports
Organizational Report: CSEA: CSEA President Engman informed the Board that she was reelected as President for another two year term. Joining her in leadership of our CSEA colleagues will be Tom Cossey as Secretary and Mark Bernards as Communication Officer. Tami also recognized the outstanding work of our Enrollment Services Department.
Organizational Report: Management Council: Management Council President Brady Reed congratulated Trustee Emad on his election as the President of the Board. She thanked the Board for their support of the new food pantries on our Del Norte and KT locations. She also informed the Board that several of her colleagues participated in IBA training last month and will attend the IBA training in Los Rios.
Administrative Reports
Administrative Report: President/Superintendent Report: My written comments focused on the District’s Art Collection, the new online bookstore initiative, and the Policy Academy.
I appreciate the information report Professor Shannon Sullivan and Ruth Jensen delivered at the December board meeting.Immediately following the Board meeting, Dean George Potamianos and I moved to protect our art collection by purchasing the necessary hardware and identifying the appropriate staff to secure the collection.
The Bookstore Task Force comprised of faculty, staff, and administrators was established to consider ways to lower the costs of course materials and improve service to all students across the District's 10,000 square mile service area. During the research phase of their work, the task force found that approximately 50 percent of students surveyed purchased books online through a variety of vendors and that the cost of books was significantly lower when purchased through an online bookstore.
The task force concluded its work last month and unanimously recommended that the District move to an online-based textbook and coursework supplier. I found the enhanced utility of an online bookstore coupled with an improved financial benefit for students compelling enough to accept the recommendation of the Bookstore Task Force and fully implement an online bookstore model by spring 2020.
Thank you to George Potamianos, Heidi Bareilles, Scott Pieper, Mark Renner, Wendy Riggs, and Mickey Jarvi for serving on the task force.
Twenty two cadets participated in the 122nd Police Academy graduation ceremony on December 13, 2018. Of those graduating, thirteen were immediately hired by various law enforcement departments and four were in the last stages of background checks. The 123rd Police Academy class will begin on January 19, 2019.
I thanked Mrs. Sarah Quist, a long time donor to the District, for her generous $45,000 contribution to our Athletic program. Two of her sons played football for us.
Administrative Report: Vice President of Instruction Report: Angelina Hill wrote about the Del Norte Campus’ Food Forest and our Guided Pathways work.
Two invaluable partnerships have made the Food Forest project possible. The Tolowa Dee-Ni' Nation acquired a grant that is paying for much of the forest. In addition, the Del Norte and Adjacent Tribal Lands (DNATL).
Our students in the Summer Youth Training Academy and in AG-21, along with community organizations and contractors, have been working to create the Del Norte Campus Food Forest. If you visit to the Del Norte campus you’d see that:
- A 20’ wide by 48’ long hoop house was installed and has been used by students studying plant propagation and production.
- A 20’ wide by 20’ tall pergola structure with lattice was built to provide shade and wind protection for gatherers.
- A series of pathways were constructed and are being used by visitors.
- A drainage plan was created that incorporates a series of Bioswales around the perimeter of the forest.
- 20 fruit trees have been planted with 30 additional trees to be planted in spring. Trees include Asian pear, pear, apple, and plum.
- 25 blue berries were planted among the trees.
- Beans, squash, and strawberries were harvested this year. Other greens are established and ready to harvest, including lettuce, kale, and broccoli raab.
- Numerous herbs were planted and harvested, including sage, chamomile, cilantro, and borage.
Our Guided Pathways work is moving forward. Two teaching faculty and two counseling faculty will serve as Guided Pathways Coordinators next semester. The faculty will be working with departments with the goal of directing students to take specific courses in one of five major groupings in their first year that can subsequently apply to a variety of majors. In addition, the College will have access to a regional Guided Pathways Coordinator hired by the Chancellor’s Office.
CR has been assigned Dr. Kate Mahar. Her work experience includes serving as the Chief Learning and Research Officer for North State Together, a collective effort to increase educational attainment in far northern California. Dr. Mahar has already reached out to the Administration to assist in CR’s Guided Pathways efforts. Dr. Mahar looks forward to reviewing the goals of the College's coordinators and giving the College advice based on what has been successful at other community colleges.
Angelina commented that three Chancellor’s North/Far North regional coordinators of the Guided pathways program—Dr. Aimee Myers, Mr. Timothy Morehouse, and Dr. Kate Mahar—are going to visit the Eureka campus on Tuesday, January 29th.
Administrative Report: Vice President of Administrative Services Report: Julia Morrison’s report focused on the recent Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) report and fiscal forecast.
For the fiscal year 2019-20, the LAO expects the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee to increase by $2.4 billion to $80.8 billion, despite declining enrollment. After accounting for one-time initiatives, it's estimated that the State will have $2.8 billion for new Prop 98 spending in 2019-20. According to the LAO, it would take $2.3 billion to provide an estimated 3.1% cost of living adjustment for K-14 education. This leaves approximately $.5 billion for new or planned educational spending. Eleven percent of that remainder, or $55 million, would go to community colleges.
The LAO also provided a fiscal outlook through 2022-23 with two scenarios: a growth scenario and a recession scenario. In the growth scenario, personal income is assumed to continue to grow and the stock market to remain level. The recession scenario assumed a recession beginning in early 2020-21.
Prop 98 would steadily increase annually by 3.4% to $89.2 billion in 2022-23 under the growth scenario, which would be expected to cover the statutory COLA. In the recession scenario, the Prop 98 minimum guarantee would drop by $1 billion each year.
Even in the growth scenario, the Proposition 2 school reserve will continue to have a zero balance through 2022-23. As a result, in order to prepare for the next recession the LAO suggests the State should encourage districts to increase local reserves, pay down liabilities, and be cautious in increasing their ongoing spending commitments.
We will continue to update our multi-year budget forecast scenarios given the LAO's budget assumptions, such as future COLA percentages, CalSTRS and CalPERS employer contribution rates, health and welfare expenses, funding formula metrics, etc. By continually monitoring the fiscal environment, updating the multi-year forecast revenue and expense assumptions with new information as it becomes available, sharing all assumptions and forecasts in an open and transparent manner, and taking the necessary budget actions will help the District be positioned to maintain a healthy fund balance and continue to have revenue levels that exceed expenditures.
The full LAO Forecast is attached to this informational report.
Administrative Report: Vice President of Student Development Report: Joe Hash recognized a number of student athletes who were named all-conference this fall:
All-Golden Valley Conference
Men's Soccer: Emerson Arana (1st Team); Roberto Ortiz (2nd Team)
Women's Soccer: Juliana Ortega Miranda (1st Team); Jennifer Murillo (2nd Team)
Volleyball: Elise Wilson (1st Team); Arianna Gallegos (Honorable Mention)
Women's Cross Country: Maria Overton qualified for and ran in the CCCAA State Championship Cross Country Meet in Fresno
All-Pacific 7 Football Conference
Micha Fontenot-Cornely
Marcus Finney
Zachary Loveland
Elijah Hicks
Christian Valadez
Teejay Tome
Dakota Moore
Chriss Giacomozzi
Nor Cal Football All-Region Team
Fontenot-Cornely
Marcus Finney
Teejay Tome
Three fall sport teams also excelled in the classroom attaining a combined team grade point average of 3.0 or higher:
Women's Volleyball--3.3 GPA
Women's Basketball--3.202 GPA
Men's Cross Country--3.0 GPA
Joe commented on the status of the student homeless scholarship. So far, we’ve awarded three of the five scholarships we planned to award for the spring semester pilot. The fourth scholarship should be awarded sometime in the next few weeks. We’re going to hold one scholarship in reserve for students who may need help after the semester begins.
Joe also informed the Board that the HSU Transfer Specialist is scheduling visits to the Del Norte and KT locations to talk to students about transferring to HSU.
Administrative Report: Director of Human Resources: Wendy Bates reported that Human Resources is taking a close look at a new professional development tracking system called Cornerstone to see if the benefits of the system outweigh what is currently in place for tracking completion of professional development. The Cornerstone system tracks all professional development completed by staff from the Professional Learning Network site as well as from the Keenan Learning System. The Cornerstone system also allows users to upload certificates from other completed seminars or training sessions for an intact list of all professional developments taken.
Wendy noted that a group of our colleagues have agreed to attend the IBA training in Los Rios. The group is comprised of Kerry Mayer, Wendy Bates, Heidi Bareilles, Ericka Barber, Kris Marquez, and Brady Reed.
Tenure Report and Recommendation
I am happy to report that the Board of Trustees approved my recommendation to grant tenure to Nicole Bryant Lescher, Jennifer Burlison, Christopher Callahan, Derek Glavich, Darius Kalvaitis, Natalia Margulis, Matthew McCann, and William Meriwether.
I am also happy to share that we will:
- Continue the second year of a two year contract for 2019 with Amber Buntin, David Duberow, Anibal Florez, Mickey Jarvi, Bernadette Johnson, Cheryl Norton, and Katherine Schoenfield;
- Enter into a contract for the 2019 and 2020 academic years with William Levi Gill, Ralph Hafar, Anthony Luehrs, and Jonothan Pace; and
- Enter into a contract with Maria Friedman and Christopher Lancaster for the academic year 2019.