Comments/Board Business

Land Acknowledgement:  President of the Board Carol Mathews read the District’s formal statement that recognizes our area’s Indigenous Peoples as the original stewards of the land that College of the Redwoods occupies. 

We acknowledge that the land on which we are gathered today is unceded territory of the Wiyot people who continue to live and thrive on this land today. It is surrounded by the traditional, ancestral, and present homeland of several indigenous nations including the Hupa, Karuk, Mattole, Tolowa, Wailaki, and Yurok that make up Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.

Member Comments: Trustee Kelley’s informed the Board that he attended the CCLC’s Effective Trustee Workshop and will participate in the ACCT meeting this coming weekend. Vice President of the Board Biggin commented that she participated in the ground breaking ceremony for the new Creative Arts Building and attended the recent CCCT and CCLC meetings. Trustee Dr. Mullery mentioned that she attended the ground breaking ceremony. Trustee Biggin and Trustee Dr. Mullery thanked the staff for their work on arranging the ground breaking ceremony.

Approve Trustee Area Redistricting Options: As I have reported in the past, we are required by Education Code to use the results of the 2020 census to examine how our current Trustee areas are configured. We had Colette Metz and Jason Barnes from Planwest Partners discuss potential redistricting options with the Board at the January Regular meeting.  Based on this discussion, a third option was added as the list of potential redistricting configurations for discussion at the Board workshop on January 15. I attached all three options to this summary article. You can also find the three options with the corresponding summary tables at this link on the Board’s redistricting webapage: https://www.redwoods.edu/board/Board-Home/Redistricting

The Board’s discussion at the workshop coalesced around the third option.

Today, the Board approved the third option by a unanimous voice vote of 6 yeas, 0 nays, and 1 absent.

Board Committee Reports: Trustee Dr. Mullery reported that the Audit Committee of the Board met prior to the regular meeting of the Board. The Audit Committee discussed the possibility of refunding the Measure Q Bond. They also talked about our delinquent student accounts receivable report. I attached Morgan Stanley’s refunding presentation to this summary in case you’re interested in reviewing the financials.

Consent Calendar Action Items

Approve/Ratify Personnel Actions: By Board action, we welcome Leah Lancaster (Early Childhood Education II), Cheyenne Schorlig (Early Childhood Education II), and David Desso (Custodian I – Evenings) to our classified service. We also welcome Cindy Cabeciera (Interim COVID Manager) and Irene Gonzalez-Herrera (Interim Assistant Director for Student Equity) to the ranks of our managerial colleagues.

The Board ratified the decision to add Timothy Baker (Forestry & Natural Resources), Casey Day (Administration of Justice), Kristina Flagler (Nursing), Lauren Gonzi (Nursing), Graham Hewson (Nursing), Francesca Mariano-Smith (Nursing), Julie Tucker (Nursing), and Patricia Tucker-Hoover (Nursing) to the list of associate faculty.

Lastly, please join me in congratulating the following colleagues for their change in employee status:

• Crystal Morse from Interim Manager of Articulation Services to Interim Associate Vice President for Student Success
• Alia Dunphy from Director of Student Success and Equity to Interim Dean of Students
• Kintay Johnson from Director of Special Programs to Director of Multicultural and Diversity
• Taryn Whitaker from Student Services Specialist IV to Student Development Advisor/Evaluation Specialist
• Matthew Gilliland from Veterans Affairs Specialist to Veterans Program Coordinator
• Jeanette Whitley from Early Childhood Education I to Early Childhood Education II

Approve/Ratify Contracts, Agreements and MOUs: I’d like to highlight a few contracts the Trustees approved or ratified at this meeting:

• CCLC ($64,495)—The COVID pandemic has underscored the advantages and disadvantages of holding virtual meetings.  This contract allows us to upgrade our Boarddocs software to a more nimble and expansive platform. $19,349 will be paid by HEERF and the general fund will pick up the balance.
• SHN ($143,000)—We will ask SHN to perform special testing and inspections related to the construction of the new Creative Arts building on the Eureka Campus.
• GHD ($100,000)—We need to amend the current UIR agreement to complete the project.

Action/Discussion Items

Approve Monthly Financial Status Report: What follows is a brief summary of the monthly report:

• The salary expense budget increased by $434,202 to $18,926,524 due to salary concessions for permanent employees. 
• Our benefit expense budget decreased by $12,901 to $7,654,267 because we held several permanent positions vacant for extended recruitment periods.
• Our new estimated ending fund balance for 2021-22 is $5,681,576 or 17.2%.
• We received some Property Tax revenue—a little over 50% of the budgeted amount.  
• Overall, revenues and expenses are trending lower than last year.
• We still plan to transfer general fund moneys to the Child Development Center ($90,000), Shively Farm ($59,567), OPEB fund ($820,000), and Capital Outlay Fund ($600,000).
• It is critically important to remember that although our monthly financial status report shows a projected 2021-22 ending fund balance of 17.2%, the Chancellor’s Office is recommending that the Unrestricted General Fund ending balance be sufficient to cover two months-worth of General Fund expenses. The General Fund includes both the unrestricted and restricted funds.  Based on our initial unrestricted general fund calculation used at the time the background information was written for this Board agenda item, the required 2 month fund balance equaled approximately $10.1 million, or 30%.

However, using the February 1, 2022 revised 2021-22 unrestricted general fund budgeted expenses ($33,092,655) plus the adopted budget restricted general fund expenses ($15,240,294), the annual total is $48,332,949.  This more current general fund amount equates to approximately $8,055,491.50, or 24.3%.  Therefore our required fund balance has decreased since the initial calculation; however, it remains higher than 17%.  We will update the fund reserve percentage in the March Board meeting.

What’s important to remember is that not having an adequate fund balance could signal that we are sliding into structural fiscal instability. What’s also important to note is that our Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) will discuss our 2022-23 budget assumptions in great detail this semester.

Quarterly Financial Status Report: Our 311Q covers the 6 month period ending December 31, 2021 for the unrestricted general fund.  Our report noted that our FTES decline will contribute to potential structural budget problems in the future. While we are making efforts to restore enrollment; we have to remember that recapturing lost enrollment could take some time. We are monitoring expenditures closely in order to make necessary adjustments in time to avoid or reduce deficit spending.

Presentation of the Redwoods Community College District Faculty Organization (CRFO) initial bargaining proposal:  The CRFO “sunshined” their initial bargaining proposal at this meeting. What follows is a brief summary of CRFO’s proposal. I attached the full proposal to this article.

The CRFO would like to discuss:

• the annual reassigned time for the Academic Senate co-presidents, Curriculum Committee chair, Assessment Coordinator, Honors Program Coordinator, ASCR Faculty Advisor, and Academic Standards and Policies Committee chair;
• ways we can improve the sabbatical application process;
• how we describe faculty contractual obligations when participating in the preretirement reduction of workload with STRS service credit program as well as timelines and processes for applying to participate in the program;
• language describing faculty contractual obligations when participating in the partial leave program;
• the faculty and associate faculty grievance process and provisions to ensure effectiveness and legal compliance;
• the language related to transfer and reassignment;
• the language that defines the faculty and associate faculty evaluation processes;
• the criteria used to determine when it is appropriate for administrators and managers to be given classroom teaching assignments;
• scheduling processes and timelines and tie-breaker criteria for priority 2 associate faculty;
• ways to define faculty and associate faculty intellectual property rights;
• a process we will use when dealing with a threat against a faculty or associate faculty member as well as provisions to ensure safe working environments;
• developing a process we will use when conducting investigations and pursuing discipline of faculty and associate faculty; and
• compensation for faculty coaches and athletic recruiters.

Presentation of Redwoods Community College District's Initial Bargaining Proposals to the College of the Redwoods Faculty Organization (CRFO): The District “sunshined” its initial bargaining proposal to the CRFO. Our sunshining process includes two steps. The first step is to present the proposal as information—which was done at this Board meeting. The second step involves providing sufficient time for public comment related to our proposal. This second step will occur at the March meeting prior to the Board’s approval of the proposal.

A brief summary of the District’s initial bargaining proposal includes the following interests.

• We want to find ways to continuing to attract quality faculty while at the same time maintaining a structurally balanced operational budget.
• We would like to clarify the minimum responsibilities and workload requirements for faculty, including on-campus and distance education assignments, working conditions relative to offering baccalaureate degrees, availability for student advising, participation in student recruitment efforts, and additional professional responsibilities, while also balancing these discussions with the District's fiscal circumstance.
• We have an interest in updating language related to the sabbatical leave process.
• We would like to clarify the procedures for assigning faculty to instructional sites while still protecting the rights of employees under applicable statutes and regulations.
• We have an interest in clarifying the procedures and requirements of the evaluation process, timeline, and forms while protecting the rights of employees under applicable statutes and regulations.

I will post the final approved sunshine proposal in my summary of the March Board meeting.

Tenure Review Report: I want to thank the members of the Probationary Faculty Evaluation Committees (PFEC) for carefully reviewing the files of all faculty members currently in the tenure review process and forwarding their recommendations to me. I am proud to report that the Board approved:

• Granting tenure to Christopher Lancaster and Maria Morrow;
• Continuing the second year contract with Jessica Howard for 2022;
• Entering into a contract with Maureen Bell, Valerie Elder, Caroline Haug, and Amy Murphy for the 2022 and 2023 academic years; and
• Entering into a contract with Daniel Chick, Ashley Knowlton, and Ernest Shull for the following academic year 2022.

Informational Reports

Accreditation Update: On January 27, 2022, the ACCJC took action to accept the College's Midterm Report. A Midterm Report can be either rejected or accepted, so this is the best possible outcome. The Commission determined that our progress is appropriate, and they will conduct a Focused Site Visit in the fall term of 2024. In preparation for the site visit, the Vice President of the Academic Senate and I will serve on CR's Accreditation Oversight Group and on the Standard IV work group. The Academic Senate is in the process of appointing several other faculty to serve on the working group, and all administrators, managers, and staff have been appointed and are ready to begin collecting evidence.

The annual Accreditation Institute will be a virtual event on February 25th and 26th. The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) and the ACCJC are co-hosting the event. The ACCJC continues to provide webinars each month. The upcoming webinar about changes in distance education regulations will be of particular importance to the college. 

The ACCJC released a new edition of the Substantive Change Manual that has greater detail about what does and does not require a substantive change. The broad classifications of changes requiring that we notify the Commission of a substantive change are:

• Change in mission, objectives, scope, or name of the institution
• Change in the nature of the constituency served
• Change in the location or geographic area served
• Change in the control or legal status of the institution
• Change in the programs or their mode of deliver that represents a significant departure from current practice
• Change in credit awarded
• Implementation of direct assessment
• Contractual relationship with a non-accredited organization
• Implementation of a baccalaureate degree program

Organizational Reports

Academic Senate:  Academic Senate President Wall’s commented on the number of faculty serving on screening committees and on the Senate’s commitment to work with Kerry Mayer to implement the Education Master Plan. She also thanked the Board for approving the tenure of Professors Christopher Lancaster and Maria Morrow.

CRFO: President Haggerty’s commented on the fact that there appears to be renewed energy on campus this spring semester, class enrollment is a bit sluggish, and CRFO is continuing to advocate for legislative issues important to faculty.

Classified: President Engman thanked the CRFO for buying pizza for the staff. She also noted that the district expanded the vaccine mandate to include visitors and guests.

Student Trustee: Student Trustee Rimmey noted that ASCR has two new Senators. She also mentioned that she wants to work with the Administration on outreach activities.

Administrative Reports

President/Superintendent's Report: I noted in my written report that I received requests from Vice President of the Board Biggin and the fulltime faculty in the Art Department to name the new Creative Arts Building after Floyd Bettiga, a former CR art faculty member who has passed away. Per Administrative Procedure 6620, I will consult with the appropriate College constituencies (including, but not limited to, the Cabinet, Expanded Cabinet, Foundation Board, etc.) to determine approval of the recommendation.  I also shared that our Enrollment Services/Financial Aid department received an American Council on Education (ACE) award for 2021 from BankMobile as “leading one of the most efficient disbursement programs in the country!” 

In my verbal comments, I stated that I discussed the naming recommendation with the Expanded Cabinet on January 27 and asked Marty to seek input from the Foundation Board. Similar to President Engman’s report, I noted that, after consultation with my Cabinet and my CSEA colleagues, I expanded the vaccination mandate to include visitors and guests. This will add another layer of protection for the faculty and staff.

Interim Vice President of Instruction Report: Kerry’s written report focused on the recent Spring Flex Activities. She wrote that the variety of sessions offered throughout the week focused on supporting faculty in preparing and fine-tuning their online courses. She thanked Instructional Designer Melody Jensen, Instructional Technologist Reno Giovannetti, and Professor Wendy Riggs, Chair of the Academic Senate's Distance Education Committee, for presenting those sessions. Assessment Coordinator Professor Jon Pace led a session on outcome assessment which was focused on the continuous improvement of our assessment processes.

A series of three sessions on Thursday, January 13 focused on equity work. CR alum Aristea Saulsbury of Stepping Stone Consulting addressed the history and context of equity work along the North Coast, and provided local examples of equity work that may be adapted to the breadth of our work here at CR.  Additional equity-focused sessions followed Aristea’s presentation, including a panel discussion which allowed for peer-to-peer sharing regarding the equity-driven practices that CR folks have been incorporating in their work to date. Kerry thanked Nicole Bryant-Lescher, Deanna Herrera, Laurel Jean, Ashley Knowlton, Wendy Riggs, and Erin Wall for sharing their experiences in this panel discussion.

Kerry also announced that the Flex planning group has committed to the following additional sessions for this spring:

• Equity Work at College of the Redwoods (Reprised)—This session will be a reprise of Aristea’s January 13^th session with a focus on Student Support areas outside of the classroom and will be targeted primarily towards staff and management colleagues. 
• Expanded Sessions – Equity Driven Practices—There was great enthusiasm for more information from panelists who presented during this session, so we will be rolling out a series of longer targeted sessions focused on peer-to-peer sharing regarding the equity-driven practices that folks are incorporating into their work. 
• Equity Work at College of the Redwoods – Part Two—As a follow-up to our January 13^th sessions, we will be holding a day-long series of professional development activities on Friday, April 29^th that will be focused on our shared equity work. 

Vice President of Administrative Services Report: Julia provided a summary of the Governor’s January Budget Proposal. The proposed budget is based off an estimated surplus of $45.7 billion and close to $35 billion in reserves.  The Governor's Budget Proposal focuses on issues such as the affordable housing shortage, wildfire prevention and fire damage mitigation, drought response and water conservation and efficiency, rural workforce development in careers related to climate change response and fire prevention and providing funds to an Emergency Response Package to boost COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. Some important budget proposal inclusions that relate to community colleges are:

• A 5.33% COLA for the Student Centered Funding Formula, as well as for certain categorical programs;
• $200 million in ongoing funds to augment the Part-Time Faculty Health Insurance Program;
• $100 million on ongoing funds for Student Success Completion Grants;
• $25 million in ongoing and $75 million in one-time funds to support technology modernization;
• $388 million in one-time funds to address deferred maintenance needs;
• $150 million in one-time funds to continue student retention and enrollment efforts;
• Resources to create Adult education healthcare pathways (this includes K-12 as well).

The full joint analysis of the Governor's January Budget is attached to this summary article. Julia clarified the hold harmless language in the budget proposal for the Board.

Executive Director of the Foundation: Marty noted that he and I met with Dr. Colby Smart, Assistant Superintendent for the Humboldt County Office of Education to discuss Colby’s interest in joining the Foundation Board.  Marty will present Colby’s nomination to the CR Foundation Board in February.  Marty also noted that he and Alison Sterling Nichols, the Humboldt COAD Coordinator, secured an additional $25,000 grant from the Humboldt Area Foundation and Wild Rivers Community Foundation’s Disaster Response and Resilience Fund to support the Humboldt COAD and he received a grant from the California Community College’s Foundation for $125,000 for the 2022-23 academic year to continue the funding of CR’s new Finish Line Scholarship Program.