Published on 6/7/2022.
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: Vice President Biggin mentioned that she enjoyed the Eureka and KT graduation ceremonies. She also commented that she participated in the President Advisory Council and the CCLC DEIA committee.
Trustee Kelley commented that he attended the ACCT’s committees related to legislation and advocacy. He also noted that he participated in a President’s Advisory Council committee meeting.
President Mathews noted that she attended the CSEA appreciation barbeque for the Del Norte staff and the Del Norte graduation ceremony. She also participates on the ISER committee looking at Standard IV.
Swear In New Student Trustee: President of the Board Carol Mathews administered the oath of office to Marabeth Madsen as the District’s new student trustee for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Approve Resolutions 790 and Resolution 792: The Board approved two resolutions that ordered the election for three expiring trustees’ seats. Voters will determine who will represent Area 1 (Ferndale), Area 2 (Fortuna), and Area 3 (Crescent City) on our Board of Trustees in the November 2022 election.
Board Evaluation Discussion: The Trustees discussed the results of the Board evaluation in open session. I attached a copy of the evaluation results to this summary article in case you may be interested in reviewing trustee responses to the questions.
Consent Calendar Action Items
Approve/Ratify Personnel Actions: The Board of Trustees approved several personnel related items at this meeting. Please join me in welcoming several new colleagues to our college community and congratulating the staff who had their employee status modified.
Our new classified staff colleagues include Winnifred Carpenter (Student Services Specialist II, Klamath Trinity Instructional Site), Jessica Kahoalii (Administrative Office Assistant II – LRC), Elizabeth Marquez (Payroll Technician), Matthew McKindley (Student Services Specialist II, Klamath Trinity Instructional Site), William Oliveria (Student Services Specialist III, Admissions and Records), Olivia Lopez Gibson (Academic Advisor, Special Programs/Upward Bound – Del Norte), Alice Abler (Early Childhood Education Assistant II), and Lili Chen (Financial Literacy Advising Specialist).
Jaclyn Patmore (Biology (intern)) and Stephanie Souter (Psychology) will serve as new associate faculty for fall 2022.
Mitchell Lucky will start as our new District Accounting Analyst effective tomorrow—June 8, 2022. We are fortunate to have Mitchell join our budget staff.
I want to congratulate several colleagues for their employee change of status: Jessica Herrera moved from Library Systems Technician to Library Services and Systems Coordinator; Laura Meglemre from Administrative Secretary II to Interim Administrative Assistant to the Vice President of Student Services; Gabrielle Meyer from Student Services Specialist IV to Administrative Office Coordinator (EOPS/CARE); Christine Reiher from .20 FTE Instructional Support Specialist II to .30 FTE Instructional Support Specialist II; Jose Serrano from .80 FTE Payroll Technician to 1.0 FTE Payroll Technician; and Debbie Romero from Administrative Secretary II to Administrative Secretary II plus 15 percent out-of-class pay. Additionally, Michael Perkins will move from the Director of Administration of Justice to serve as our Chief of Police / Director of Public Safety Training. Michael will continue to direct our AJ program under this new title.
With the Board’s ratification today, we say farewell to Maureen Bell and Melody Pope. Maureen resigned her tenure track Assistant Professor of Nursing position on May 14, 2022. Melody Pope, Professor of Nursing, retired on May 14, 2022.
Grant Faculty Emeritus: By Board action, Professors Chris Romero, Mark Winter, and Danny Walker were granted the honorary title of faculty emeritus.
Professor Chris Romero contributed 20 years of service to the College, to his colleagues, and to his department. Chris provided high-quality instruction, guidance, and mentoring to countless students throughout the years, maintaining a steadfast commitment to student success.
Professor Mark Winter’s 25-years of service as a psychology professor included administrative appointments as Division Chair and Interim Vice President of Instruction and Student Development. Additionally, Mark Winter was the background of our Distance Education program for several years as faculty coordinator for DE.
Professor Danny Walker began teaching as an Associate Faculty and in January 2010 started as a full-time Professor of Welding Technology. Danny was an active member of the American Welding Society and served the local community as a member of the Timber Heritage Association and Humboldt County Search and Rescue.
Action/Discussion Items
Approve Monthly Financial Status Report: Our June monthly financial report showed:
- Property Tax Revenue receipts are now at 94.9% of the budgeted amount, which is significantly higher than at this point in time last year.
- Salary and Benefit Expenses are still trending higher than at this point in time last year, mostly because the report reflects annual faculty overload payments, which are paid out April 10th of each year.
- Overall, expenses are trending lower than at this time last year.
- Our transfers out are comprised of $90,000 to the Child Development Center, $59,567 to the Shively Farm, $820,000 to the OPEB fund, and $600,000 to the Capital Outlay fund. The total transfers out equates to $1,569,567.
- We intend to transfer $850,000 out to the Capital Outlay for fund education and facilities master plan initiatives.
- A projected 2021-22 ending fund balance of $5,754,440 or 17.0%.
Approve Tentative Budget: The Board approved a Tentative Budget that will allow us to start spending effective July 1, 2022. We will present a 2022-23 Final Budget to the Board on September 6, 2022. Here’s a snapshot of the tentative budget:
- The 2022-23 Governor’s May Revise Budget Proposal included a 6.56% COLA.
- The May Revise proposed an increase to basic funding in the SCFF, as well as COLA for most categorical programs and funding for deferred maintenance.
- Because of our decline in enrollment, we opted to participate in the Chancellor's Office Emergency Conditions Allowance for FTES this program for 2020-21 and 2021-22. College of the Redwoods' 2020-21 FTES was down by 29% when compared to 2019-20 P2 FTES, and is currently down by 35% when compared to 2019-20.
- The 2021 Budget Act extended the Hold Harmless through 2024-25.
- Districts are able to earn the greater of either the SCFF, Hold Harmless, or Stability revenue amounts; however, districts never know if the State will be able to fully fund revenue earned for all districts until well after the fiscal year is over.
SCFF Revenue: Using a SCFF calculator and increasing the student success, supplemental, and student success rates by the proposed COLA, increasing the Base, assuming emergency conditions allowance FTES for the basic allocation for 2020-21 and 2021-22 and a 15% FTES increase for 2022-23 from current levels, estimated 2022-23 SCFF revenue is $31,463,966.
Hold Harmless Revenue: In 2017-18 TCR was $26,897,389. With the previous year COLA increases mentioned above, and assuming a 6.56% COLA for 2022-23, the estimated 2022-23 Hold Harmless revenue is $31,939,744.
Stability Revenue: Calculated SCFF revenue for 2021-22 is currently $30,988,355. By increasing this amount by the proposed COLA of 6.56%, Stability revenue for 2022-23 is estimated to be $33,021,191
Since the Stability revenue is the highest of the three, Stability revenue is assumed for the Redwoods Community College District 2022-23 Tentative Budget.
- The District is estimating that enrollment will continue to be restored in 2023-24 and 2024-25. This estimate is based on outreach and recruitment efforts, the reinstatement of Football, and the addition of Wrestling for both Men and Women. As a result, SCFF revenue is assumed for both years in the Multi-Year Forecast.
Second Read of Board Policies and Administrative Procedures: The Board executed a second reading of Administrative Procedure (AP) 3516 and Board Policy (BP) 7250. The Trustees did not request changes to these two documents when they were initially reviewed in May.
As information, the draft BP 1200, reviewed by the Board as a first read in May, will be submitted to College Council for constituent review before going back to the Board.
Informational Reports
Accreditation Update: Dr. Angelina Hill provided an accreditation update that mentioned that the Standard subgroups met throughout the spring semester to identify sources of evidence for the upcoming Institutional Self-Evaluation Report (ISER) and to review initial drafts of standards. She also noted that Dr. Kevin Bontenbal, our liaison assigned by the ACCJC, is scheduled to visit the College in-person on September 26, 2022. Dr. Bontenbal will meet with faculty and staff working on the ISER and answer questions based on where the College is in the ISER process. As a reminder, the ISER is due to the ACCJCC on December 15, 2023 and the ISER team will conduct a visit in fall 2024. Dr. Bontenbal will accompany the team during the visit.
Student Success Data: Transfers Rates by Student Equity Group: The Board asked the Administration to provide a report that disaggregates our transfer numbers. According to IR, approximately 30 percent of students with a stated goal of transferring, and who complete at least 12 units at CR, transfer to a four-year institution. Student subgroups who perform significantly below the average rate of all other subgroups are underlined below. Last year, three groups transferred at a rate significantly below average: those in the 40-49 age group, males, and first-generation students. Students with disabilities have consistently transferred at a significantly lower rate than other students, but their rate of transfer rose noticeably in 2020-21.
|
|
|
2015-16
|
2016-17
|
2017-18
|
2018-19
|
2019-20
|
2020-21
|
|
|
All Students
|
25%
|
29%
|
33%
|
30%
|
28%
|
30%
|
|
Race/Ethnicity
|
American Indian
|
14%
|
17%
|
25%
|
.
|
19%
|
25%
|
|
|
Asian
|
.
|
38%
|
.
|
.
|
26%
|
32%
|
|
|
Black/African American
|
.
|
29%
|
34%
|
32%
|
29%
|
.
|
|
|
Hispanic/Latino
|
21%
|
23%
|
31%
|
25%
|
21%
|
30%
|
|
|
Two or More Races
|
20%
|
29%
|
31%
|
28%
|
24%
|
25%
|
|
|
White
|
27%
|
32%
|
34%
|
33%
|
32%
|
32%
|
|
Age
|
18-20
|
26%
|
33%
|
33%
|
32%
|
27%
|
34%
|
|
|
21-24
|
31%
|
31%
|
37%
|
35%
|
30%
|
28%
|
|
|
25-29
|
22%
|
26%
|
31%
|
28%
|
27%
|
32%
|
|
|
30-39
|
20%
|
28%
|
30%
|
24%
|
27%
|
25%
|
|
|
40-49
|
25%
|
.
|
24%
|
.
|
21%
|
18%
|
|
|
50 and older
|
12%
|
.
|
24%
|
.
|
.
|
.
|
|
Gender
|
Female
|
25%
|
30%
|
33%
|
29%
|
29%
|
33%
|
|
|
Male
|
26%
|
27%
|
32%
|
30%
|
26%
|
25%
|
|
Disability Status
|
Disability
|
18%
|
18%
|
21%
|
20%
|
19%
|
26%
|
|
|
No Disability
|
26%
|
30%
|
34%
|
31%
|
29%
|
30%
|
|
First Generation
|
First Generation
|
12%
|
15%
|
29%
|
26%
|
21%
|
27%
|
|
|
Not First Generation
|
18%
|
30%
|
32%
|
32%
|
32%
|
33%
|
|
Veteran Status
|
Veteran
|
23%
|
20%
|
20%
|
21%
|
23%
|
29%
|
|
|
Not Veteran
|
26%
|
30%
|
34%
|
30%
|
28%
|
30%
|
A cell with a "." indicates that there were too few students to report.
Administrative Reports
President/Superintendent's Report: My written report included a mention of a May 11, 2022 EdSource article that discussed a report from the Berkeley Institute for Young Americans. The report found that the failure of the budget formula to determine funding levels in K-12 or higher education and the instability of the education finance system, may fuel dramatic funding losses in the future. The problem, according to the report, is that much of the new funding is one-time rather than ongoing, which means that new money allocated to schools and colleges will be at risk in a future economic downturn. I attached a copy of the report to this blog summary.
I provided a breakdown on how we intended to allocate the proceeds from the sale of the Garberville property.
|
Description
|
Budget
|
Actuals/
Encumbrances
|
Notes
|
|
Facilities Deferred Maintenance Budget
|
14,983
|
14,983
|
Gas line leak tests at AT/Emergency Preparedness
|
|
Police Dept. Start-Up
|
7,082
|
7,082
|
Public Safety uniforms, training and technology equipment
|
|
Residential Housing Initial Costs
|
500,663
|
476,142
|
Due diligence costs that are reimbursable, if/when project is financed
|
|
3 Used Generators
|
84,754
|
84,754
|
|
|
Transfer Switch/Panels for Generators
|
53,436
|
53,436
|
|
|
KT Site $20k per year for 2 years
|
40,000
|
-
|
Facilities improvements for student learning and safety
|
|
Microsoft and Wi-Fi Upgrade
|
15,366
|
15,366
|
|
|
LS/PS Demolition
|
-
|
|
|
|
Facilities Master Plan Update
|
297,064
|
297,064
|
tBP Architecture
|
|
UIR
|
29,188
|
29,188
|
Invoices paid after claim was submitted/not part of scope
|
|
Creative Arts
|
57,000
|
57,000
|
Fees paid after Working Drawings funds expired
|
|
Tennis Court Nets/Posts
|
464
|
464
|
|
|
Total Allocated/Expensed
|
1,100,000
|
1,035,480
|
|
|
Unallocated
|
0
|
|
|
In my verbal report, I stated that we intend to issue a press release in July that will speak to the District adding men’s and women’s wrestling in 2023-24.
Interim Vice President of Instruction Report: In Kerry’s written report, she welcomed Amber Buntin, Professor of Math, Jon Pedicino, Professor of Astronomy, and Ruthe Rhodes, Professor of English, to the administrative team as Associate Deans (on release time) for the next academic year. She also congratulated several faculty for successfully completing a seven-week, micro-credential ACUE professional development program this past spring: Amy Berkowitz, Amber Buntin, Kaliym Butler, Kristy Carlsen, Joan Carpenter, Daniel Chick, Christine Dobrowolski, Deanna Herrera, Wendy Hill, Bernadette Johnson, Ashley Knowlton, Erik Kramer, Chris Lancaster, Will Meriwether, Shannon Mondor, Maria Morrow, Todd Olsen, Carolyn Perkins, Stephen Quiggle, Karen Reiss, Ruthe Rhodes, Robyn Roberson, Ernest Shull, Shannon Sullivan, Christine Titus, Sally Urban, Maggie White, and Emily Wright.
Kerry commented that she participated in the June 6 meeting of the Redwood Region Climate and Community Resilience (CORE) Hub and the Humboldt Area & Wild Rivers Community Foundation. The CORE is actively working on community benefits related to offshore wind development in the Humboldt Wind Energy Area.
Here are links that describes the work of the CORE:
Redwood Region Climate and Community Resilience (CORE) Hub
offshore wind energy development and potential community benefits
I attached a draft compilation of potential community benefits the coalition discussed recently.
Vice President of Administrative Services Report: In her written report, Julia noted that we will hold two 2022-23 Tentative Budget and Multi-Year Forecast Open Forums via zoom this month.
Thursday, June 9th, 2022 from 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
https://redwoods-edu.zoom.us/j/94878257969
Dial: (669) 900 6833
Meeting ID: 948 7825 7969
Tuesday, June 14th, 2022 from 9:30 am - 10:00 am
https://redwoods-edu.zoom.us/j/94353199097
Dial: (669) 900 6833
Meeting ID: 943 5319 9097
In her verbal report, Julia stated that she will discuss the tentative budget with each of the constituent groups.
Executive Director of the Foundation: Marty’s written report noted that he is assisting a faculty/staff working group on developing plans to upgrade the trail and pond system on the Eureka Campus. He mentioned that the Foundation received a gift to establish the Jean E. Spinas and B. Curtis Spinas Memorial Scholarship Fund to support fulltime female students pursuing any field of study.
Marty mentioned that the sports auction planning is going very well. He also noted that he’s working with the Athletic and Budget departments to look at the costs of replacing the football stadium's grass with turf, installing new aluminum bleachers, building a new modular press box, fixing the lighting system in the stadium, and upgrading the food shack.
Closed Session
President’s Self-Evaluation: The Board and I discussed my self-evaluation and my initial goals for the next academic year. I will discuss my draft goals with the Trustees again at the Board’s August Workshop.