---

Published on 2/6/2024.

Regular Board Meeting

Comments/Board Business

Land Acknowledgement:  President of the Board Dr. Robertson read the District’s land acknowledgement recognizing 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, Hupa, Karuk, Mattole, Tolowa, Wailaki, and Yurok. We honor them and all neighboring tribes by our ongoing commitment to developing trusting, reciprocal, and long-lasting partnerships.

Organizational Procedures

Appoint Trustees to the Ad Hoc Bond Measure Committee: The Board and I are exploring the efficacy of including a bond measure in the November 2024 election help us replace old decaying buildings on the Del Norte Campus and to construct new affordable student housing on the Eureka Campus. As elected representatives of our community, our trustees are charged with being our advocate in the community by encouraging support for and interest in the District (BP 2715). Recognizing our Trustee’s unique and powerful advocacy, Board President Dr. Robertson and I agreed that it would be our best interest to form an ad hoc committee to help us in planning for a potential bond measure. To that end, President of the Board Dr. Robertson appointed Trustees Mathews, Dorn, and Biggin to the ad hoc bond measure committee.

Board Committee Reports: Trustee Dr. Mullery reported that the President’s Evaluation Ad Hoc Committee will review the survey instrument the Trustees use for my evaluation. She also noted that Trustee Dorn will serve as the chair of the ad hoc committee.

President Dr. Robertson noted that the Ad Hoc Committee on Advocacy will focus on monitoring and disseminating information that supports the District’s bond measure, amendments to the 50% law, affordable housing, Cal Grant Reform, and bachelor’s degrees.

Comments/Board Business

Trustee Interactions with Employees and Constituent Groups: The Board agreed to postpone discussion of this topic until March 2024 when all the Trustees can be present.

Consent Calendar Action Items

Approve/Ratify Personnel Actions: The Board ratified my acceptance of Mike Haley’s resignation from his dean position at the end of this spring semester and his request to the faculty in fall 2024.  As I informed the District my reorganization email earlier, Rory Johnson (Dean of the Del Norte Campus) will replace Mike as the Executive Dean of Career Education and Shauna Burdick will serve as the Interim Dean of Del Norte Campus on June 1, 2024.  I intend to conduct a search for the permanent Dean of Del Norte sometime in the next academic year.

The Board approved the appointments of Irene Gonzales-Herrera as the permanent Assistant Director of Student Equity and Katrina Hanson as our Manager, Basic Needs, Wellbeing and Retention. Also approved at this Board meeting was Bernadette Johnson’s transfer from the Del Norte Campus to the vacant Counseling position on the Eureka Campus effective fall 2024.

By Board action, we welcome six new associate faculty members to our college community: Lorraine Casazza – Environmental Science, Misty Knight – Early Childhood Education, Ashley Niesen – Agriculture, Wetahanna Pinedo – Nursing, Debbie Struble – Nursing, and Megan Uphoff – Nursing.

The Board of Trustees ratified my acceptance of the retirements of three wonderful colleagues. Kerry Mayer’s last day at CR will be July 31, 2024. Gary Sokolow and Sean Thomas will retire effective December 31, 2024.

Approval of Award to Lowest Responsible and Responsive Bidder for Community Stadium Upgrade Project: Thanks to the fantastic leadership of Julia Morrison and Leslie Marshall, we reached an important milestone in Community Stadium Upgrade Project! The Board approved the recommendation to award the stadium construction contract to Wahlund Construction.

Action/Discussion Items

Approve Monthly Financial Status Report: Our Monthly Financial Status Report July 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 showed that:

• We did not make any adjustments to the budget since its adoption in September.
• We received $5.1 million in Property Tax Revenue at the end of the calendar year. Those revenues are higher than last year at this same time.
• Our expenditures continue to track well with budgeted amounts, except for the Capital Outlay which is significantly higher than at this point in time last year.  
• Our Transfer Out is still comprised of $90,000 to the Child Development Center, $74,720 to the Shively Farm, $750,000 to the OPEB fund, and $500,000 to the Debt Service fund for a total of $1,414,720. Please note that the Board authorized me at last month’s Board meeting to reallocate the OPEB fund transfer to support the Community Stadium Upgrade Project. 
• The monthly financial status report shows a projected 2023-24 Unrestricted General Fund ending fund balance of $8,412,672, or 19.4% of Unrestricted General Fund expenditures.

Approve Quarterly Financial Status Report: The Board approved our Quarterly Financial Status Report, CCFS-311Q, for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. Our report noted that we will face two significant fiscal challenges over the next few years. First, we must continue to recover FTES. This is critical not only to ensure revenues exceed expenses, but also 2024-25 Total Computational Revenue will become the new Hold Harmless revenue floor, so we must maximize next year's revenue. The second challenge is the State's economic outlook for 2024-25 and how the State's fiscal challenges that will impact the 2024-25 budget for California Community Colleges. The Governor's January Budget Proposal is based on a $38 billion deficit, and it's not yet known how this will impact California community colleges. 

First Read of Board Policies and Administrative Procedures: The Board reviewed several Board Policies and Administrative Procedures. The Trustees made a few comments related to Interim AP 7120-2. They suggested that a clause be included that addresses potential CHRO conflict of interest in searches. They also suggested that the composition of the screening committees for the CIO, CSSO, CBO, and CHRO be reduced and made more equitable.

Informational Reports

Recognitions: It was my pleasure to recognize two student athletes and two classified staff at this Board meeting. I recognized College of the Redwoods football student athlete Max Hough for committing to take his football talents to Colorado Mesa University next year and Trey Neff for being named an athlete of the week (week ending January 26, 2024) by HumboldtSports.com. Here is a link the HumboldtSports.com athlete of the week story: ATHLETES AND TEAM OF THE WEEK — Florvilus, SB girls steal the show – HumboldtSports.com

I also recognized classified staff members Shane Stodola (Maintenance) and Cody Yeates (Custodian) for their excellent work on the Del Norte Campus.  Shane and Cody epitomize dedication and commitment!

Enrollment Snapshot: I used our CCS 320 reports to provide an update on our enrollment over the past few years. As we stated in the Quarterly Financial Report, it is critical that we recover our lost FTES to ensure that we do not find ourselves with a structural budget problem in which our expenses exceed our revenues. Furthermore, we must maximize next year's revenue because our 2024-25 Total Computational Revenue will become the new Hold Harmless revenue floor.

I revised the FTES chart provided in the Board agenda to reflect some additional 320 information that was provided after the board meeting. I revised the 2019-20 FTES downward from 3801 to 3781. I also rounded the total FTES numbers and added a column that displays our 2024-25FTES goal.

 

 

Organizational Reports

Academic Senate: President Dr. Hererra’s written report noted that:

• The Senate was grateful to have VPSS Dr. Morse report on ways the faculty can support our students by providing them with up-to-date resource materials, services available to those who are experiencing mental and physical health issues, what preventative resources are in place, and the protocol in place for faculty to find support during a student crisis.
• The Senate received a thorough report on Program Audits from Vice President of Administrative Services Julia Morrison and Professor Levi Gill who represented the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC).
• The February 2 Senate agenda included discussions on Creating a Guided Pathways Senate Task Force, Senate Resolutions, Senate norms, District committee term limits and appointing procedures, and District organizational structures and programs.

CRFO: President Michelle Haggerty’s written report mentioned that:

• CRFO will continue to advocate for preserving California community college funding, expanding COLA to reflect real inflation, and reforming the Student-Centered Funding Formula (SCFF) metrics.
• She was contacted by Ariel Kelley and Rusty Hicks—two candidates running for the assembly seat vacated by Jim Wood.
• CRFO is planning to attend focus groups with Vantage Technology Consulting group.
• Alia Dunphy has scheduled an IBB training for April.

CSEA: President Tami Engman noted that:

• The CSEA negotiations team continues to work through the process of reviewing job descriptions.
• She is extremely proud of all the CSEA members that continue to speak up and have their voices heard. She drew attention to how CSEA members in Del Norte have been instrumental in raising concerns related to power outages and roof leaks.

Management Council: In the Management Council report, President Ericka Barber wrote that the Management Council group will continue to discuss and review their goals and update the Management Council charter and that the Facilities & Maintenance and IT staff collaborated on a project to come up with clear guidelines to help staff decide on appropriate processes for procurement.

Administrative Reports

President/Superintendent Report: I mentioned two Edsource articles in my written report.  One article noted that White men dominate the leadership positions within the University of California, California State University and California Community College systems, even as two-thirds of undergraduates across the state identify as Latino, Black, Asian or Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders. Additionally, only 18% of Latino faculty and 4% of Black faculty across the California’s 116 community colleges are tenured or on the tenure track. The second article discussed the Legislative Analyst's Office’s (LAO) review of the Governor's January Budget Proposal. The LAO recommended a more prudent approach to higher education spending in the face of decreased revenues and the Legislature should hold higher education funding flat in 2024-25 and then revisit the budget again in 2025-26.

I provided the team roster for our ACCJC Comprehensive Peer Review. 

Dr. Vince Rodriguez, Chair President

Coastline Community College

Dr. Kim Armstrong, Vice Chair President

Clovis Community College

Ms. Cheryl Bailey

Instruction Librarian; SLO Coordinator Irvine Valley College

Mr. Caleb Fowler

Professor Computer Information Science; Business Folsom Lake College

Dr. Michelle Trautt

Instructional Faculty / Academic Senate Executive President Mt. San Jacinto College

Dr. Kristi Woods Dean of Instruction Riverside City College

Dr. Jon Knolle

Vice President of Academic Affairs Monterey Peninsula College

Ms. Leah Alarcon

Dean of Student Success Oxnard College

Dr. Stephen Kibui

Vice President of Finance & Business Rio Hondo College

Ms. Zahra Mojtahedi

Senior Planning & Research Analyst Skyline College

Dr. Kevin Bontenbal Vice President ACCJC

I also provided an itinerary for ACCJC President Dr. Powell's visit to CR on February 28, 2024. 

 

Time/Location	Agenda
9:15 – 9:30 am President’s Conference Room (SS204B)	Meeting with Executive Cabinet and Accreditation Laison Officer
9:30 – 10:15 am Board Room (SS202) Zoom https://redwoods- edu.zoom.us/j/82920268475   Meeting ID: 829 2026 8475 Phone: 1 669 900 6833	Meeting with Accreditation Oversight Committee
10:15 – 11:00 am Board Room (SS202) Zoom https://redwoods- edu.zoom.us/j/86588887734   Meeting ID: 865 8888 7734 Phone: 1 669 900 6833	Open Forum

In my verbal comments thanked Bear River for providing housing to 7-10 CR students this spring semester. I also mentioned that I had the honor of attending Senator Mike McGuire’s swearing-in as the 49^th President Pro Tempore of the State Senate yesterday. He’s now the state’s highest-ranking senator and one of the most influential leaders in California. It was very clear that Senator McGuire is well respected by all his senatorial colleagues regardless of party affiliation. I encourage you to read the CalMatters article about the Senator’s ascension to the Pro Tempore role. Here’s the link to the article: Mike McGuire wants to ‘lift up every person’ as new California Senate leader - CalMatters

Vice President of Instruction Report: Lisa’s written report included:

• One hundred students participated in the CR Career and Technical Education Field Day—an event co-sponsored by CR and the North Coast Agriculture Partners—on January 27, 2024. She thanked the CR faculty and staff Valerie Elder, Kyle Shamp, Jerry Goodrow, Bert Hafar, Jasmine Iniguez, Anibal Florez, Ernie Shull, Sandy Dale, Silas Sarvinski, Gussie Solem, Anthony Finck, Tristen Hammond, Joseph Glass, and Will Madaras. Several current and former students also were actively involved in the event planning and success, including, John Long, Kathy O’Day, Sheena Ruchte, Raine Kates, Derek Tremaine, Keira Lockhart, Audry Gomes, Katie Mitchell, and Hailey Mitchell.
• On January 7 and 8 College of the Redwoods hosted over 30 Humboldt and Del Norte farmers in the CR and North Coast Growers Association (NCGA) Climate Resilient Farmer Training program.
• A task force has been created to support the work required to follow AB928 (Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act of 2021: Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) Intersegmental Implementation) and AB 1111 (Common Course Numbering Project).

In her verbal comments Lisa mentioned the USC DEIAA training and the zero-textbook work.

Vice President of Administrative Services Report: In her written report, Julia noted that the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Del Norte Campus Roof Replacement and Skylight Repair has been published and there will be a site walk at the Del Norte Campus on February 6 for any interested general contractors. RFP responses are due February 22. 

She also updated the Board on the Employee Benefits Fund (Other Post Employment Benefits). The Fund had a healthy balance of $3,649,684 at the beginning of the 2011-12 fiscal year. From 2012-13 to 2019-20 contributions to the Fund had been less than actual retiree health and welfare expenses. This resulted in the erosion of the Fund balance. On July 1, 2019, the Fund balance was down to $382,847.

Recognizing that this wasn't sustainable, we proactively worked toward restoring the Fund. In 2019-20 and 2020-21 District transferred $1,570,000 and $2,145,000 respectively to the Fund from the Unrestricted General Fund (UGF). Then in 2021-22 and 2022-23 the UGF transfers into the Fund were slightly more than actual expenditures for those years. As a result, as of July 1, 2023 the Fund balance was $3,278,465. 

Julia commented that one company showed up to today’s Del Norte Roof Replacement job walk.

Vice President of Student Services Report: Crystal covered several topics in her written report including:

• Student Services implemented a new case management system for student referrals. After piloting the system through the fall term, faculty and staff may now refer students for Retention Alert, Behavior Intervention, Student Conduct, and Sexual Misconduct/Discrimination/Harassment (Title IX) via a drop-down menu from the CR website: Student Support Referrals.
• Submitting a referral through the Title IX drop-down does not automatically initiate a Title IX investigation. It does provide the opportunity to inform the Title IX Coordinator of an experience, to engage with supportive measures, and receive information about options. All reports are taken seriously.

Interim Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Report: Kerry’s written report discussed the California Center for Rural Policy at Cal Poly Humboldt recently released report: California’s Rural North Exploring the Roots of Health Disparities. The report’s author, Schuyler Kirsch (former CR employee and associate faculty member in business/economics), looked at a variety of indicators to determine the roots of health disparities for people living in California’s eleven most remote and rural counties. Here are the key takeaways from the report:

• The region’s population is significantly older compared to the state. The region’s aging population structure has important implications for future population change and healthcare needs.
• The most substantial adverse health disparities between the region and the state are evident in rates of unintentional injuries, all cancers, chronic lower respiratory disease, motor vehicle traffic crashes, drug-induced deaths, coronary heart disease, lung cancer, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, suicides, and firearm-related deaths.
• Rates of disability are much higher than state averages in the region, even among young adults.
• The evidence indicates that rates of mental illness, substance use, and tobacco use are elevated relative to the state.
• Health outcome disparities between the region and the state are largely consistent with these elevated mental and behavioral health challenges.
• Compared to state averages, the region experiences adverse disparities in rates of poverty, homelessness, educational attainment, household isolation, adverse childhood experiences, and access to healthcare. The region faces healthcare shortages and low-income households disproportionately experience delays in accessing care. Data also suggest a substantial unmet need for substance use treatment facilities and an unmet need for healthcare among those with a history of mental illness.
• Populations affected by these disparities are more likely to show two key risk factors linked to the health outcomes examined earlier: current smoking and suicide ideation. Although there is research supporting the connections between these disparities and substance use, the limited available local data on substance use do not provide clear links to these disparities specifically within the region.
• The region faces healthcare shortages and low-income households disproportionately experience delays in accessing care. Data also suggest a substantial unmet need for substance use treatment facilities and an unmet need for healthcare among those with a history of mental illness.
• People of color show higher poverty levels, lower educational attainment, limited access to nutritious foods, and increased rates of ACE scores.
• Lesbian, gay, and bisexual communities face numerous disparities: elevated levels of poor health, increased smoking and heavy alcohol consumption, suicidal thoughts, higher poverty rates, significantly elevated ACEs rates, domestic violence, deferred medical care, and adverse weather-related health impacts. Alarmingly, half of this community has seriously contemplated suicide.
• People with disabilities in the region experience higher rates of poor health, increased smoking, suicidal thoughts, poverty, lower educational attainment, living alone, restricted access to healthy food, and deferred medical care.
• The 55+ demographic in the region tends to live solitarily. As expected, a higher percentage report fair or poor health, but this group generally has fewer risk factors. The health trends of the veteran population resemble these patterns, possibly due to a significant age overlap in these two groups within the region.
• The report underscores three policy focus areas, with a particular focus on serving at-risk populations: Smoking Prevention, Education, and Cessation, Substance Use Prevention and Treatment, and Suicide Prevention and Access to Mental Health Care.

While the overall findings of this report are concerning, we should be encouraged that this report's findings support our efforts to develop additional allied health programs, especially those that focus on mental health, as well as our efforts to expand the number of students we serve in our RN and LVN cohorts.

Executive Director of College Advancement and the Foundation Report: Marty’s written report noted that a few new endowed funds have been established thanks to the Foundation’s matching gift campaigns in November and December. Three of those funds have been finalized and include: An endowed fund established by Doug Boileau, a CR faculty member, to support CR’s Paramedics Program; The McLaren Memorial Scholarship Fund for CR students who served in the military; The Margaret Rita Crotty Memorial Scholarship Fund for CR nursing students established by CR’s Kevin Crotty.

He also wrote that he worked with a donor to establish the Martina Scarfia Memorial Scholarship Fund to benefit CR nursing students, the spring Employee Giving campaign has led to the establishment of a Veterans Resource Center Scholarship Fund to benefit CR Students who served in the military, and the CR Foundation will help to sponsor Redwood Days, a multi-day event for seventh graders on CR’s Eureka campus.

Marty mentioned that the Floyd Bettiga Gallery Opening dedication is scheduled for March 24 at 4pm.