Merced Community College District Board of Trustees meeting held August 7, 2007

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1 Merced Community College District Board of Trustees meeting held August 7, Public Session Call to Order The Board President (Robert Haden) called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the Board Room at the Tri-College Center on the main campus in Merced. 2. Closed Session Items The Board President referenced the items to be presented during closed session then closed the meeting to the public. The closed session items are listed below. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE/DISMISSAL/RELEASE APPEAL OF DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT FINDING CONFERENCE WITH DISTRICT LABOR NEGOTIATOR, Benjamin T. Duran, to discuss negotiations with CSEA Chapter 274 NEGOTIATIONS WITH UNREPRESENTED EMPLOYEES, Deans, Government Code Resume Public Session The public session reconvened at 6:02 p.m. Dr. Duran led the Pledge of Allegiance. The oath of office was administered to the new Student Trustee, Arthur Emus, by Board Clerk, Lew Braxton. Members Present: Robert Haden, Jinet Troost, Lew Braxton, Eva delong, Jim Glidden, Les McCabe Members Absent: Eugene J. Vierra Others Present: Benjamin T. Duran, John Spevak, Anne Newins, Larry Johnson, Mike Cuchna, Lee Anne Hobbs (Faculty Senate), Robert Vincelette, Caroline Dawson (MCFA), Wilma Prine (Classified Senate), Richard Zeunges (CSEA), Stacey Kellner (Recording Secretary) 4. Hearing of the Public Terry Ruscoe addressed the Board to thank them and Administration for his 13 years of employment at Merced College. He stated it is a great place to work and learn. 5. Additions and/or Changes to the Agenda The Board President announced from closed session that the Board unanimously approved and adopted Administration s decision regarding an appeal of a discrimination complaint finding. Also, an addendum to the Personnel Schedule was distributed.

2 6. Presentations a. Workplace Learning Resource Center Results Summary for Fiscal Year Dr. Spevak introduced Robert Vincelette, Director of Workplace Learning Resource Center. Robert shared the Workplace Learning Resource Center has been awarded their grant again for another 5 years at $205,000 each year. They earned 33 credit FTES and 21 non-credit FTES this last school year which equaled $138,000. This last year a total of $252,000 income was generated and 152 companies and 2,808 students/employees were served. Robert stated the program received the Contract Sales Award at the Economic Development Conference for increasing their sales by 15%. The Board was informed of a customer service academy class being offered in Modesto for the public sector. He thanked the District for their support of the program and for the new Business Resource Center. 7. Consideration of Consent Agenda MSCU (Glidden/Braxton) to approve the consent agenda as summarized below. a. Minutes for Meetings held June 19, 2007 b. Contracts as Summarized on Schedule c. Workplace Learning Resource Contract Summary on Schedule d. Warrants, Payroll Registers and Trip Requests as Summarized on Schedule e. Resolutions through 08-06, Intrabudget Transfers f. Resolutions through 08-15, Use of Unbudgeted Funds g. Personnel Schedule h. Permission to Sell / Donate / Discard District Equipment as Listed on Schedule i. Donations * 18 paperback and hardback books in Spanish * 29 paperback and hardback books on the subjects of art, calligraphy, visual display * 2 books on teaching * 25 paperback books * 2 local history books, 1 California history book, 1 book by a local author, 1 fiction book, 2 classic films on DVD * 3 books on history * 4-6 Sun servers, 50+ SCSI hard drives, power supply, and miscellaneous electronics j. Purchase Orders as Summarized on Schedule 08-06

3 8. To the Board for Discussion and/or Action a. Recommended Approval of Change Orders for District Construction Projects MSCU (Glidden/Braxton) to approve the change orders for district construction projects. Trustee Troost asked who the project manager is over these projects as she has some concerns with the costs, if damages done by contractors or other companies are being repaired at their expense, and if the entire issue requiring a change order is being addressed. Dr. Johnson responded by saying each project has its own project manager and each change order is unique, so he would be unable to offer a blanket statement in response to all of the change orders listed. Trustee Troost asked about CO #66 and CO #2 specifically. Dr. Johnson stated the larger issue of the roof in CO #66 has been addressed and fixed. Marvin Smith stated that for CO #2, the college did go back to the party responsible for the damage and they are paying the cost of repair. Trustee Troost requested in the future to have the bigger picture information included on the change order and if we are still within budget for the project. b. Recommended Approval of Delegation of Authority for Conducting Public Bid for Property Sale Dr. Johnson reminded the Board of the discussion regarding the first phase of selling the 10 acres of property in Los Banos that took place at the June 19, 2007, meeting. At that meeting, the Board directed Administration to ask for a good faith deposit on the property from Merced County Office of Education (MCOE), which would hold the property for them until their funding was approved. Dr. Johnson shared with the Board he had spoken with and received a letter from Lee Andersen, Merced County Superintendent of Schools, which stated they withdrew their request to purchase the Los Banos property due to the requirement of a non-refundable deposit. With MCOE s request withdrawal the college must conduct a public auction to sell the property. Dr. Duran stated he had also spoken with Lee Andersen regarding the Board s request of deposit on the property. He informed Dr. Duran MCOE was looking into other properties and a non-refundable deposit was not something they could do. Dr. Johnson clarified with the Board they will have final approval of the highest bid from the public auction. The public auction is scheduled for Tuesday, September 4, 2007, at 12:30 p.m. in the Administration Building Conference Room at the main campus in Merced. The highest bid will be brought to the Board meeting scheduled for that same evening.

4 Trustee Troost asked how the public would be made aware of this auction. Dr. Johnson responded by saying it will be published weekly in local newspapers and anyone who may be interested in the property, such as developers, will be sent bid packets. MSCU (Glidden/Braxton) to approve delegation of authority for conducting a public bid for property sale to Dr. Johnson. 9. To the Board for Information a Budget Update Dr. Duran provided the latest State Budget Update from the Community College League of California. At this time, there is no change in the status of the State budget. b. Report on Basic Skills Initiative Dr. Spevak reported he received a letter from the Chancellor s Office which states Merced College s allocation is $600,000 as well as ongoing dollars for participation in the Basic Skills Initiative. It has been reported 80% of students nationwide come to community colleges needing basic skills development. Dr. Spevak, Dr. Newins, and Lee Anne Hobbs have developed four teams, each led by a faculty member. The first meeting of the team leads was held on July 18, On August 9, 2007, the team leads and team members will meet to begin the assessment process. The teams plan to have a draft plan to the Board in December Discussion followed regarding the integration of basic skills into vocational classes. Dr. Spevak stated all classes will be affected by this initiative and our vocational and transfer areas are working together on this. 10. Information & Questions a. From Board Members Trustee Troost welcomed the new Student Trustee and shared the CNA graduation last night was wonderful. There were 27 graduates. Trustee McCabe welcomed Joe Bisinger in his new role at the college. Trustees delong, Glidden, Braxton and Haden all welcomed the new Student Trustee and are looking forward to the new school year. Student Trustee Arthur Emus shared he is excited to sit on the Board representing ASMC and he feels there are good students involved with ASMC this year. Arthur shared his college background and added when he began to research Radiology Technician programs at community colleges in California, he was told numerous times Merced College had the best program, which is why he chose to come here.

5 At this time in the meeting Trustee delong excused herself and left for another engagement. b. From Faculty Senate Lee Anne Hobbs asked that the resolution passed last spring by Faculty Senate which calls for faculty to be called professors be supported and respected. The Faculty Senate s first meeting will be held on August 23, Lee Anne reported she has met with both Dr. Duran and Dr. Spevak at least one time each month which has been valuable in keeping the communication open with administration. c. From Faculty Association Caroline Dawson introduced herself as the interim President of MCFA and stated they will be holding elections early in the year for all offices. d. From Classified Senate Wilma Prine shared the next meeting of Classified Senate will be at the end of August. Parking permit dispensers will be on their agenda due to a number of students voicing issues with them. e. From CSEA Richard Zeunges reported negotiations with administration are occurring over the next few weeks. f. From Management Team No one present to report. g. Superintendent's Report Dr. Duran reminded the Board of the following upcoming events: Fall semester begins Monday, August 13, 2007 New faculty orientation will be held Wednesday, August 8 and Thursday, August 9, 2007 Convocation and the back-to-school barbecue will be held on Friday, August 10, Convocation will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Theater and the barbecue will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the area near the Administration Building amphitheater. The east wing of the Science Building is being occupied now and the west wing of the building will be fully occupied by mid-september. If any Board members would like a tour, one will be arranged through Dr. Johnson for this Friday. Summer enrollment was 3,172 students. As of last week, the headcount for fall semester was up 2% from last year.

6 Dr. Lakireddy is asking for consideration to have the Dr. Lakireddy School of Medicine name included on the diplomas given by Merced College. Dr. Duran shared samples of what the diplomas may look like and asked the Board for direction. The Education Code states nothing in regard to diplomas. The Board was not in favor of making this change to the diplomas. The October Board meeting falls during the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute taking place in Washington, DC which Dr. Duran will be attending. He asked the Board if they wanted to move the meeting date or if they felt the Vice Presidents could represent administration for that meeting. The Board concluded the meeting date did not need to be moved. 11. From the Board for Possible Action a. Naming of Campus Facility in Honor of De Merino This item was dropped from the agenda as the Board Policy states a person must be retired for two years before consideration can be made of naming a campus facility after said individual. Dr. Duran will speak with Trustee delong regarding this matter so she is aware of what the policy states. b. IAC Noise and Sewer Drain Issues Trustee Glidden stated he has spoken with Dr. Johnson and Rick Souhrada regarding these issues and his questions have been answered. 12. Future Discussion Items from Board Members Trustee Braxton would like a study to occur to ascertain if the governance model that Merced College is using is the most effective. Trustee Haden would like a report from the architect regarding the choice of landscaping for future projects to ensure they are keeping in mind water sensitivity issues. The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m. Approved Secretary to the Board of Trustees