Fuentes looks especially grumpy. Wagner's here for his last meeting as trustee.
6:49: they're starting!
Actions taken in closed session: 7-0 vote, regrettably Dixie Bullock leaves us. 7-0 vote, rejected tort claim of Michelle A.
Invocation: Lang blathers about veterans, gratitude, how lucky we are.
Pledge of Allegiance
Resolution: for Dixie Bullock....our "deep appreciation".....
"Thanks so much," she says. Speaks of her appreciation. Fully expects to be called back at some point. Har har.
Resolution: for Don Wagner:
Gracious speech. Mentions meeting with "trustee-elect" Prendergast. (Evidently, he's clear that P won.)
7:02: Wagner explained his "goof" last time: ignoring the video re IVC's 25th Anniversary. Had no idea about the video! IVC Prez Glenn Roquemore comes up to try it again.
Video starts:
Cheerleaders: again, I hear 'em chanting, "Big boobs!" But my hearing ain't what it used to be.
No public comments.
BOARD REPORTS:
Bill Jay: Congrats, IVC, Don Wagner, Dixie Bullock, and three winners of the recent election.
John Williams: More congrats for Wagner. Congrats to Prendergast, others reelected.
Marcia Milchiker: Congrats to Don, Assembly race. Nancy, TJ Prendergast. Thanks all those who endorsed her. Notes that she was sworn in as trustee in 1985--when IVC became an autonomous college.
Nancy Padberg: Congrats to Wagner, assembly race. Will miss you tremendously. Congrats to Prendergast, Milch. Thanks supporters. Saddleback College's football team now #2 in the state. Big fan. Very proud.
Don Wagner: Congrats to Padberg and Milchiker. You guys have been "great." Spoke to "trustee-elect Prendergast." Look forward to watching you all go about your business. Thanks Bullock, an "absolute gem."
Tom Fuentes: Congrats to all. Happy Thanksgiving. (Very brief.)
Dave Lang: Congrats, etc. Saw IVC's "Bye Bye Birdie." Very talented cast, blah blah blah.
Student Trustee Eve Schieh: Congrats....
Bullock: her last board meeting. Thanks board for opportunity to serve. Has learned a great deal on this job. Has been meeting with Poertner. Explains how special this district is.
No trustee requests for reports.
8:25: Today's discussion: ARCC performance report per college. Bob Bramucci introduces IVC's Chris Tarman.
Tarman: goes through data. Quick summary: IVC has done "really well." ARCC report: impressed with "student learning." Presents various graphs, charts. The only measure in which we're below the average: course completion rate...blah blah blah.
Nicole Ortega: goes through data. Sounds good.
Marcia notes recognition of good job colleges are doing. Mentions that IVC has the state's highest transfer rate, with Saddleback College in third place. Jay also. Lang: asks college Prezes to comment. Tod Burnett carps (politely) about usefulness of ARCC data. Glenn Roquemore: we're not rich in cte (?) programs. (Technical ed, I think.) Hence the one low grade. Blah blah blah.
Tom Fuentes: maybe next year we can see the two colleges "side by side."Also: ESL. Improvement evidently can happen at both colleges. Speak to that. Burnett asks Nicole to come back up. Talks about coding of courses, which tends to be insensitive to improvement. Burnett: not a fair comparison. We need accurate data. Hopes that better data will be available. Roquemore: comparing the two colleges might be difficult because of complications in the data.
Fuentes: do we know how other districts utilize this info? Do they use it for "merit pay"? Burnett: nobody uses it for merit pay. Different district's use it differently. Fuentes: how do colleges/deans use it?
Blah, blah, blah.
"Interesting," but... |
5.8 concerns "community ed." Audit report says $188,000 deficit on the books in community ed at IVC? Really?
IVC VPI Craig Justice: most of the revenue for Spring doesn't come in until August. Each course makes money. Difficulties arise with overhead expense. The situation is improving. Stiff competition with City of Irvine. The other fee-based programs--contract ed, testing center--make a profit. When you consider all of the fee-based programs, the deficit shrinks dramatically. Each year, the deficit is shrinking.
Wagner: no, the auditors say it is not shrinking. There was a recent 50% increase. "You're at odds with our auditor. Why?" Wagner: Saddleback College not running deficit? Nope. Wagner looks at Justice.
Roquemore: our community ed program has been in deficit going two presidents back. We've made many attempts to become solvent. We considered dropping it a couple of years ago. When that was floated, it became clear that a long line of seniors would show up at the board meetings, complaining bitterly. So we took another tack. I'm under the impression that the situation is improving. If that's not the case, we'll "reengage." We have attempted to get ahead of it.
Lang: overhead burden? How is that determined? Justice: blah, blah, blah.
Fuentes: you said that city of Irvine offers competitive courses. Why would we be in competition with a local group? If we don't need to provide it, why do we do so? This is an era in which we have to look everywhere to save....
Looking for booby traps |
Jay: way back when, there were philosophical difference between IVC and Saddleback. Jay championed "credit" courses at Emeritus. Ed Hart preferred non-credit for seniors, etc. Maybe things are different now.
Burnett: in some ways, things have changed. Community ed is very valuable and vibrant. But community ed is different from Emeritus. These programs are under fire from the state.
Jay: courses such as "Getting inside your pets head"--that kind of program. "Very interesting stuff," but maybe not appropriate.
Wagner: I'm looking at these IVC courses, and each course seems to make money. Salary is more than paid for by fees collected. So why not profitable? Justice: it's overhead. Bullock: you might want to look at honoraria (salary); very different at the two colleges.
Lang: do we need to pass this tonight? Do we have time?
Justice: yes, timing is a serious issue. Publication can be delayed. Will jeopardize marketing, thus revenues. My recommendation: move forward. Let's address this in a multi-year plan. Move for approval.
Matter carries. A short break is called.
6.1 Grant, IVC, $530,000. Fuentes: what happens after the three years? Roquemore: with staffing? Blah blah blah. Carries unanimously.
6.2 Reorganization of IVC. Unanimous.
6.3 Faculty hiring, IVC. Unanimous.
6.4 Board policies. Marcia asks why "board of trustees" crossed out in board policy for board code of ethics. Passes unanimously.
6.5 Board policy revisions. Unanimous.
That Pesky IVC Dean Position:
6.6 SOCCCD Academic Personnel actions. Two things pulled: A1a & B1 pulled (by Wagner on recommendation of Chancellor). Was an issue in my election, and Padberg/Milchiker elections, said Wagner. So was pulled last time(?)
A1a: dean of academic programs. Kathleen Wurle. Was contentious. (This is the dean position proposed last summer amid controversy. When, a few weeks ago, Wagner learned that Wendy G. was not forwarded to the final interviews in the search process, he went ballistic and seems to have gone after Roquemore ever since.)
Something that was pulled, owing to citizen complaints(?). We'd be in bad faith, says Don, if we were to put it right back immediately after the election!
Wagner said, I think, administration (chancellor) asks these to be pulled: B1 also. So Wagner wants to comply. Turns out Burnet and Co. have no problem with B1. Lang asks, Is this a case of board leadership arbitrarily pulling something recommended by the colleges? Wagner says: you did this yourself when board Prez--you and Raghu. Lang says, "never happened." Wagner: you sure did. Lang looks pissed. Wagner is determined. He moves forward.(The name Marla Scroat comes up.)
Passes unanimously, with those two positions pulled. Will they be back in December?
6.7 SOCCCD Classified personnel. Some things pulled. (?) Unanimous.
6.8 Employee agreement (contract) for Poertner. Unanimous.
8.0 Reports from governance groups:
More congrats. Blah blah blah
Lewis Long: Union will be hosting "meet your trustees" party. Hope you'll show up (he says to trustees).
8:54 -- adjourned.
A slightly weird meeting, with Wagner often making little references to his unpopularity. Listens oddly while some offer praise and appreciation. Pretty uncomfortable. But some moments of genuine warmth, it seems. Mixed bag.
Unless Prendergast is the biggest asshole in the world (not likely!), things are bound to improve, starting December. We hear that Williams will bail in January. If that happens, board meetings will become positively unsulfurous.
Well, almost.
See also Board of Trustees Meeting Highlights
2 comments:
ha ha ha - keep it comin'!
The Board talks about Saddleback's football program. Did any of the Trustees say how proud they were that IVC Women's Golf Team recently won the State Championship?
It would make my day when the Gauchos feel the ouchos.
p.s. Its been a long time since i have heard someone use the word "yammers" heheehe
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