October 13, 2016 Minutes of Regular Meeting

The Board of Trustees of Illinois Valley Community College District No. 513 convened a regular session at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 13, 2016 in the Board Room (C307) at Illinois Valley Community College.

Members Physically Present

Melissa M. Olivero, Chair
Michael C. Driscoll, Vice Chair
Laurie A. Bonucci
Larry D. Huffman, Secretary
Jane E. Goetz
Everett J. Solon
Sarah J. Tipton, Student Trustee

Members Absent

David O. Mallery

Others Physically Present

Jerry Corcoran, President
Cheryl Roelfsema, Vice President for Business Services and Finance
Deborah Anderson, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Bonnie Campbell, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
Mark Grzybowski, Associate Vice President for Student Services
Walt Zukowski, Attorney

APPROVAL OF AMENDED AGENDA

It was moved by Dr. Driscoll and seconded by Dr. Huffman to approve the amended agenda, as presented.  Action Item 15 was changed to read – “Emergency Action – Request Permission to Join Community College Health Consortium (CCHC).”  Motion passed by voice vote.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

CAMPUS UPDATE – EMPLOYEE DEMOGRAPHICS REPORT

Glenna Jones, Director of Human Resources, presented IVCC’s demographics for fiscal year 2016 along with fiscal years 2014 and 2015.  She compared the percentages for each racial/ethnic group with IVCC’s district population, IVCC students, and IVCC employees.  In fiscal year 2016, new hires were White/non-Hispanic and predominantly female.  The top five recruiting sources were IVCC website (38.1%); No Response (17.5%); Other (14.3%); Local Newspapers (11.0%); and Friend/Relative (7.3%).  The “Other” category had comments such as Internet, CCJobnet, or Illinois Job Network, among others.  IVCC’s exposure for potential retirees based on spring 2016 data for full-time faculty – 50 out of 81 employees who have 10+ years of service and are age 45 or older and employees with 15 years of service and age 55 or above – 4 administrators, 19 faculty, and 21 support staff.  New information this year is a review of the highest degree attained by employees:  40 percent of the support staff have a bachelor’s or above; 18.5 percent of the faculty have a doctorate; and 75 percent of the administration has an earned a master’s or above.

CONSENT AGENDA

It was moved by Mr. Solon and seconded by Dr. Driscoll to approve the consent agenda, as presented.  Motion passed by voice vote. 

The following items were approved in the consent agenda:

Approval of Minutes – September 8, 2016 Board Meeting and September 28, 2016 Facilities Committee meeting

Approval of Bills - $2,465,997.68

Education Fund - $1,751,743.44; Operations & Maintenance Fund - $199,475.30; Operations & Maintenance (Restricted Fund) - $188,831.72; Auxiliary Fund - $211,572.41; Restricted Fund - $54,099.73; Audit Fund - $14,000.00; and Liability, Protection & Settlement Fund - $46,275.08

Personnel

Approved the stipends for pay periods ending September 3, 2016 and September 17, 2016

Bid Results – Simulaids SMART STAT Basic Patient Simulator

Accepted the bid from Global Technologies as the lowest, most responsible bid for a Simulaids SMART STAT Basic Patient Simulator in the amount of $9,791.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Dr. Corcoran reported Dean Bonnie Campbell recently received the good news that initial accreditation for the College’s Paramedic program is now in place through September of 2021. As a reminder, Phase 3 of the College’s major construction project not only included the new student center and cyber café, but also major improvements to the emergency medical services lab – a program that has great potential for enrollment growth, particularly because of the College’s partnership with the Area Career Center.  Dr. Anderson, her leadership team and the faculty worked closely with Chris Dvorak and the LaSalle County Regional Office of Education staff on last Friday’s Development Day program. With the focus being College and Career Readiness,  more than 300 educators across the district collaborated on a wide variety of subjects such as placement practices in English and math, fine arts articulation, flipped classrooms, dual credit, technology expectations, Common Core and assessment. Feedback on the overall program, particularly the breakout session arrangements coordinated by Adam Oldaker, Mike Phillips and Dan Serafini, was positive.  On the same day, Mark Grzybowski and his Student Services team continued the tradition of hosting a large number of counselors from 18 high schools in the district for our annual Counselors Connections development day program. Discussion topics included assisting undocumented students; a brush up on admission, financial aid, and scholarship-application processes; personnel updates; the rebirth of the College’s agriculture program; a report from the Assessment Task Force; and a snapshot of student life at IVCC.  Dr. Corcoran thanked Fran Brolley, Donna Swiskoski and Janice Corrigan for coordinating the 21^st Century Scholars program on September 15 where 23 of the most promising second-year students were recognized for their outstanding academic credentials and community-engagement activities. The Society includes 33 individuals and families that annually invest $500 in the College’s finest students and hear about their accomplishments.  In a similar way, Fran and his team did a wonderful job of orchestrating the annual Foundation Scholarship Recognition event two weeks later for 317 attendees (including 99 students) so that donors and those who have benefited because of their generosity could meet face-to-face – a relationship that, as the College’s friends Bill and Dian Taylor have reminded the administration, often lasts a lifetime.  Last week over 140 individuals participated in the College’s health screening program through Interactive Health Solutions (IHS), thanks to Glenna Jones and Paula Hallock. This is a great benefit to IVCC for a number of reasons and no doubt why IHS has on more than one occasion recognized IVCC as being one of the healthiest employers in the country.  IVCC has begun an arrangement with NIU whereby one of their Admissions representatives will be on campus in IVCC’s Counseling Center one day per month to help students move seamlessly from IVCC to NIU. The arrangement is a win-win because students take care of scheduling their own appointments and it’s not a drain on the College’s resources.  IVCC just promotes the partnership.  According to Mark, Crystal Credi must be doing a great job of promoting it because there is a full slate of folks taking advantage of the opportunity.

Included in this month’s board packet is a report from ISU regarding how well IVCC’s transfer students do after enrolling at ISU – a point the administration was pleased to emphasize to Senator Jason Barickman (ISU graduate) when he visited with SGA members, faculty and staff on October 4.  The next hall of fame induction ceremony is scheduled for Friday, November 18 with a social hour beginning at 6 p.m. and the program at 7 p.m. in the Cultural Centre. Board members were encouraged to mark their calendars for this event.  Dr. Corcoran reported there has been some discussion over the past two years about the possibility of community colleges someday being granted permission to offer a limited number of baccalaureate degrees in career fields, provided there was an unmet need in the district. The Council of Presidents issued a white paper on this subject in 2014 which has now been slimmed down to only focus on the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. This may come up at ICCTA meetings in the next few months and Dr. Corcoran wanted board members to be conversant on the subject. Thus, no action is being recommended at this time; tonight’s handout is simply for information.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

In the absence of Mr. Mallery, Dr. Huffman and Ms. Bonucci reported on the Facilities Committee meeting.  Three Protection, Health, and Safety (PHS) projects were presented at the meeting – 1) Building E Chiller/Air Handler Replacement; 2) Building G HVAC Controls; and 3) Building J Overhead Door Replacement.  Dr. Huffman noted descriptions of the three projects are included in the board book.  A recent bequest for approximately $400,000 will be dedicated to the upgrades in the Cultural Centre.  Dominick Demonica, IVCC’s architect, is very much aware of the sound system recently installed and will work with the sound system company so that whatever upgrades are made in the Cultural Centre will not diminish the quality of the sound system.  Ms. Bonucci would like to begin to investigate the possibility of private fundraising efforts for the restoration of the barn located on the IVCC campus.  The cost is estimated between $65,000 and $91,000.  Before proceeding with fundraising she wants to explore possible uses of the barn.  Could the barn be a part of the new agriculture program?  She would like to bring Willard Mott, agriculture program coordinator and instructor, into the discussion.  There is fundraising through the Foundation for scholarships and how does this fit into the picture?  Where does the cost outweigh the benefits and could private funds be used in other areas?  She will continue to investigate and report back to the Board.

Dr. Huffman reported on the Audit/Finance Committee meeting.  The results of the audit was “unqualified” meaning “clean.”  He referred to Page 69 of the Audit – Combined Schedule of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances for the whole College.  A further breakdown is on Page 70.  On Page 72 of the Audit is a combined schedule of the General Fund – Funds 1 and 2, Education and Operations and Maintenance Operational.  As a result of the State of Illinois failing to meet its financial obligations, IVCC ended the year with a deficit of not quite $1 million.  The State’s portion should have been approximately $1.7 million.  Dr. Huffman believes the administration and staff did a good job of managing the budget.  The Business Advice Letter from the auditors, Wipfli LLP, is just suggestions – 1) The College should adopt a policy on how salaried employees are paid – behind, current, or in advance.  2) One bank did not pledge sufficient collateral to cover a deposit of $1,100.  This was an oversight and it was recommended to check on this throughout the year.  Another report from the auditors is Communication with those Charged with Governance, previously called the Management Letter.  Two deficiencies were identified – 1) the fixed subledger is not in total agreement with the general ledger – a difference of $278,000 out of $80 million in assets.  The administration is addressing this issue and will continue until the two reconcile.  2) Under the Program Improvement Grant, equipment in the amount of $2,464 was purchased but not paid for prior to August 31 following the end of the fiscal year.   This was not in compliance with the Grant Administration Standards but will be watched carefully next year.  Dr. Huffman noted this was a tough year for IVCC and all of the Illinois community colleges, but IVCC should be proud of being debt free as very few colleges are and it is a very nice position to be in.

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PREPARATION OF THE 2016 TAX LEVY

It was moved by Mr. Solon and seconded by Dr. Driscoll to authorize Dr. Jerry Corcoran to begin preparing the 2016 tax levy.  Motion passed by voice vote.

PROTECTION, HEALTH, AND SAFETY PROJECTS FOR TAX YEAR 2016

It was moved by Dr. Huffman and seconded by Ms. Goetz to approve the three Protection, Health, and Safety projects (Building E Chiller/Air Handler Replacement, Building G HVAC Controls, and Building J Overhead Door Replacement) as presented for a combined total cost of $1,411,797, and authorize submission of the appropriate resolutions for each to the Illinois Community College Board.  Motion passed by voice vote.

FACULTY RESIGNATION – DR. REBECCA DONNA, CRIMINAL JUSTICEINSTRUCTOR AND PROGRAM COORDINATOR

It was moved by Ms. Goetz and seconded by Ms. Tipton to accept with regret the resignation of Dr. Rebecca Donna, Criminal Justice Instructor and Program Coordinator effective December 31, 2016.  Dr. Corcoran expressed his appreciation of all that Dr. Donna has done for the College.  The motion indicates her resignation, but she told Dr. Corcoran her intent is to retire.  Dr. Donna has provided 25 years of quality service to the College.  Motion passed by voice vote. 

CASH FARM #8842 LEASE RENEWAL – 2016 AND 2017

It was moved by Dr. Huffman and seconded by Mr. Solon to revise the lease with Chris Kolodziej to $350 per acre on 66 acres and $300 per acre for the remaining 83 acres for an annual lease payment of $48,000 for 2016.  Motion passed by voice vote.  It was moved by Dr. Huffman and seconded by Ms. Goetz to revise the lease with Mr. Kolodziej to $300 per acre for 149 acres for an annual lease payment of $44,700 for 2017. This agenda item was discussed at the Audit/Finance Committee meeting.  The Committee recognized that commodity prices have fallen and the recommended revised lease is a reasonable amount.  When the College entered into the agreement, Mr. Kolodziej was by far the highest bidder.  If Mr. Kolodziej thinks he can still afford to farm the land at the recommended price, Dr. Huffman believes it is reasonable.  Motion passed by voice vote. 

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES – PROJECT SUCCESS – LOCAL MATCH

It was moved by Ms. Goetz and seconded by Ms. Bonucci to approve the annual $10,000 transfer from the Education Fund (Fund 01) to Restricted Funds (Fund 06) for the Student Support Services grant for FY2017.  Motion passed by voice vote.

EMERGENCY ACTION – REQUEST PERMISSION TO JOIN COMMUNITY

It was moved by Ms. Goetz and seconded by Dr. Huffman to authorize the administration to join the Community College Health Consortium as of January 1, 2017, and provide the required 60-day notice of IVCC’s intent to terminate association with the Community College Insurance Cooperative as of January 1, 2017, contingent upon compliance with applicable State of Illinois Laws.  This was discussed at the Audit/Finance Committee meeting as an item of consideration.  IVCC will be entering into a consortium with more than twice the member headcount to spread the risk.  IVCC would only share in claims between $100,000 and $225,000.  Currently, the pooling point is $30,000.   Dr. Corcoran noted the insurance committee has met, checked references, and looked at what was best for all the employees.  Motion passed by voice vote.

TRUSTEE COMMENT

Ms. Olivero reported former IVCC student, Kaitlin Raineri, received a district Women in Business award at the Zonta fall conference.  She was nominated by Kim Radek and several faculty members.

CLOSED SESSION

It was moved by Dr. Driscoll and seconded by Mr. Solon to convene a closed session at 7:09 p.m. to discuss 1) the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body; 2) litigation; 3) collective negotiations; and 4) closed session minutes.  Motion passed by voice vote.

After a short break, the Board entered closed session at 7:15 p.m.  On a motion by Dr. Driscoll and seconded by Ms. Goetz, the regular meeting resumed at 8:10 p.m.  Motion passed by voice vote.