The «Ƶ Board of Trustees met for its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 27th. A Public Hearing on Proposed 2024-2025 Operating Budget and Proposed Tax Rate was held prior to the meeting, but there was no public comments so the hearing was adjourned.
President’s Report
In the president’s report, Dr. Ron Clinton said that the fall 2024 semester is officially underway and he was pleased to report a preliminary enrollment increase of approximately 6.5% over fall 2023. This includes an increase of about 15% in dual credit student enrollments.
“While it is still very early, we are happy to see enrollment trending upward. While our new HB8 funding model doesn’t correlate as directly to enrollment numbers as it did in the past, an increase is students is a very good sign that we are moving in the right direction,” Clinton said.
He also reported that the college’s application to TCOLE that seeks to establish a police department at «Ƶ is moving along quickly. He credited Russell Radke, Police Chief, and others for their work on the complex application.
Clinton mentioned that the 2024-2025 Whatley Center season schedule was recently published with a variety of entertainment options. He also reported that the «Ƶ Foundation received $12,828 in donations for June and $29,311 in donations for July.
Action Items
In action items, the Board approved the consent agenda before considering the approval of the college’s 2024-2025 Operating Budget. Dr. Clinton presented a balanced budget of $23,187,921, which is an increase of 4.31% over the 2023-2024 Operating Budget. He was pleased to announce that state appropriations went up under the new funding model projections. The presented budget included a 4% across-the-board raise for «Ƶ employees. Clinton said the budget also included adding almost $500,000 to the college’s reserve fund.
Trustee Russell East commented that he appreciated the level of detail provided during the budgeting process by Brandi Cave, «Ƶ Vice President for Administrative Services, and the rest of the administrative team. The operating budget was approved unanimously.
Next on the agenda, the Board considered Adoption of the 2024-2025 Tax Rate. Dr. Clinton presented a proposed tax rate of 11 cents per $100 of property valuation. This the same total tax rate that was adopted in 2023-2024. The Board approved the tax rate unanimously.
The Board then approved a resolution for a Camp County property suit that would allow a buyer to purchase a vacant property that had been struck-off the tax rolls. The Board tabled an item that called for the approval of an Easement Agreement for Transmission Lines with Prairie Branch Solar LLC after Trustee Kerry Wootten noted that he had some questions about details in the contract.
They also approved a minor change to Local Policy DL that brings the college into compliance with Education Code 51.3525, which addresses diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
Personnel Action
In personnel action, the Board approved releasing the contracts of the following: a College Navigator, Director of Computer and Enterprise Services and Director of Student Development and Inclusion. The following individuals were approved for employment:
- Two Assistant Soccer Coach / Assistant Housing Directors: Abbie Rutledge and Dillon Williams
- Assistant Baseball Coach / Assistant Housing Director: Trent Touchet
- Director of EMS: William “Tom” Craft
- Faculty Member in Funeral Services: Jennifer Lares
- Two Faculty Members in Nursing: Kristi Newland and Jami Baker
There was no executive session required so the meeting was adjourned.
