BOARD OF TRUSTEES STUDY SESSION
M-TECK AT KIRTLAND - GAYLORD
Room 103, M-TECK at Kirtland - Gaylord
Members Present: Robert Bovee, Sally Galer, Richard Silverman, Roy Spangler, Patricia Webb, Roberta Werle
Members Absent: Jan Farmer
Others Present: Stacey Barnes, Jerry Boerema, Karen Brown, Mike Campbell, JoAnn Comerford, Bob Kasprzak, Kathy Koch, Ed Koliba, Doty Latuszek, Kathy Marsh, Joe Meadows, Patrick O’Rourke, Jeff Radcliffe, Charles Rorie, Tim Scherer, Dan Scow, Ron Sharp
Chair Sally Galer opened the session at
DISCUSSION OF TWO-YEAR ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTS
Charles Rorie, President, provided two memorandums to the
board of trustees. One was a rationale for two-year rolling,
administrative contracts with four concerns. Those concerns were
recruitment of qualified faculty and staff for administrative positions,
retention of most qualified existing administrative staff, stability, and
morale. The second memorandum was a survey summary of
Richard Silverman pointed to the community colleges that do not offer two-year roll-over administrative contracts and he acknowledged Charles Rorie’s rationale, but he questioned how is it working with the nine colleges that are not doing this, such as their turnover rate. He said that his concern is that the administration is under tremendous pressure to come in with a balanced budget. If they are off by 50-75 thousand dollars, getting rid of the dean of instruction will not balance the budget. What is compelling them to avoid bringing the board an unbalanced budget so that they will make cuts now with existing staff rather than look down the road? Is it feasible to eliminate an administrative position? Realistically it reduces the options. He asked whether his reasoning is fallacious.
Sally Galer did not agree. There are retirements allowing for combining of positions, which provide opportunities for options and flexibility. Roberta Werle replied that in that case, the college should offer it to everyone if stability is the goal. She said that stability should result from practices and procedures and good management. The philosophy of the organization should be to keep people as long as you can for the success of the organization.
Roy Spangler noted that state revenue projections have not
been met, with a series of cuts in state aid and no improvement anticipated
from
Discussion ensued that this was intended as a study session rather than a formal board meeting and with Jan Farmer absent, Sally Galer asked for it to be handled at another time. Since May 15 is the roll-over date, a suggestion was made to hold a special board meeting to handle this issue. Robert Bovee and Richard Silverman said that voting on the issue before May 15 is not a wise thing to do.
Silverman noted that six of the twelve colleges that have roll-overs have probationary periods of one year before being granted multi-year roll-overs, so there are other options to consider. Patricia Webb commented that taking away an existing benefit it is not a good example of trust which has been an ongoing issue. Richard Silverman responded that the trust comes from honest and open discussion.
Roberta Werle suggested deferring the issue until August. Roy Spangler reminded everyone of the layoffs back in the early 1990's and that we spent too much money this past year for buy-outs. His motion was withdrawn. Richard Silverman moved to take up the issue at a special meeting in August, supported by Roberta Werle.
Vote: Ayes, five Opposed, one Abstain, zero Absent, one
The motion was carried. It was agreed that Roberta Werle, Richard Silverman and Charles Rorie will research available options.
INTRODUCTIONS AND PUBLIC COMMENTS ON M-TECK AT KIRTLAND - GAYLORD
Doty Latuszek, Provost, introduced five guests, Bob Kasprzak, Executive Director of Gaylord Otsego Chamber of Commerce and Chair of M-TEC Governing Advisory Board (GAB); Jeff Ratcliffe, Executive Director, Otsego County Economic Alliance; Patrick O’Rourke, Student, M-TEC Carpentry Program; Mike Campbell, General Manager, Installation, Metal Fabrication, and Machine Building (IMM) in Grayling; and Dan Scow, Principal, Roscommon High School.
Each guest spoke of their experience with M-TEC at Kirtland-Gaylord. Bob Ksasprzak described M-TEC as a community resource that shows a progressive community that has invested in educational opportunities. It plays a significant role in economic development opportunities for attracting businesses to the area. Under-utilization of existing facilities is a short-term problem that the GAB intends to address with outreach to corporations. A long-term goal is meeting those ongoing education needs beyond the courses currently offered.
Jeff Ratcliffe spoke of global perspectives and what M-TEC represents which describes where we are now in a new economy that is changing constantly. Businesses are competing globally now which is still a fairly new trend. Workforce is a primary criteria for businesses to consider regarding location. Today’s competition requires a better trained workforce. An educational infrastructure is essential for economic development.
Patrick O’Rourke has undergone three changes of career and is currently a student at M-TEC in the carpentry program. He has learned a great deal working on real projects and involvement with Habitat for Humanity. There are five levels of carpentry training, and he has one level left for certification. He would like to see more emphasis on people who need to retrain and apprenticeship programs toward journeyman training.
Mike Campbell has hired some of our welding graduates. Lack of available resources led him to join the national guard in order to get training in skilled trades and he was most impressed with this facility’s learning modules. Later in his career he attended Kirtland for welding and recognized that the facility gives people of all ages opportunities to find careers. Work ethics, skills and desire and the most important things he looks for in an employee. He said M-TEC is an asset for the entire region and he would like to see it emphasized to high school students who do not want to go to college.
Dan Scow explained the program he has going on with eight to
ten students at a time coming to M-TEC to get a taste of vocational education
at their own pace using the lesson modules. He spoke of some specific success
stories with students from
M-TEC STUDY SESSION
Financial review
Ed Koliba, Chief Business and Finance Officer, provided a financial review of M-TEC including the initial investment through construction and equipment, college support and operating contributions. He also provided a budget report as of March 2005.
AQIP/M-TEC survey
Kathy Marsh provided a summary of the M-TEC survey of Kirtland staff. Her second handout was a letter from M-TEC staff to the AQIP team. The third handout was a group of questions those who were surveyed wanted answered about M-TEC. Those questions will be addressed by the AQIP Retooling Trust through Effective Communication committee which will develop a means for providing answers to the questions for everyone.
Programs and plans
Doty Latuszek provided a packet with factual knowledge as reminders as to when things happened, dates, square footage and timelines related to M-TEC. Unduplicated headcount of students majoring in programs over three years was listed. She noted that growth is predominantly in workforce development. Successful occupational programs inherently have difficulty obtaining graduates because they often find good jobs before finishing the program. She provided a copy of the employer needs survey that will be sent to regional employers.
Future directions
Charles Rorie expressed his recommendation to continue the commitment through development of a three- to four-year plan for the college. He said he is working on a draft set of domains for information that the plan should contain (plan the plan). At the planning workshop on June 16, he intends to bring the further developed draft to help decide what elements need to be a part of that plan and further refine and define a plan. Development of M-TEC will be a major part of that plan.
He expressed his mind-set that we have made a very significant investment in the M-TEC which has done very well as a start-up enterprise, and that we will find ways to grow the M-TEC that serves the college and the region. He believes in the future of M-TEC as a productive part of the college’s operation. Every step of planning will follow the guidelines of the Vision Mission and Guiding Principles with input from the board along the way to make sure the administration is following the future directions in line with the board’s intent.
Discussion
None
Adjournment
The study session concluded at
Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Koch
Recording Secretary