---

Published on 8/7/2024.

Regular Board Meeting on August 6, 2024

Comments/Board Business
Land Acknowledgement:  President of the Board Dr. Robertson read the District's land acknowledgement recognizing our area's Indigenous Peoples as the original stewards of the land that College of the Redwoods occupies. 

We acknowledge that the land on which we are gathered today is unceded territory of the Wiyot, Hupa, Karuk, Mattole, Tolowa, Wailaki, and Yurok. We honor them and all neighboring tribes by our ongoing commitment to developing trusting, reciprocal, and long-lasting partnerships.
Comments/Board Business

General Public Comments:  Community member and former CR employee Bill Connors provided public comment related to Measure I. He comments focused on: 1) the lack of follow-up with community members requesting additional bond information; and 2) the rationale for building student affordable housing.

Member Comments: Trustee Pedrotti, Trustee Dr. Robertson, and Trustee Dr. Mullery commented that they attended the police academy graduation ceremony. Trustee Dr. Mullery further commented that she appreciated how important the Bruce Emad scholarship is to police academy graduates. Trustee Dr. Mullery and Trustee Dorn mentioned that they attended the special meeting of the Foundation Board. Trustee Biggin mentioned that she attended some virtual meetings of the Board of Governors and enjoyed the conversation related to artificial intelligence and ChatGPT.

Board Committee Reports: Trustee Dorn reported that the President's Evaluation Ad Hoc Committee revised the president's job description. The job description has been forwarded to Human Resources to include in the appropriate HR physical and electronic files. Trustee Mathews noted that the Ad Hoc Committee for Policy and Procedures finalized its work. Trustee Pedrotti outlined the work completed by the Measure I Bond Executive Committee.
Consent Calendar Action Items

Approve/Ratify Personnel Actions: Four new classified staff have been added to our college community. Please join me in welcoming Victoria Barron (Instructional Support Specialist III – Lab Tech), Gene Culbertson (Maintenance Specialist III – HD Mechanic), Daniela Benitez (Early Childhood Education Assistant I), and Paul Fukunaga (Early Childhood Education Assistant I) to College of the Redwoods. We also welcome ten new associate faculty members to our faculty ranks for fall 2024: Brain Barraza (Chemistry), Tyler Gibson (Nursing Clinical & HCA), Macaela Harris (Physical Education), Emily Lavrador (English), Cassandra Rustvold (Psychology), Liam Salcuni (History), Abigail Smithson (Art), Mathew Whiteley (Art), Rick Willems (Psychology), and Rachel Wilson (Non-credit/Psychology).

I am very thankful that the Board took action at this meeting to approve the change in employee status for several of our colleagues: Ryan Bisio from Assistant Director of Athletic Programs .50 FTE to Assistant Director of Athletic Programs .80 FTE, Hart Mendenhall from Financial Aid Processing Specialist to Enrollment Services Operations Analyst, Courtney Sousa from Enrollment Services Advisor to Manager of Registration Services, Jason White from strong workforce funded Professor Physical Education, Kinesiology, Recreation, Athletics, and Head Football Coach to tenured track Professor, Physical Education, Kinesiology, Recreation, Athletics, and Head Football Coach, Jason Brewer from Assistive Technology and Media Specialist .86 FTE to Assistive Technology and Media Specialist 1.0 FTE, Linda Phelps from Instructional Support Specialist II .59 FTE to Instructional Support Specialist II .69 FTE, Sandor Turke from Instructional Support Specialist II .59 FTE to Instructional Support Specialist II .69 FTE, and Eric Wright from Student Development Advisor-Athletics .50 FTE to Student Development Advisor-Athletics .80 FTE.

While we welcome new colleagues, we will also say goodbye to others. The Trustees ratified my acceptance of Caitlin Porter's resignation as our Early Childhood Education Assistant I and the retirement of Tiffany Schmitcke as our Director of Admissions and Financial Aid effective October 25, 2026. I want to thank Tiffany years of wonderful service with the District and for providing us with a two-year notice of her decision to retire. Announcing her intention to retire in 2026 allows us time to prepare the institution for her departure. I do not intend to replace Tiffany's Director of Admissions and Financial Aid position. Over the next year, I will take steps to restructure the department into two functions—Admissions and Financial Aid. The Board's approval of the employee change of status for Hart Mendenhall to the Enrollment Services Operations Analyst position and Courtney Sousa to Manager of Registration Services represents two steps in that restructuring plan.

Action/Discussion Items

Approve Monthly Financial Status Report: This month's report covered July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 or 100% of the fiscal year. Key takeaways from our report this month are:

• Prop 30 EPA Revenue budget was adjusted down to reflect what has been received, while State Apportionment has been adjusted upward with the assumption that the State's General Fund will backfill the difference.
• While there was an 8.74% deficit factor when the Period 2 (P2) Apportionment Report was published on June 19, 2024, the Chancellor's Office is confident the deficit factor will diminish to 0% eventually. Therefore, we are currently reflecting a small deficit factor of 1.775%.
• Salaries have been higher than anticipated due to Faculty Overload and Associate Faculty salary actuals exceeding budgeted amounts. To account for this additional expense, the salary budget has been increased.
• Fixed, Other Operating, and Capital Outlay Expense budgets have been adjusted to reflect anticipated actuals. 
• Unrestricted General Fund revenues and expenses will continue to be adjusted as the Business Office works through the year-end closing process. Final 2023-24 figures will be reported to the Chancellor's Office in the 311 Annual Financial and Budget Report.
• Our transfers out are comprised of $90,000 to the Child Development Center, $74,720 to the Shively Farm, $750,000 to the OPEB fund (May be diverted to Capital Outlay), and $500,000 to our Debt Service fund for a total of $1,414,720. 
• As a result of the revenue and expense budget adjustments, the monthly financial status report shows a projected 2023-24 Unrestricted General Fund ending fund balance of $7,223,268, or 16.6% of Unrestricted General Fund expenditures.

Ratify Vice President of Instruction/Student Development Contract--Dr. Crystal Morse: I implemented an organizational restructuring on July 1, 2024 that combined the Vice President of Student Services and Vice President of Instruction positions into a single Vice President of Instruction and Student Development (VPISD) position with the resignation of the former Vice President of Instruction. Also on July 1, 2024, I entered into a two-year contract (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026) with Dr. Crystal Morse to have her serve as our VPISD.

We are required, because of a change in Government Code, to include all employment contracts (or amendments to employment contracts) for Vice Presidents in regular meetings of the Board and reflected in the minutes. In keeping with the Government Code, I asked the Board to ratify the two-year contract with Dr. Crystal Morse. The salary and fringe benefits included in the contract includes: A salary of Range 136 Step 14 of the Administrator/Manager Salary Schedule (currently $221,894.40) annually to be paid monthly in equal installments; annual step increases commensurate with the position and the COLA included in the Governor's State Budget Act; the ability to earn twenty (20) days of annual vacation with pay, exclusive of holidays; medical coverage, dental coverage, vision coverage, life insurance and disability insurance at the same level provided to administrators of the District; an annual car allowance of $2,400; and an annual doctoral stipend of $1,500.

Informational Reports

Recognitions: In this agenda item, I recognizedKatrina Hanson and Marty Coelho for their support of the Basic Needs Center. I also recognized Charles Reed, Travis Ammer, and Jonathan Webster for creating and installing the new signs honoring the Wiyot Tribe and the new parking lot signs on the Eureka Campus as well as Samantha Broadstock, Christina Morse, and Shawn Murphy for representing College of the Redwoods in the Fortuna AutoXpo parade on July 26, 2024.
Acknowledgement of Dr. Tom Jackson: Tom Jackson's tenure as President of Cal Poly Humboldt will end on August 11. I included a recognition of his partnership with College of the Redwoods in his board agenda. It is my pleasure to include that recognition in this blog summary.

It is with a mix of profound appreciation and gratitude and sadness that my dear friend and colleague, Tom Jackson, will step down as President of Cal Poly Humboldt on August 11, 2024. Dr. Jackson's vision and dedication have been pivotal in creating a solid alliance between College of the Redwoods and Cal Poly Humboldt. We've achieved what the California public higher education system always strove for—a true synergic partnership between a community college and a university.

I will remember fondly our time traveling the county together for our Talk Humboldt radio show. These opportunities we had talking to people, learning about their businesses and their needs and goals, gave us valuable insights into our community and, I believe, made us both better leaders. Our partnership on the new, state-of-the-art Healthcare Hub in Arcata will transform healthcare in our area, becoming the epicenter of healthcare education on the North Coast and training thousands of professionals in the coming years. I want to list a few additional initiatives that resulted from the College of the Redwoods/Cal Poly Humboldt collaboration.

• We formed the Joint Native American Advisory Council (JNAAC). JNAAC is a partnership between CR, Cal Poly Humboldt, and thirteen local Tribal Nations that supports mutually beneficial partnerships focused on more fully and effectively serving the diverse higher education needs of Native students. 
• We created joint land acknowledgement statements.
• We established a formal partnership between Cal Poly Humboldt, CR, and the Hoopa Valley Tribe to strengthen the educational experience and cultural relevance for Hoppa Tribal members attending both CR and Cal Poly Humboldt.
• We established a formal relationship with CR and Cal Poly Humboldt for the purposes of collaboration and partnering on joint academic programs, admissions, intercollegiate athletics, housing, campus safety, and a commitment to engage discussion on additional partnership opportunities.
• We agreed to work together to identify mutually agreed upon Cal Poly Humboldt STEM degree programs for Guaranteed Admission. This articulation agreement sought to ensure that the transfer of general education credits and core curriculum courses satisfy requirements at both institutions.
• We developed a reverse transfer initiative that applied to students who earned at least 30 semester credit hours from CR and have earned at least 40 credit hours at Cal Poly Humboldt. We agreed to identify a person to serve as the liaison for the initiative who is knowledgeable about the Reverse Transfer Program, share student transcripts in a manner that is compliant with FERPA, and establish and follow an annual timeline for which procedures and communications regarding how the program will be carried out.
• We created a Nursing Co-Enrollment initiative that established a (CR) Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) to a Cal Poly Humboldt Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) collaborative program to offer a streamlined, efficient, and seamless pathway for CR ADN students to transfer to the Cal Poly Humboldt nursing program to complete a BSN degree.
• We collaborated on forming men's wrestling programs at both institutions.
• We partnered to create CR and Cal Poly Humboldt intercollegiate rodeo teams. 
• We signed a MOU with Blue Lake Rancheria and Charles Darwin University (CDU) that established a framework to enhance relationship and friendship, and to develop academic and cultural exchanges in learning, teaching, and research activities.

I appreciate how successful Dr. Jackson was in shepherding the former Humboldt State University into the third Cal Poly in the state, a significant achievement that has set the stage for even greater opportunities for our students and community.

Dr. Jackson's legacy will continue to inspire CR as we carry forward the spirit of cooperation he championed. While we will miss his leadership and humor, we know his influence will be felt for years to come.

I look forward to continuing the partnership between CR and Cal Poly Humboldt. 

Summary of Enrollment by Modality: Our EMP calls on us prepare for complex and foundational shifts that will require our institution to be more agile, more relevant, and more responsive to the needs of the communities we serve and the students who trust us with their education. To answer this call, we set a guideline of 60% in-person and 40% virtual course scheduling modality mix coming out COVID. I provided a brief breakdown of the number and percentage of courses offered via three modalities--in-person, hybrid, and online (see below). It is important to note the following:

• The section counts and percentages for fall 2024 is approximate based on the current schedule and the data will change the closer the District gets to the start of the semester. 
• Hybrid is defined as any course with two or more section methods where at least one record is defined as online/distance education and at least one record is not defined as such.
• An In Person course is defined as any course where the section method is not defined as online/distance education as above.
• The data does not include Community Education courses.

Year	Term	Totals	Count				Percent
			In- Person	Hybrid	Online	Online or Hybrid	In- Person	Hybrid	Online	Online or Hybrid
2020- 2021	Summer	81	7	0	74	74	8.6%	0.0%	91.4%	91.4%
	Fall*	560	460	6	94	100	82.1%	1.1%	16.8%	17.9%
	Spring	561	138	5	418	423	24.6%	0.9%	74.5%	75.4%
2021- 2022	Summer	91	17	1	73	74	18.7%	1.1%	80.2%	81.3%
	Fall	636	340	41	255	296	53.5%	6.4%	40.1%	46.5%
	Spring	637	345	22	270	292	54.2%	3.5%	42.4%	45.8%
2022- 2023	Summer	105	37	1	67	68	35.2%	1.0%	63.8%	64.8%
	Fall	663	412	32	219	251	62.1%	4.8%	33.0%	37.9%
	Spring	706	466	24	216	240	66.0%	3.4%	30.6%	34.0%
2024- 2025	Summer	151	67	2	82	84	44.4%	1.3%	54.3%	55.6%
	Fall	664	438	26	200	226	66.0%	3.9%	30.1%	34.0%

Organizational Reports

Academic Senate: For her first meeting with the Board of Trustees, President Erin Wall noted that one key issue the Academic Senate will deal with next year has to do with curriculum. She also provided a wonderful dessert for the Trustees other meeting attendees to celebrate her first meeting with the Board.

Management Council (MC): In her written report to the Board, President Morgan Solem welcomed Jose Serrano, Assistant Director, Human Resources & Payroll to the Management Council and noted that three Management Council members Amber Cavanaugh, Leigh Dooley, and Morgan Solem graduated from the 2024 Leadership Redwood Coast Program on July 12, 2024. For those of you unfamiliar with this professional development program, Leadership Redwood Coast is a regional leadership fellowship program designed to empower diverse individuals in Humboldt, Del Norte, and adjacent Tribal lands. It focuses on building leadership skills, fostering connections, and addressing regional challenges through hands-on experiences and conversations with local leaders.
In her verbal comments, Morgan also welcomed Courtney Sousa to the Management Council.

Student Trustee Aerielle Alaniz: Student Trustee Aerielle Alaniz shared that she attended the student trustee workshop this past weekend.

Administrative Reports

President/Superintendent Report: In my written report, I noted several key takeaways from the 2024 Budget Act including:

• The enacted budget draws on reserves and operational savings to bring the overall budget in balance. 
• The enacted budget includes about $143 million in ongoing adjustments to the Student-Centered Funding Formula (SCFF), of which $100 million is for a 1.07% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Another $13 million is provided for the same COLA for selected categorical programs along with $28 million for enrollment growth.
• Funds to expand nursing program capacity and to implement a low-income workers demonstration project in 2024-25 are now earmarked to be funded through reallocation of funds from the Strong Workforce Program.
• Related to the community colleges, the Proposition 98 framework defers $446.4 million from the SCFF for 2023-24 to 2024-25; defers $243.7 million from the SCFF for 2024-25 to 2025-26; uses $545.9 million from the PSSSA to support apportionment costs; and uses $241.8 million from the PSSSA to support a 2022-23 categorical program deferral in 2023-24.

My written report also noted that that I accepted an Academic Affairs Task Force recommendation to restructure the academic divisions. The recommendation involves separating Dr. Blakemore's current division into two separate academic divisions each led by a dean and strategically realigning a small number of academic programs among the four deans to optimize resources and expertise. This will bring the total number of deans to four, including Rory Johnson and Jessica Howard. I also decided, in consultation with the task force, to centralize course scheduling, assessment, and program review directly under Vice President Dr. Crystal Morse. I believe that this centralization will provide the deans with the time they need to rebuild faculty connections, enhance faculty support, focus on strategic transformational leadership of the District, and continue collaborating with Cal Poly Humboldt. I thanked Kerry Mayer (Chair of the Task Force), Peter Blakemore, Rory Johnson, Crystal Morse, Alia Dunphy, and Erin Wall for serving on the task force and recommending an innovative academic structure that will prepare the College for the future, encourage innovation, and live up to the spirit of our EMP. 

I have asked Dr. Morse and the deans to discuss the specifics of the academic divisional structure with the faculty when they hold their division meetings during convocation. I also asked Dr. Morse to discuss the structure with the Academic Senate in September. My hope is to conduct a national search for one of the two dean positions in the fall for a spring semester start date and the second dean position in the spring for a June start date.

I also recognized several religious holidays and other celebrations in the month of August:

• August 12-13 Tisha B'Av as the annual fast day in Judaism, on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
• August 15 Feast of the Assumption of Mary as a Catholic celebration of Mary's assumption into heaven at the end of her earthly life.
• August 26 Krishna Janmashtami as a Hindu celebration of the birth of Krishna.
• August 9 International Day of the World's Indigenous People: Created by the United Nations in 1994, the UN created this day to celebrate the culture of Indigenous people around the world.
• August 26 Women's Equality Day: This day was first passed by Congress in 1974 and honors women's rights to vote in the 19th Amendment which prohibited discrimination with voting based on one's sex.
• August 31 International Day of People of African Descent: This day celebrates all the contributions of people of African descent and to eliminate all discrimination. It was established in 2020 to recognize that year as major year of racial injustice across the world.

In my verbal comments, I thanked the Foundation Board for their $175,000 donation to the Measure I bond campaign.

Vice President of Administrative Services Report: In Julia's written report, she updated the Board on several of our capital projects:

• Aquaculture—The project was slated for completion in Fall 2025; however, that timeline may be pushed depending on the Geotechnical work.
• Creative Arts Complex—The new Creative Arts Complex (CAC) has been in use since August 2023 and some punch list items are still outstanding and anticipated to be finished by the Fall 2024 semester.
• Community Stadium Upgrade—The project has begun and is expected to be completed by December 2024.
• PE Gymnasium/Fieldhouse—The bidding process is open for two pre-qualified bidders, Wahlund Construction Inc., and Broward. Notice to Proceed is estimated to be issued at the end of September 2024, pending State approval of the bid. We expect to complete construction at the end of July 2027 and complete the demolition of the old buildings by October 2027.
• Redwood Coast Energy Authority EV Charging Stations—The RCEA project was determined not to be feasible at this time due to lack of available infrastructure, and the cost to install necessary electrical tie in for the project. We are having conversations with Forefront Power about adding charging stations as a part of or supplemental to the Solar Microgrid Project.
• Solar Microgrid—Geotechnical work has started, and drilling on site was completed in the last week of January 2024. Design is currently on hold, as project parameters have changed arising out of the Geotechnical investigation.
• Student Housing—The design work is nearly complete with the interior design and dining hall design in progress, but work has been paused. The project has been put on hold until funding can be finalized.
• Del Norte Learning Resource Center Re-roof and Skylight Repair Project—This project was completed in July 2024.
• Del Norte Center Remediation Work and Building Repair Project—A RFP has been published for the remediation and building repair for key buildings at the Del Norte Center. There was a mandatory job site walk July 31, 2024. The RFP is Due August 14, 2024.

Julia's report also noted that the Chancellor's Office reached out to all districts to verify the available Strong Workforce Program and Student Success Completion Grant fund balances. Redwoods CCD has fully spent all funds for both programs. Thanks to the foresight of Kerry Mayer and Morgan Solem our 2020-21 SWP funds have been fully spent for over a year. The funds were used to support various academic programs, including Forestry, Social Work and Human Services, Construction Technology, Administration of Justice, Automotive Technology, and Allied Health.

Julia's verbal comments included three critical topics. She mentioned that the state is exploring the use of a statewide lease-revenue bond funding mechanism with the Board of Governors, the California Public Works Board, and a revenue bond with participating colleges (with the debt service paid by the state) to fund various affordable student housing projects. If the funding mechanism comes to fruition, we could have $28.1 million in statewide lease-revenue funds go toward our affordable housing project. This $28.1 million will serve only as the initial down payment on a student housing project estimated to cost approximately $94. For your information, here is a link to our October 5, 2023 Education Matters Times Standard article that talked about the September 20, 2023 press conference where I joined Senator Mike McGuire, Assemblymember Jim Wood, then Board of Trustees President Sally Biggin, and CR student Gabriel Brooks to announce the state's intention to award us $28.1 million for our affordable housing project. College Matters | CR works to expand housing options – Times-Standard .As stated in the press conference in September 2023; to successfully realize our goal of creating affordable housing for our students, we will need to identify additional funding sources.

Julia also mentioned that three contractors showed up for the Del Norte Campus Building Repair job walk last week, we anticipate closing the District's books in September, and we asked KNN Public Finance company to move forward with coordinating the bond refunding since the cash flow savings surpassed the Board's $500,000 threshold. The savings, based on the market, is now $577,713.

Vice President of Instruction and Student Development (VPISD) Report: In her written report Crystal provided an update on the number degrees and certificates we awarded on 2023-24 as result of our auto-award initiative:

Award Type	Total Eligible
ADT	6
AA/AS	97
CA	112

She also noted that she, Dr. George Potamianos (Faculty/Curriculum Committee Chair), Jon Pace (Faculty /DEIA representative to Curriculum Committee), Nicole Bryant Lescher (Pathways Director), Tatiana Robinson (Curriculum Specialist), Cameron Papp (Curriculum Specialist), attended the 2024 Curriculum Institute.
Crystal thanked the Board for approving the Courtney Sousa's move to the Manager of Registration Services position. She also commented on how the District is implementing the recently revised Title IX regulations. The new regulations reflect both compliance with the new Federal Regulations and high impact practice that aligns with our Mission.

• All District faculty and employees (including student-employees) are Mandated/Required Reporters and are expected to promptly report all known details of actual or suspected sex discrimination, sex-based harassment, and/or retaliation to the Title IX Coordinator
• When a student discloses that they are pregnant or have a pregnancy related condition, employees must provide them with the Title IX Coordinator's contact information and inform them that the Title IX Coordinator works to prevent sex discrimination and ensure equal access to the education program or activity.
• All employees will need to complete Title IX training (which will be distributed during the fall semester)

Executive Director of College Advancement and the Foundation Report: Marty's written report noted that the auction will be held on August 15, in CR's gymnasium, from 5 - 9:00 pm. Eighty percent of the tables have either been committed to or sold. One hundred thousand dollars has been either collected or pledged for the Redwoods Championship club. Businesses and individuals have been extremely generous this year and the auction will offer 115 Silent & Gold Auction items/packages, and 33 Live Auction items/packages.