Board Report from Lane Community College President Mary Spilde
Board of Education Meeting
January 12, 2005

Budget Projections

During the Lane Community College Board of Education work session tonight we had an opportunity to review budget projections. It is clear that Lane will be in for another very challenging two years relating to our budget. There are many unknowns in the budget. We will need the legislature to treat community colleges fairly, which the Governor's budget did not do; we will need to expand our efforts to increase enrollment; we will need to develop a short term strategy to align revenues expenses for 2006, while at the same time develop a plan for making difficult decisions regarding reductions for 2007. We will have a process plan for board review next month.

I held an all staff meeting this afternoon so that faculty and staff are fully aware of what is facing the college. The presentation and budget projections are available on the web so that everyone has access to the information ( see 6. Budget Recommendations at http://2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu/budget/0506/budget0506.html )

Legislative Relations

On Monday evening, Paul Holman, Tracy Simms, Tony McCown, and I spent some time with legislators from our district as well as Chemeketa, Oregon Coast and Linn-Benton's districts.  We shared information on what the colleges can do to assist with access to higher education as well as our role in helping the economy recover. Four students told their stories about what community college means to them. Tony did a great job and really represented the college and students well.

Accreditation

On Tuesday, Sonya and I met with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) regarding our accreditation. I believe the meeting went very well. They asked us five questions, and we were able to respond effectively. Several of the commissioners complimented us on the high morale of the college faculty and staff, especially given our budget challenges. We will receive a letter in the next two to three weeks finalizing our accreditation status.

Governance

Implementation of the governance system is moving forward. All the councils have met and all are developing their work plans for this year. As with the implementation of something as new and far-reaching as the governance system we are experiencing some growing pains.  There are some disagreements about process issues. We did not talk about how to address process disagreements in the task force but, given the board's direction to me to steward the governance system and to hold me accountable for decisions, I need to make it clear that absent agreement on process issues at the council level that I will make a decision. Obviously, I will do everything I can to facilitate discussions that lead to agreement, but I am not going to allow the system to be caught up in process issues while we have the important work of the college to accomplish.

Labor Relations

We have made an agreement with LCCEF to spend some time assessing the status of the labor relationship and identifying what we would like it to be and how we can accomplish that. I am looking forward to this important work.

FAA Safety Award

Mr. Kieth Crimin, FAA Safety Program Manager in Hillsboro, will present an award to the college for more than 250,000 hours of flight instruction since 1967 without an injury accident. Harvey Birdseye, Flight Technology chair, will accept on behalf of the college, and read a complimentary letter from Congressman Peter DeFazio.

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