Board Report – April 2007

Report from Lane Community College President Mary Spilde
To the Lane Community College Board of Education
April 23, 2007

Good evening.

First, I want to recognize Larry Romine’s resignation from the board. Larry has served us long and well. I would like to suggest that we recognize him with a board resolution at an upcoming meeting.

I would like to welcome Pat Albright to the board. Pat has already been active on Lane’s behalf in the legislature.

I would also like to welcome Stephen Mohr, who took over as ASLCC president. I look forward to working with him for the remainder of the school year.

You are all aware of the legislative session and the co-chairs budget. I want to mention the Ways and Means hearing that was held in Eugene and give my thanks to everyone who attended. It was unfortunate that more of us didn’t get a chance to either be in the room or testify, but I think we made our presence felt. I want to thank the union leadership, the LCCEA Legislative Action Committee chair, Doug Smyth, our community partners and Sandy Cutler for getting people out. I think it will make a difference.

We had our budget hearings April 9 through 12 and a public hearing on April 16. There were so many people there to testify that they extended the hearing to April 17. I don’t think we will hear much more until after the May 15 revenue forecast.

There are two capital construction bills moving through the legislature. Again, I don’t think we will know the outcome until the end of the session.

The Lane Marketing Department earned national recognition; the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations, an organization for professionals at community, junior and technical colleges, awarded Lane the Gold Paragon in recognition of its Career and Technical (CT) interactive DVD. Development of this DVD was initiated by the CT division chairs and involved faculty, students and staff in each of our CT programs in partnership with marketing staff and Chambers Communications. Production was funded by the Carl Perkins grant. The DVD was distributed to each of our community advisory committee members, business leaders and owners, high school counseling offices and career centers and others as identified by each program. Segments of this 35-minute DVD can be viewed from the homepage. Each division office has a supply of the DVD for use in marketing opportunities. Congratulations to the CT programs for developing an award winning marketing tool.

The latest issue of the Community College Journal features our new gaming and computer simulation curriculum. The article is entitled "Ahead of the Curve - Innovative courses prepare students for the future."

Standard and Poor’s has affirmed our A+/Stable Long term rating. This is a periodic review and can materially affect the cost of borrowing and bonding. They were concerned about the ending fund balance but felt that our corrective policies and plans were credible. There is a provision which states "The stable outlook is based on the expectation that the district will make the necessary cuts to balance the budget and rebuild reserve levels to buffer against budget uncertainties and fluctuations in state appropriations."

I would like to welcome candidates running for the board who are in the audience: Stefan Ostrach, Rob Spooner, and Bob Ackerman.