NEOSHO COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MINUTES

DATE:                                    August 12,  2004

TIME:                                    5:30 p.m.

PLACE:                                  Student Union, room 209

PRESENT:                             Kevin Berthot
                                                Kathy Fryd
                                                Mariam Mih
                                                David Peter
                                                Robert Thomen
ABSENT:                               Mark Watkins

PRESENT:                            
Dr. Vicky R. Smith, President
                                                Dr. Brian Inbody, VP of Student Learning
                                                Sandi Solander, Dean of Finance/Student Services
                                                Brett Bright, Dean of Student Development/AD
                                                Mark Eldridge, Dean of Ottawa Campus
                                                Ben Smith, Dean of Planning and Operations
                                                Tonya Bell, Director of Public Relations/Marketing
                                                Sara Harris, Faculty
                                                Dean Dillard, Faculty
                                                Kent Pringle, Board Attorney
                                                Terri Dale, Board Clerk
                                                John Wilmot, Chanute Tribune
                                               

 

III.             Public Comment

There were no speakers.

 IV.              Approval of the Agenda

Mr. Peter asked to add Personnel as item C under new business and change the Staff Professional Development Fund policy to item D. 

 Mr. Peter requested that the Agenda be approved as amended.  The motion was made, seconded and the agenda was approved as amended.

 V.                 Budget Hearing

       Mr. Peter asked if anyone wanted to address the Board concerning the proposed budget for 2004-05 as published.  There 
       were no speakers.

VI.              Consent Agenda

 The following items are proposed to be approved by consent.
 

  1. Minutes from July 8, 2004 and July 29, 2004
  2. Claims for disbursement for July 2004
  3. Personnel

C-1:  Full time clerical position at Ottawa

 

At the July Board meeting a new clerical position was approved for the Ottawa campus.  It was the recommendation of the President that the Board employ Paulette Parriott as the full-time clerk/receptionist.  Ms. Parriott has over 25 years of experience and was most recently employed by the Wal-Mart Distribution Center as a computer clerk and accounting clerk from 1995 to 2003.

Ms. Parriott would be paid an hourly rate of $7.25 per hour with a starting date of August 13, 2004.

C-2.  Part-time evening clerk at Ottawa

It was the President’s recommendation that the Board employ Adria Butler as the evening office clerk for the Ottawa campus.  Ms. Butler has a Bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Colorado.  She has been employed as the planning secretary for Franklin County Planning & Building and as a senior staff assistant for ConAgra Grocery Products Company.

Ms. Butler would be paid $7.50 per hour (approximately 20 hours per week) with a starting date of August 13, 2004.

C-3:  Assistant Coach for Men’s Basketball/Resident Hall Assistant

It was the President’s recommendation that the Board employ David J. Freivogel as the second assistant coach for men’s basketball and resident hall assistant.  Mr. Freivogel is a graduate of Southwestern College with a bachelor’s degree in sports management, and a graduate of NCCC.

Mr. Freivogel would be paid $650 per month (9 months) and receive room and board for the academic year.

C-4:  Assistant Coach for Volleyball/Resident Hall Assistant

It was the President’s  recommendation that the Board employ Melanie Disbrow as assistant volleyball coach/resident hall assistant.  Ms. Disbrow attended NCCC in 1999-2000 and was a member of the volleyball team.  She completed her bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University.

Ms. Disbrow would be paid $650 per month (9 months) and receive room and board for the academic year.

C-5:  Resignation

Charles Goar, head coach for women’s basketball, has submitted his resignation.  The President recommended that the Board accept his resignation effective August 2, 2004.

Mr. Peter requested that the consent agenda be approved.  The motion was made and seconded that the consent agenda be approved.  Motion carried.

“Inside NC” Demonstration:  Ben Smith and Brian Inbody provided a Power Point demonstration of the “Inside NC” program that is a part of the JICS system purchased last year.  Dr. Inbody stated that this will provide improved communication between students and faculty and give students direct access to their information on the AS400.  Dr. Inbody commended Ben Smith and Lisa Last for getting the JICS system up and running.

Faculty Senate Report:  Dean Dillard addressed the Board as the Faculty Senate President for 2004-05.  Mr. Dillard reported that the first Faculty Senate meeting of the academic year would be during In-Service on August 16.  The meeting will address several organizational matters and Mr. Dillard will share with the group his goals as President.  Mr. Dillard stated that when the Faculty Senate was formed in 2001, two purposes of the group were to assure the opportunity for faculty to participate fully in the academic decision-making process and to keep lines of communication open with the administration and Board.  Mr. Dillard stated he was looking forward to working with the Board to further the interests of the institution and the students it serves.

Treasurer’s Report:  Sandi Solander, Dean of Finance and Student Services, distributed the treasurer’s report and the change in Fund Balance report.  She indicated that the College had received the first disbursement from the State in excess of one million dollars.  She also stated that the drop date for non-payment was the following week.  Over 180 letters had been mailed to students with unpaid balances and more than 100 had made payment.

President’s Report:  President Smith announced that In-Service would be Monday, August 16th and that the theme would be the process of change and developing a strategic plan based upon the vision, mission and purposes of the College.  She also will host a cook-out at her home following In-Service and invited the Board to attend. 

Dr. Smith indicated that enrollment is up more than expected, with overall headcount 20% higher than at the same time last year, credit hours are up 16% from last fall. 

Dr. Smith reported that the final report from the Higher Learning Commission visit had been received and that all were in agreement with the report.  The College will appear before the Accreditation Review Committee on Monday, September 27 in Chicago.  The Board chair, chief financial officer, chief academic officer and the president are expected to attend the meeting.

Dr. Smith also report that the community college presidents had met at Cowley County Community College and items of discussion included the new policy by KBOR defining Centers of Excellence for Workforce, performance based funding, and the KBOR policy defining technical education.  Dr. Smith stated she would serve as secretary of the Council of President’s Group for this year, which would include attending the KBOR System Council of Presidents meetings.

President Smith also reported that Ben Smith and Paul Smith had been working with engineers and contractors to do a preliminary analysis of the infrastructure issues and costs to fix them in anticipation of the development of a capital improvement plan for the college.

Agenda Item VIII-A:  Approval of FY 2004-05 Budget

It was the President’s recommendation that the Board approve the proposed budget for 2004-05 as published.

Resolution 2004-54

            RESOLVED, That the Board of Trustees of Neosho County Community College approves the FY2004-05 budget of $11,252,337 as published.  Further, on or before August 25, a copy of the adopted budget along with proof of publication shall be filed with the Neosho County Clerk and the Kansas Board of Regents.

The motion was made and seconded that the above resolution be approved.  Motion passed unanimously.

Agenda Item VIII-B:  Employee Benefits Policy Revision (second reading)

For the last few months the College has been examining how to provide good health insurance benefits at a reasonable premium.  As discussed with the Board at the July meeting, the administration is asking that the following changes to approved to the Employee Benefits policy that deals with health insurance and the I.R.S. Section 125 Cafeteria Plan.  The major changes are as follows:

  • Instead of providing a dollar amount per month, the policy indicates that the College will provide a single membership in the College’s health plan for each full-time employee.
  • Elimination of the tax annuity and cash option.
  • Defining a qualified group health plan
  • Eliminating over a three year period those on a qualified group health plan who are taking the cash option, whereas in 2004-05 they can elect to receive $330 per month, in 2005-06, $220 per month, and in2006-07 no cash, but are allowed to apply $100 per month to items in the cafeteria plan.
  • New employees will not receive any cash option, but be required to take the College’s health insurance plan if they are not on a qualified group health plan.

Proposed Policy:  Employee Benefits

Employee benefits for individuals employed by the board in professional or instructional capacities, including classroom instructors, athletic coaches, and athletic support personnel employed under a full-time contract are set forth in the negotiated agreement between the board of trustees and NCCC Professional Educators’ Association

A.        Health Insurance

The Board will pay for single membership level health insurance coverage for each full-time employee. Each full-time employee shall participate in the college-sponsored group health insurance plan at least at the single membership level unless: (a) health insurance coverage is maintained by the employee through a qualified group health insurance plan.  A qualified group health plan is defined as: (i) Health coverage that is offered by an employer unit to all full time employees of that organization; and (ii)To qualify as an employer unit,  the group must be formed for purposes other than obtaining insurance; and (iii) There must be employer contribution and payroll deduction for premiums paid by the employee.); or (b) employment with NCCC originated prior to July 1, 1994, 1995 and health insurance coverage is maintained by the Professional full-time employee through an alternative source. 

            A full time employee that (a) is covered by a qualified group health insurance plan, or (b) whose employment with NCCC originated prior to July 1, 1995, and health insurance coverage is maintained by the employee through an alternative source; and (c) in the 2003/2004 contract year elected to receive cash fringe and fell within the definition of “a” and or “b”  during the enrollment period for 2003/2004; may elect to continue to receive the monthly cash payment of $330.00 per month in lieu of insurance for the 2004-2005 year. The same employee may elect to receive a monthly cash payment of $220.00 per month in lieu of insurance for the 2005-2006 year. In the year 2006-2007 and thereafter, the same employee may elect to receive $100.00 per month in lieu of the insurance, which only can be used to participate in the College’s I.R. S. Section 125 Cafeteria Plan.   

            Full-time employees whose first contract was in the 2004-2005 contract year shall participate in the college-sponsored group health insurance plan at least at the single membership level, unless health insurance coverage is maintained by the employee through a qualified group health insurance plan.  If the employee, who is covered by a qualified group health plan, elects not to take the college-sponsored group health insurance coverage in 2004-2005, he/she may elect to receive $50 per month to participate in the College’s I.R. S. Section 125 Cafeteria Plan.  In 2005-2006, if the employee elects not to take the college-sponsored health insurance plan that monthly amount will increase to $75 per month. In 2006-2007 and thereafter, the monthly amount will increase to $100 per month.

            Any person full-time employee who is enrolled in the NCCC Group health insurance plan may, at the employee’s expense, enroll a spouse and eligible dependent children, subject to the same conditions and limitations that apply to the person enrolled in accordance with the terms of the group health insurance plan.

 B.        I.R.S. Section 125 Cafeteria Plan

In addition, employees may elect to reduce their salaries and designate said sum to be applied to one or more of the below I.R. S. Section 125 Cafeteria Plan Options.

            Each full-time employee shall allocate said sums to other fringe benefits, including salary protection insurance, cancer and dread disease insurance, dependent care reimbursement, dental, vision, and medical reimbursement as provided by the Board in the Cafeteria Plan.   All elections shall be made according to the Section 125 Cafeteria Plan.

Resolution 2004-55

            RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees of Neosho County Community College approves the revised Employee Benefits Policy as outlined above.

The motion was made and seconded that the above resolution be approved.  Motion passed unanimously.

Agenda Item VIII-C:  Shared Sick Leave Policy (second reading)

Employee health and welfare is a concern of everyone at the College.  For this reason, employees are offered the opportunity and benefit to earn and accumulate sick days.  Knowing there will always be a variation among employees, and that some employees will be forced to utilize sick leave at a greater rate than others, the establishment of a voluntary shared sick leave pool is warranted.  The following policy was approved by the executive committee and presented at the July Board meeting for a first reading.

Proposed Shared Sick Leave Pool

Sick leave donation is a voluntary, confidential program that permits staff members to donate fully paid sick days to co-workers in need who cannot return to work because of a serious or catastrophic personal health condition, as defined under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  Voluntary sick leave donations from other employees may be used to provide paid leave for a maximum of 30 days 240 hours in a twelve-month period.  The twelve-month period will commence on the day an employee first utilizes the shared sick leave donation. 

The employee shared sick leave pool shall utilize the following guidelines: 

  1. Employees may be eligible for sick leave from the pool when they or their family members experience a serious, extreme, or life threatening illness which meets both of the following specific criteria:
     
    1. The employee or family member is experiencing a serious, extreme, or life-threatening illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that has caused, or is likely to cause, the employee to take leave without pay or to terminate employment.
    2. The illness, injury, impairment, or condition keeps the employee from performing regular work duties.

Shared sick leave will not be granted for common illnesses, minor surgeries or routine surgery.  Family members include persons related to the employee by blood, marriage or adoption, and minors residing in the employee’s residence as a result of court proceedings pursuant to Kansas code for care of children or the Kansas juvenile defenders code.  Procedures for administering the shared sick leave program are to be handled by Human Resources.

  1. An employee shall be eligible to receive sick leave from the pool if both of these conditions are met:
     
    1. The employee has at least six months of continuous service.
    2. The employee has exhausted all paid leave available for use, including vacation leave, sick leave, and compensatory time credits.
  1. An employee may voluntarily transfer sick days into the pool; however, a minimum of 240 hours is required to remain in the donor employee’s account.
  1. An employee who has resigned/retired may transfer accumulated sick leave into the pool.
  1. Any employee found abusing the benefit will no longer be entitled to participate in the shared sick leave pool.

Resolution 2004-56

            RESOLVED, That the Board of Trustees of Neosho County Community College approves the Shared Sick Leave Policy as outlined above.

The motion was made and seconded that the above resolution be approved.  Motion passed unanimously.

Agenda Item IX-A:  Trio Grant Employee Renewals

Based upon the recommendation of the individual grant directors and Dean Brenda Krumm who oversees the TRIO programs, I am asking the Board to renew employment contracts for 2004-05 for the following employees.  Salary increases will be based on what was budget by each individual grant.

Student Support Services (STARS)

            Laura Skillings-Project Director
            Rita Drybread-Math Specialist
            Cindy Neville-Advising Specialist

Talent Search

            Marie Moore-Project Director
            Wade Collins-Academic Advisor
            Michael Rose-Academic Advisor

Upward Bound

            Corey Taylor-Project Director
            Maranda Collins-Academic Coordinator

Resolution 2004-57

             RESOLVED, That the Board of Trustees of Neosho County Community College approves employment contracts for 2004-05 for the TRIO employees listed above.

The motion was made and seconded that the above resolution be approved.  Motion passed unanimously.

Agenda Item IX-B:  Bids for Athletic Insurance Coverage

Neosho County Community College purchases a secondary insurance policy for its athletes. The insurance pays for medical claims that the student’s primary insurance does not cover.

For several years, NCCC has used the same insurance company (First Agency.) The rates have increased proportionately. For the 04-05 year, the increase was 20 % over 2003-04. As a result, other alternatives were investigated.

The first alternative was to investigate the possibility of partial self insuring. This would be beneficial if the maximum amount that NCCC was liable for was less than the premium of the existing insurance. After visiting with a local agency the cost would be approximately 58 K.  This was more expensive than the current coverage so other avenues were discussed.

The second alternative was to approach other insurance carriers to receive a quote. A Kansas City insurance group (Dissenger) proposed coverage that was 28 % less in the premium than our current carrier. The coverage is comparable to our current coverage with only minor differences that would not justify the 28 % increase.

It is the Athletic Director’s recommendation and I concur, that the board approve the contract with Dissenger Insurance Services to provide athletic insurance for our sports program. Dissenger is also the carrier for Johnson County, Kansas State University and Southeast Missouri State University.

Insurer                                                                          Premium
            Dissenger                                                                     $36,000
            1st Agency                                                                   $46, 172
            Bob McCloskey (partial self insure)                              $77,000

Resolution 2004-58

            RESOLVED, That the Board of Neosho County Community College approves the bid from Dissenger Insurance Services of $36,000 to provide secondary insurance coverage for the athletic programs for 2004-05.

The motion was made and seconded that the above resolution be approved.  Motion passed unanimously.

Agenda Item IX-C  Resignation

It is my recommendation that the Board accept the resignation of Corey Taylor, Director of the Upward Bound grant.  Mr. Taylor has submitted his letter of resignation with an effective date of August 31, 2004.

Resolution 2004-59

            RESOLVED, That the Board of Trustees of Neosho County Community College accepts the resignation of Corey Taylor, Director of the Upward Bound grant, effective August 31, 2004.

The motion was made and seconded that the above resolution be approved.  Motion passed unanimously.

Agenda Item IX-D:  Staff Professional Development Fund (first reading)

The following policy was developed to assist employees not covered by the negotiated agreement professional development policy in furthering their educational goals.  The policy was approved by the executive committee.  I am asking the Board to review this new policy for non-professional employees (first reading).

Proposed Staff Professional Development Fund

The purpose of this fund is to encourage staff in developing and implementing individual plans for professional development.   Neosho County Community College expects all employees to take the initiative in maintaining and continually reassessing skills and knowledge required for their assigned work.  The staff professional development fund is designed to support opportunities for which sufficient funding can not be found within their department budgets.

1)       Eligible employees include all permanent full time non-Professional Employees staff. Contractual employees must have been employed for one (1) year at the time of application. The purpose of this fund is not intended to be used in lieu of other appropriate departments funds.  Departments are encouraged to provide as much financial support as possible for appropriate training of their staff.  The applicant is required to seek funding from his/her department before applying for monies from the staff professional development fund.

2)      The fund will be budgeted in the amount of $10,000/year. Applications will be accepted throughout the year, but funding may become scarce as the year progresses. Therefore employees are encouraged to plan ahead.

3)      The fund will be administered by the President’s/designee Office.

4)      Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee to be composed of a three- member committee appointed by the President. If a member of the selection committee is applying to the fund, he/she will excuse him/herself from that discussion.

5)      The amount of monies available for each employee will not exceed $500 per year.

6)      Due to fund availability, all of the worthwhile applications submitted will be approved on a first come first serve basis.

The strategies/priorities of the college’s professional development plan are:

  1. Academic Study- Includes formal courses of study, pursuit of additional degrees or other academic awards.
  2. Conferences- Presenting papers, tutorials, chairing sessions or panels; participation in question and discussion sessions; and attendance at formal sessions and other conference activities, are all examples of appropriate conference-related professional development.

3.   Seminars and Workshops- Such activities cover a variety of instructional programs that may be offered.

It was suggested that #2 be revised to read monies instead of a dollar amount.  This policy will be revised accordingly and presented at the September Board meeting for action.

Agenda Item X:  Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 6:54 p.m.