Board Minutes - June 17, 2024 - Western Iowa Tech Community College

Date: June 17, 2024
Time: 4:00 pm
Location: WITCC Sioux City Campus
Agenda

WITCC Mission

We elevate our diverse learners and strengthen our communities through inclusive and innovative education.

Board Members

Absent: Brad Griffin and Blanca Martinez

Brenda Wright, Board Secretary

Administration:
Terry Murrell, College President | Troy Jasman, VP of Finance and Administrative Services | Darin Moeller, Executive Dean of Instruction | Jackie Plendl, Dean of Human Resources | Tawnya Beermann, Dean of Students | Christina Brandon, Dean of Outreach and Information Technology | Revathi Vongsiprasom, Dean of Opportunity and Engagement | Erin Volk, Dean of Quality

Presenters:
Jason Palsma, Registrar | Steve Warnstadt, Government Relations and Special Projects Coordinator

Item

Russell Wray called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm.

Brenda Wright did a roll call of Directors.

Russ opened the floor for Oral Communications. No one came forward.

Russ reviewed the Written Communications with the board.

Russ asked the Board to review the Consent Items. There were no questions or concerns brought forward. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve and Linnea Fletcher seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried.

Tawnya Beermann and Jason Palsma presented the Graduation report for Spring 2024. Tawnya showed some pictures from the commencement ceremony. We broadcasted the ceremony on YouTube and Facebook live. We had over 700 people watching on You Tube and over 6500 people on Facebook Live.

Tawnya Beermann and Christina Brandon presented the Summer Semester Credit Enrollment Report. We were up 8% in student count and up 9.5% in credit hours. Our online enrollment was 81% of total enrollment.

Darin Moeller brought forward the 2024-25 Project Home Agreement with Home Builders Association. This agreement will allow the Construction students to build a house for the 22nd year. Tricia Sutherland made a motion to approved and it was seconded by Erin Muck. All were in favor and the motion carried.

Darin Moeller also presented the proposed 2025-2026 College Calendar. The dates are similar to the previous calendar with holiday adjustments. The calendar was presented to the faculty, Executive Council, and Meet and Confer group. The Board discussed the option of adding Juneteenth as an official holiday. This calendar lands on a Friday, so we will revisit this option for the 2026-2027 calendar. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Micah Lang. All were in favor and the motion carried.

Darin then presented the 2024-28E agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation. This will allow WITCC to continue to provide 3rd party CDL testing. This is a great opportunity for our.community. Micah Lang made a motion to approve the agreement and Jeremy Ogle seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried.

Erin Volk presented the proposed 2024-2027 Strategic Initiative to the Board. A cross-departmental team was created to look at building a new strategic initiative to align with our new goals. Tricia Sutherland made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Erin Muck. All were in favor and the motion carried.

Troy Jasman brought a change order for the Cherokee Paving Improvements Project. There were some unexpected repairs and also to get the sidewalk up to ADA compliance. Micah Lang made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Linnea Fletcher. All were in favor and the motion carried.

Troy also presented an Exclusive Agreement with Chesterman's. This is a 25-year exclusive soft drink and snack agreement and in return, Chesterman's will provide the College with one million dollars payable over five years. Jeremy Ogle made a motion to approve the agreement and Linnea Fletcher seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried.

Troy also presented the bids to print the annual report. The Sergeant Bluff Advocate came in with the lowest bid. The report will be scheduled to print on August 8, 2024. Erin Muck made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Jeremy Ogle. All were in favor and the motion carried.

Troy presented the Denison Regional Academy bids. This is a joint project with the Denison Community School District. We received a million dollar grant from the State of Iowa. Denison High School and WITCC each put in two million dollars. Architect estimates and bids came in over $6 million dollars. We are requesting to approve the project with a low bid from L&L Builders contingent on Denison getting approval from their board for additional funds. We are also working with the Denison community to talk about fund-raising with local businesses. Erin Muck made a motion to approve with the contingency and Tricia Sutherland seconded the motion. All were in favor and motion carried.

Jackie presented a first ready of three Board Policy changes. These changes are due to the Title IX regulations that will go into effect on August 1. We will bring these back to the July meeting for a vote.

Tricia Sutherland did not have any updates for the Community Colleges for Iowa. They plan to meet next week so will have an update in July.

Terry Murrell gave a President's Report. He stated that the FY24 budget is almost done and we are preparing for the FY25 budget. He also asked if there were any others interested in attended the CCFI Conference next month. Tricia Sutherland and Russ Wray are attending.

Jeremy Ogle asked the Board if WITCC was going to be making a public announcement regarding the J1 lawsuit to show that we are addressing the concerns. Terry explained that because we are still in ongoing litigation, legal recommends not responding until the 2nd case is resolved.

Linnea Fletcher made a motion to adjourn the meeting and it was seconded by Tricia Sutherland. All were in favor and the motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 4:54 pm.

The next regular scheduled board meeting will be Monday, July 8, 2024, at 4:00 pm on the Sioux City campus in the Boardroom.