Contra Costa Community College District
District Governance Council (DGC)
Date: May 15, 2012 Time: 1:00 p.m. Location: DO Board Room
Attendance:
Classified: Ann Langelier-Patton, Linda Kohler, Monica Pope, Greg Evilsizer, Mike West, Georgette Stewart
Faculty: Laurie Lema, Jeffrey Michels
Managers: John al-Amin, Helen Benjamin, Gene Huff, Mojdeh Mehdizadeh
Students: Alex Silva (Chair)
Guests: Ted Wieden; Bill Oye
Item # Topic(s)
1 Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 1:09 p.m.
2
Adoption of the agenda So that Ms. Mehdizadeh could attend another meeting, Mr, Silva asked that numbers 8 and 11 on the agenda be moved to follow public comment. The agenda was approved as amended.
3
Adoption of the minutes Ann Langelier-Patton made the following corrections to the April 24, 2012: minutes need to be corrected to reflect that Mike West was present and that Monica Pope and Shondra West were absent. On the classified report, number six should be combined, that is, Chancellor’s Chat and the workshop were one event, not two. One spring date for proposed calendar should be 2013, not 2012. The minutes were approved as amended.
4
Public Forum There were no comments.
8
Board Policy 4001, Standards of Scholarship There was no comment on this item.
Item # Topic(s)
11 DGC Bylaws Revisions (First Reading) Under Article 5, section a, subsection 7, Mr. Silva asked that the word, “consider,” be added. According to the governance process, Dr. Benjamin said she did not think the change could be made. In Board Policy 1012, in relation to the accreditation standard, the District created an institutional effectiveness policy, and that is the reason this language is inserted into the bylaws. Chancellor Benjamin said the intent would need an additional policy and procedure. Chancellor Benjamin said an evaluation would have to be conducted through DGC. Ms. Mehdizadeh questioned whether the intent is not to have a survey annually, but language could be inserted to say an evaluation would be conducted every other year. Ms. Mehdizadeh said a survey related to governance and decision making was conducted last year. Chancellor Benjamin said if something is evaluated each year, there is not enough time to see what the changes might be. There was concurrence with her statement. Mr. Organ said a two-year cycle of evaluation is optimal. Mr. Silva said the bylaws could read, “DGC shall conduct…” Mr. Organ said this would be done on a two-year cycle. Ms. Mehdizadeh said most of the amendment dates on the bylaws are inaccurate. Most of the amended dates might be actual DGC dates, but the actual amendment date should be the date when the Governing Board approved the amendment. Mr. Silva asked that those dates be forwarded to him, and he would make the changes.
5
Reports from Constituent Groups No constituency groups had reports. Mr. Silva questioned whether a classified chair for DGC had been selected, and Ms. Langelier-Patton said presently, no one had been chosen.
6
Chancellor’s Report Dr. al-Amin shared information on the parcel tax to be placed on the November ballot. Dr. Michels questioned some of the language in the ballot, regarding “money for permanent salary.” Dr. Michels also said he was concerned about money being shifted to salaries. He said he understood that money could be spent from the general fund, but not the parcel tax fund. He said he wanted to make sure that no money could be spent on permanent salaries because the District’s “hands would be tied” in doing so. Chancellor Benjamin said the District is mindful of how the money will be spent. “Permanent” means ongoing salaries. She clarified that the reference to money is being used to highlight an increase in
Item # Topic(s) access and student success. Dr. Michels wanted assurance that legal recommendations had been given so that the money (“permanent ongoing salaries”) cannot be used for permanent salaries. Dr. Benjamin said the money will be tracked in a separate account. It will not be mixed with general fund monies. Ms. Lema questioned whether there would be an increase of part-time faculty associated with the parcel tax money. Dr. Benjamin said the money could be used for hourly employees and they would have an ending date. Mr. West said, technically, the parcel tax, will not be used for the ongoing structural deficit. Chancellor Benjamin said the colleges are busy working on a plan for the parcel tax. The listing will be sent to DGC for review, and it will also be presented to the Board so that they will understand how the money will be spent. This list will also be used for the ballot language. Dr. al-Amin said the list would also be reviewed by legal counsel to make sure it is in accordance with such a parcel tax. Dr. al-Amin also reviewed the calendar that has been set for the entire process of placing the parcel tax on the November ballot. Ms. Lema questioned the strategies regarding the list. Dr. Benjamin said additional classes were discussed during the development of the parcel tax listing. The ballot language will reflect healthcare, more sections of certain classes that are in high demand, increasing access, and how the money can have a positive impact on high cost programs. Ted Wieden reminded DGC that no public funds could be used to promote the parcel tax, and no meetings could be held during company time or on District property. Chancellor Benjamin noted the Board agenda presently shows that the public session will include the opening of the meeting, asking for public comment, then closing the meeting to adjourn to closed session. Afterwards, public session will resume. She said legal counsel recently reviewed the Board agenda, and, with regard to the Brown Act, the agenda should be written in this manner. Dr. Benjamin, Dr. al-Amin and Mr. Huff summarized the contents of the May Board meeting agenda.
7
Budget 2012-2013 Mr. Silva asked for an update on the budget. Dr. al-Amin said the state’s $9B shortfall has increased to more than $15B. He said the governor stands firm on his tax proposal, and Dr. al-Amin urged everyone to be prepared if the tax proposals do not pass in November. Dr. al-Amin said the May revise does not affect the District’s current budget planning.
Student Services Procedure 3027, Student Code of Conduct. (First
Item # Topic(s) Reading) The item was summarized as follows by Bill Oye, Dean of Students at DVC. He explained that two years of research and work was conducted in the review and revision to this procedure. The definition of “student” relates to how the code is enforced and to whom. Mr. West questioned whether the student would be suspended from one class only if s/he had made a serious disruption to the class. Mr. Oye said he was concerned with a revision made by Chancellor’s Cabinet and legal counsel concerning behaviors that warrant disciplinary action. He stated further that he did not understand the editing that was made concerning any action after the first action made by the student to be grounds for disciplinary action. Mr. West questioned whether number seven should be added back into this procedure. Mr. Oye said number seven was in the original code and it came from state law. He said he did not understand why the language had been modified. He said he would revert this number back to the original, “other behavior that has grounds for disciplinary action.” Mr. Silva recommended that the highlighted section discussed be reverted to the original wording. Mr. Oye said this item would go back to Chancellor’s Cabinet for approval. Mr. West said the DGC chair could draft the recommended changes, and then it would be sent to Cabinet for approval. Mr. Silva agreed that he would make the changes and send to Chancellor’s Cabinet.
10
Districtwide Evaluation Mr. West said in years past, the District conducted a DGC evaluation. He said the process and procedure of the group should be evaluated. Mr. Silva said he will transfer to UC Berkeley, but hoped that a Districtwide DGC evaluation would be conducted in the future. Mr. West commended Mr. Silva for all his work.
12
DGC Calendar Mr. Silva asked whether the selected dates for 2012-13 DGC meeting could be adopted. The group agreed with the proposed dated.
13
Adjournment: 2:39 p.m.
