FSCC board to elect officers on Monday

Sunday, July 16, 2006

By Jason E. Silvers

Herald-Tribune

Fort Scott, Kan. --Items topping the Fort Scott Community College Board of Trustees agenda on Monday include the election of officers for the 2006-'07 school year and the scheduling of a hearing to discuss the college's nearly $12 million budget.

During the board's regular 5:30 p.m. meeting at the FSCC Heritage Room, 2108 S. Horton St., Fort Scott, a new chairman and vice chairman will be elected, who in turn will look to re-appoint Dean of Finance and Operations Darcy Baldonado as the clerk and information officer, Kathy McCurley as the treasurer, trustee Robert Nelson as the Kansas Association of Community Colleges and Council of Presidents representative, and current chairman Jim Sather as a representative for the Southeast Kansas Regional Service Center at Greenbush, Kan.

Current Vice Chairman Eric Ammons is expected to be elected as the new board chairman, replacing Sather, and trustee Myrtle Ann Colum has been chosen for appointment as vice chairwoman in the reorganization process; but the board must first approve these selections, McCurley said.

Trustees will also consider conducting a budget hearing at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 21, and will seek permission to publish the annual FSCC budget. Baldonado will review budget information with the board. FSCC's general fund is projected to be around $6.4 million, with about $11.8 million in projected budget expenses and transfers, FSCC documents said. Next year's budget includes a little more than $10 million in projected revenues, documents said.

The board is also scheduled to designate a local bank for transfer of its general fund budget, to appoint local attorney Zachary Reynolds to represent the college in legal matters, to designate The Fort Scott Tribune as the official FSCC newspaper, and to approve official board meeting dates on the third Monday of each month, unless stated otherwise, for the upcoming school year.

The board also seeks to authorize the college to participate in the Deferred Maintenance Data Collection Project, a survey of buildings on the FSCC campus that will be presented to the Kansas Board of Regents and the Kansas Legislature for the development of a potential Deferred Maintenance program for higher education. The cost to develop the data will be shared equally by all 19 community colleges in Kansas -- with FSCC paying $10,267 -- in an agreement with ISES Corporation, which will perform the survey, an FSCC statement said.

FSCC data, along with data gathered from universities in the state, will be used to develop the proposal requested by the Kansas Legislature for the maintenance program. The survey of FSCC buildings is scheduled to take place between August and October, with a final report being presented to the KACCT in November.

On Monday, the board is also scheduled to:

* Hear reports on summer maintenance projects from FSCC Director of Campus Services Steve Stanton, and a report from FSCC Rodeo Coach Chad Cross on the rodeo team's recent performance at the Rodeo National Finals last month in Casper, Wyo. Rodeo team member Andrew Counts placed third in the saddlebronc competition at the national finals.

* Hire Lori Hanni-Lawless as a dental hygiene program instructor, Aaron Puffinbarger as a Harley-Davidson program instructor, Casey Russell as the FSCC Director of Information Systems Services, Mindy Russell as Director of Business Operations, Brett Macklin as sports medicine coordinator, Brad Stroud as assistant baseball coach, Kellye West as assistant volleyball coach, and Jeromy McAlister as a dorm residential assistant.

* Accept the resignations of FSCC Director of Information Technology Mitch Garner, FSCC Director of Business Operations Dianna Peak, FSCC Assistant Basketball Coach Andrew Peters, and dorm resident assistant and football coach Casey Kramer.

* Authorize the renewal of almost $35,000 in FSCC consortium membership and dues for the 2006-07 school year.

* Approve a $14,050 contract between FSCC and a local CPA firm for auditing services during the fiscal year that ended June 30 of this year. Fees this year reflect a $1,550 increase from last year, due to recent regulatory standard changes, a statement from the firm said. The firm is now required to perform additional tests and steps to determine if fraud has occurred in FSCC financial statements, causing the need for the one-time fee, the statement said.

* Accept the low bid from Life Insurance Company of North America for athletic insurance for the 2006-07 school year, an amount which reflects a $250 deductible. The board will also look to accept the $19,279 renewal for catastrophic insurance from Mutual of Omaha. The dollar increase over last year's cost for this type of insurance is $8,766, an FSCC statement said. An Overland Park-based athletic insurance company had previously provided services to FSCC for several years.

* Accept a bid from the Kansas Association of School Boards Workers Compensation Fund, Inc., for workers compensation insurance at a gross premium of $83,674.

* Accept the low bid of $14,827 from Echelon Interiors for furniture needs for the FSCC football and technology departments, both of which recently re-located to the basement of the FSCC Administration Building.

Each department director determined the furniture needs for their respective areas and all bids have been received. Estimated delivery and installation of the furniture items is about two to four weeks, the statement said.

* Hear a fall inservice report from FSCC Dean of Instruction Mary Ann Leamon-Childers, and a report from Ammons on an Association of Community College Trustees Institute meeting last month in Washington, D.C.

An executive session is also scheduled.

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