College of Marin - President’s Monday Briefing

The COM Association of Peer Tutors (APT club) is starting an ink and laser cartridge recycling program on both the Kentfield and IVC campuses. Drop-off box locations are listed below. All types of cartridges are accepted. Proceeds from the project will directly benefit both COM students and tutors. For more information contact Becky Reetz at 415-485-9620 or ext. 7620 from a campus phone.

Novato Community Hospital and Marin General Hospital are giving an additional $5,000 this year in support of nursing education at College of Marin. Novato Community Hospital and Marin General have been regular supporters of nursing education.

Effective Monday, Oct. 30, 2006, the new location for the Job Placement office, is in the Student Services Building, Rm. 145.

Please be advised that the last day to file applications for fall graduation is Tuesday, October 31, 2006. Graduation applications must be reviewed, signed and submitted by a counselor to the Office of Admissions by October 31, 2006.

You are invited to the campus holiday party on Thursday, December 14, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Willie's Café, 799 College Avenue. Hors d'oeuvres will be served and there will be no-host cocktails.

The @ONE project provides free or low-cost technology training, support, and online resources to California Community College faculty, staff, and IT professionals to enhance student learning and success. Training is delivered via online courses, desktop seminars, downloadable self-paced workshops, and hands-on institutes. Fall semester topics include: Securing Your PC, Photoshop, PDFs, Blogging, PowerPoint, Moodle, Multimediea Tools for Online Learning, and Introduction to Teaching with WebCT. Explore all the @ONE offerings and resources at www.cccone.org.

Register now for the following @ONE desktop seminar offered free via CCCConfer, the system wide e-conferencing tool. All you need to participate is an internet connection and a phone. The session can also be accessed through the cccconfer.org archive after it is presented. To register go to: one.evc.edu

Date: Monday, November 6, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Presenters: Pat Hutchings, Vice President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and others from Glendale Community College and City College of San Francisco.

In this seminar, you will learn how PowerPoint is being used at Glendale Community College to improve student writing and how City College of San Francisco is maximizing Internet technologies to represent, document, guide, and improve classroom-lab-web relationships. The presenters also will discuss multimedia Web sites that they have designed as resources for faculty seeking to use technology to strengthen students’ literacy skills. The session features work from an initiative to improve learning in community colleges, sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

@ONE is part of the California Educational Technology Collaborative (CETC), an array of technology projects and resources funded by the System Office to provide support for the growing use of technology in the California Community Colleges. To find out more about the CETC projects, check www.cccetc.org or contact our Campus CETC Ambassador, Kathleen Kirkpatrick.

Maps showing dumpster locations available on COM Website, Measure C Updates, Calendar of Events page.

District Tree Removal, Project Number 317A 414A
Location: Kentfield Campus
Work will occur in Parking lots 6 and 7 including areas along College Avenue interface.

Storm Drain Repairs, Project Number 401A
Location: Indian Valley Campus
Excavation and pipe repair work will occur in the Central Campus area south of Miwok cluster toward the Perimeter Road. Swale work will continue along Ignacio Blvd. and at the Corporation Yard. Concrete pour is scheduled for early week to complete repairs at pipes leading to outfall structures adjacent to vehicular bridges.

What is basic aid funding? Basic aid districts enjoy a revenue stream that is, by definition, above the state guaranteed funding formula. This additional revenue is primarily based on local property tax revenue which is somewhat less certain than depending on the state guaranteed funding formula.

What is a reserve? Fund balance is required to be reported in two components—reserved and unreserved. When the fund balance is reserved, it either means that the resources are in a form that cannot be appropriated and spent (such as inventory) or that the resources are legally limited to being used for a particular purpose. The portion of the fund balance that is not reserved is called an unreserved fund balance. An unreserved fund balance represents resources that can be used for any purpose of the fund they are reported in. Unreserved fund balance in a debt service fund can be used to repay any outstanding debt. Unreserved fund balance in the general fund can be used for any purpose at all.

Why does COM have a reserve? Since the College of Marin is a “Basic-Aid” district a sizable reserve is required to protect the college from unforeseen events. The revenue from taxes in a fluctuating real-estate market is less predictable than the guarantee of state apportionment that non-basic aid districts receive. For that reason, basic-aid districts generally maintain a fiscal reserve in excess of state minimum guidelines in order to soften the possible effect of local property taxes plummeting due to an unexpected downturn in the real estate market or other factors. Districts do and should also maintain reserves for other purposes such as legal difficulties or other conditions requiring a higher level of reserves.

How is the amount of the reserve determined? A prudent contingency reserve is at least equal to the current-year differential between a district’s basic aid revenue and the state’s funding formula guarantee. This protects the institution from the possibility of reentry into state apportionment funding, the likelihood of which increases with a change in the differential between state and basic aid funding. This type of protective reserve needs to be accumulated over time.

What is the source of reserve funding? Reserve funding is the ending fund balance, which is set-aside or designated (reserved) for a particular purpose

What is an ending fund balance? A fund balance is created when the school district has money left over at the end of its fiscal year from either under spending the budget or taking in additional revenue or a carryover of its beginning fund balance. It is also the difference between assets and liabilities in a governmental fund.

What determines the amount that COM holds in reserve? COM determines the amount held in reserve through a combination of the Unrestricted General Fund amount, board policy, board directives, State recommended minimum guidelines, and staff recommendations.

How much of a reserve does COM have? For the unrestricted general fund, the College of Marin has $75,673 reserved for non-cash assets, and a $3,906,422 undesignated reserve for contingencies. As of June 30, 2006 the Board designated and transferred $1,000,000 into the Retiree Unfunded Medical Liability Fund. Fund balances in all other funds are restricted and designed for the purposes of those funds only.

What is an unfunded liability? COM, like many other community colleges, provided an employer paid health benefit to retirees. GASB 43 and 45 require that 1) the past liability is calculated, and 2) the actual expense or cost of the benefit is recorded each year over the working career of the employee. The unfunded liability is an actuarial estimate of the cost to fund the past, present, and future cost of the benefit. COM is funding its liability in advance of the required date. As of June 30, 2006 the Board designated and transferred $1,000,000 into the Retiree Unfunded Medical Liability Fund. By reserving for the unfunded liability, the college is positioning itself so that the mandatory payments are smaller than they would be without the reserved amount.

What is the role of the Budget Committee? The Budget Committee is charged with the responsibility to develop the effectiveness of budget assumptions and operations that pertain to and support instruction and student services. A consecutive emphasis is to develop informed budgetary processes that are fair, understood by participants, and effective in allocating resources in the most beneficial manner.

It’s Halloween! Are you ready for an old cult classic? ASCOM presents Club Fest, showing Rocky Horror Picture Show on October 31, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Student Services Building, Cafeteria. Donations will be accepted at the door.

Come join in the festivities and enjoy the Inter Club Council Club Fest, on Halloween, October 31, in the Learning Center Quad, 11 a.m until 2 p.m.

Trick or Treat? Don’t forget to get some Halloween goodies at the AGS Bake Sale, October 31, from 11 a.m. to 2.p.m. outside the Learning Center in the quad, Proceeds will benefit AGS.

The Job Placement Office will be hosting their first Indian Valley Campus – Job Fair on Wednesday, November 8, 2006, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This event will be located at the Internet Café` near the Administrative Center and Parking Lot 5. For more information call Carol Perez 415-485-9410.

College of Marin Department of Theatre Arts will present a Black Box Festival of Performing Arts that will begin with featured guest artists the Pangaia Sacred Art Ensemble on Friday and Saturday, November 3 and 4 at 8 p.m. in the Studio Theatre on the Kentfield Campus. Pangaia will present Seeds, an evening of personal and planetary healing, which weaves music, dance, theatre, poetry and audience participation in a ceremonial shamanic ritual performance.

The 24 Hour Play Project will be performed on November 18 at 8 p.m., in the Studio Theatre. This play will be created from an idea given to students 24 hours prior to the actual performance and will have been written, rehearsed, costumed, designed and built 24 hours before the event begins. Tickets are a suggested donation of $10 at the door only. No advance sales or reservations.

Finally, Guest director Anna Berner will direct Gert Hoffman’s darkly comic capitalist take on the apocalypse, Our Man in Madras. It’s the end of the world, but business as usual for our man in Madras. Rounding out the evening will be Improv by AWOL (Actors With Out Lines) COM’s resident improvisational performers. Our Man in Madras and Improv will be performed Fridays and Saturdays, December 1, 2, 8, and 9 at 8 p.m.

Tickets for all Black Box Festival events are a suggested donation of $10 at the door. No advance sales or reservations. For information call 415-485-9555.

The Dance Department presents: All The Right Moves The Dance Department performances are not to be missed. Come and support the award winning College of Marin Dance Department as they present their most enjoyable fall concert featuring a kaleidoscopic collage of dance styles ranging from aerial ballet to modern to hip hop. The performances will be presented Fridays and Saturdays, November 3, 4, 10 and 11, at 8 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre on the Kentfield Campus. Admission is $15 general and $10 for students, seniors, alums and COM employees. For information call the Box Office (415) 485-9385.

The ASEC Emeritus Center is hosting an art exhibit featuring work by COM artists, including paintings in oil, encaustic, water color, pastel, and acrylic. At each entrance to the Center you will find a list of the artists, the names of their paintings, and prices, in case you are doing your holiday shopping early this year! The center is open weekdays. A reception for the artists will be held on November 8, the last day of the show, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. For more information contact Len Pullan, lenshir@earthlink.net.

If you haven’t done so already, be sure and catch the remarkable art exhibit, Mask featuring the works of Bill Abright, professor of Art and Ceramics. It is well worth the walk over to Fine Arts on a beautiful fall day. Bill’s ceramics and drawings are featured in a spacious lay out in large format. This exhibit will be on display through November 10. The Art Gallery hours are 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information call 415-485-9494.

The Center for Regenerative Design presents Recreating The Public Commons as part of the COMmunity Profile Series on Friday, November 3 from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. in Olney Hall 96 on the Kentfield Campus. Join us in a conversation with Mark Lakeman and Lydia Doleman as they share their quest to engage citizens in the reinvention of the public landscape by converting street intersections into public squares, or organizing other forms of permanent or ephemeral place interventions. Also, meet College of Marin Physical Education professor Cheryl Goldman as she shares her perspective on greening public spaces. This event will be moderated by visionary architect and Co-Director of COM’s Center for Regenerative Design (CRD) Sim Van der Ryn, and educator, author and Co-Director of CRD, Andres Edwards. For information about this event and the Center for Regenerative Design (CRD) call: (415) 457-8811, ext. 7727 or visit: www.greenmarin.net.

In December, the COM Center for Regenerative Design will present John Francis: Saving the Planet One Step at a Time with COM Professor Paul Da Silva, Biology Department, as part of the COMmunity Profile Series Friday, December 8 at 7 p.m. in Olney Hall 96 on the Kentfield Campus. Join us in a COMmunity Profile Series conversation with John Francis as he describes his pilgrimage on behalf of the environment and world peace an interior journey that was also a walk across North and South America, from youth to manhood, from wondering to deep convictions about social and environmental justice. Also, meet College of Marin Biology professor Paul Da Silva as he shares his perspective on environmental education. This event will be moderated by Sim Van der Ryn and Andres Edwards. For information about this event and the Center for Regenerative Design (CRD) call: (415) 457-8811 ext. 7727 or send email to: andres@andresedwards.com.

Join Sim Van der Ryn, Andres Edwards, Frances White and Rob Barthelman at the San Francisco Green Festival on Sunday, November 12, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., in the Concourse Exhibition Center, San Francisco, CA. For more information on the Green Festival, visit greenfestivals.org or call (202) 872-5307.

Friday, 11/03/06, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Kentfield Campus, DH118 Monday, 11/06/06, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Indian Valley Campus, Administration Building, RM121 Cost: $20. (We do not bill insurance plans and we are not a Medicare provider.) After 11/03/06, flu vaccines will be available by appointment, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. at the Kentfield Campus, DH118. If you have any questions, call 415-485-9458 or on campus ext.7458.

The deadline to submit applications for scholarships for the spring 2007 Intensive English Program is fast approaching. Please be aware that only completed applications will be accepted at the ESL office in Kentfield or the IEP office at the Indian Valley Campus. The complete application must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 in the ESL Office, Harlan Center 123, Kentfield Campus, OR by 9:00 a.m. Thursday, November 16, 2006 in the Intensive English Program, Ohlone 19, Room 141, Indian Valley Campus. For more information, call the ESL Office at 415 485-9642 or the IEP office at 415-883-2211 ext. 8579.

You are invited to submit a proposal for an Educational Excellence Innovation Fund (EEIF) grant. The EEIF will provide seed money encouraging College of Marin’s faculty and staff to “dream out loud” by developing innovative ideas to improve teaching and learning at the College of Marin. Faculty proposals should be submitted to U.D.W.C. per Article 8.3 of the UP.M. contract by November 1, 2006 for projects to begin spring 2007. Administrators and staff must submit their proposals to the President’s Office by November 1, 2006 for projects to begin spring 2007. The EEIF is one of the Board of Trustees’ Annual Priorities. EEIF is partially funded by the general fund and by private funds raised by COM’s President’s Circle. EEIF funds provide opportunities for excellence in teaching, learning, institutional planning, professional development, and support for academic and culturally diverse programs and services. For more information or to request an application form, please contact the President's Office.

Together, we can make great things happen!
Frances L. White, Ph.D.
Superintendent/President

President's Monday Briefing webpage
Technical Contact: Nicole Cruz, Admin Assist., 415-485-9510
Content Responsible: Cathy Summa-Wolfe, Dir. of Communications & Community Relations, 415-485-9528