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Budget UpdateThe Integrated Planning Process (IPP) for the 2009/2010 academic year was launched in March 2009. It is important to note that completing the Educational Master Plan and launching the IPP was a significant accomplishment. I would like to express sincere thanks to all of you who worked hard to ensure that the IPP was completed in a timely way. While the implementation of the new process was successful in several respects, there were also significant lessons learned that will help inform and improve the next planning cycle. First, we discovered that starting in March to discuss budget assumptions and forecasting is too late. Therefore, the new planning timeline (IPP Manual) will begin in August 2009. Second, we learned that the Institutional Planning Committee (IPC) and Budget Committee (BC) should be working from the same page. It is clear that the committees did not always have the same understanding regarding issues related to institutional planning priorities and available resources. The Governance Review Committee (GRC) will review this issue in the fall and make recommendations for improvement. In the meantime, we are faced with looming deficits at the state level. Last week the Governor released two May Revise proposals with few details and both were devastating to community colleges. The proposals were based on two scenarios, one, a base proposal should the ballot measures on the May 19 Special Election ballot pass, and the other, a contingency plan, should the ballot measures fail. In either case, there will be a huge state deficit to contend with: a $15.4 billion deficit forecast if the measures pass or a $21.3 billion gap forecast if the measures fail. Neither picture looks good. One of the Governor’s scenarios calls for an $85 million reduction in categorical funds the current year and another $221 million next fiscal year. The second direr scenario calls for an $85 million reduction in categorical funds for the current year and another $334 million next fiscal year. Programs, services, and equipment funded by categorical money are special programs like EOPS/CARE, DSPS, CalWORKs, Matriculation, Basic Skills Initiative, Partnership for Excellence, and Instructional Block Grants for instructional equipment and other items. COM receives about $5 million a year in categorical funds from the state and a significant cut could jeopardize program operations and put any equipment replacements and acquisitions at risk. As a basic aid district COM is not eligible for growth funds. This means that while apportionment funded districts may recoup a portion of their funding through increasing enrollments, this is not true for COM. Additionally, there is proposed legislation, AB 551, (introduced by Assembly Member Furutani -- http://tinyurl.com/oam5wb) proposing to “cap” local revenues to basic aid districts at the 2008/2009 funding levels for the 2009/2010 year. Capping revenues at the 2008/2009 level would not be advantageous to COM especially in light of the fact that the best “revenue” years for COM were 2005 and 2006. This bill is sponsored by the Board of Governors for the California Community Colleges and is winding its way through the assembly and senate with strong support. The tentative budget for COM will be approved by the Board of Trustees on June 23 and the final budget will be approved in August. At this juncture, the tentative budget is a status quo budget (as recommended by the Budget Committee). New unrestricted general fund revenue of approximately $1 million will be used to offset a $450,000 deficit (in a categorical program), automatic step and column increases for faculty and staff, and increases in health benefits. The bottom line is that we will need to review and revise our assumptions about the 2009/2010 budget after the Governor’s May Revise. Please stay tuned for budget updates in June and July leading up to the final COM budget approval at the August BOT meeting. Construction Notification - While You’re AwayOn June 23, 2009, the college will celebrate the upcoming construction of the new Fine Arts Building at Kentfield with a groundbreaking ceremony. This event, to be held in the upper quad in front of the Performing Arts Building, will start at 2:30 p.m. Fine Arts faculty and staff are invited to attend as special guests. The design for this new building was approved by the Division of the State Architect on April 30, 2009. Bids for construction will be opened on or about June 18, and contract award is expected at the June 23 Board meeting. Construction will start by early July 2009. By the time everyone returns to the campus in August, there will be significant detours and parking changes on the upper Kentfield campus. Circle Drive will be closed to college parking; Parking Lot 16 (on the corner of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Laurel Avenue) will be returned to “staff only” status; and Parking Lot 2 (across Sir Francis Drake Boulevard) will have additional “staff only” spaces to mitigate the loss of Circle Drive parking. The entire upper quad area and the green area along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard (where the monument sign is located) will be fenced in for construction trailers and staging. Wood walls will be placed strategically to mitigate noise and visual disruptions. Circle Drive will be for construction parking only. Pedestrian routes around the quad will be maintained to allow continued access to the campus from Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. These detours will be ADA accessible and in some places will be covered to protect pedestrians from overhead construction activities. Detour signs will be posted. Construction of the new Fine Arts Building is expected to continue until spring 2011. Occupants of Harlan Center and the Performing Arts Building will be most impacted by this work. To that end, a special workshop is being held during Flex Week in August to go over construction details and answer questions. Check your Flex Week calendars for time and location. New Board ResolutionsAt the May 12, 2009, Board of Trustees meeting the following two resolutions were passed: Resolution No. 5/12/09 B.4.a(1) was passed in support of Classified School Employees Week. This resolution acknowledges the valuable services that classified professionals provide schools, and seeks to honor their contributions by declaring the week of May 17 to 23, 2009, as Classified School Employees Week in the Marin Community College District. To recognize Todd McCleary’s service as Student Trustee, the Board passed resolution No. 5/12/09 B.4.a(2) as an expression of their gratitude for his hard work. McCleary served as the Student Trustee and twenty-second President of the College of Marin Student Senate. He contributed to COM’s “Spirit of Community” with his work ethic, intelligence, enthusiasm, and persistence while representing the rights of students. Personnel ActionsThe following personnel actions were approved at the May 12, 2009, Board of Trustees Meeting: Appointment of Classified Personnel
Retirement of Academic Personnel
COM Job Fair Sees High TurnoutOn Wednesday, May 6, around 100 job seekers made their rounds at an employment fair held by Job Placement Coordinator Carol Perez. There were 25 employers staffing tables including the Bank of Marin, Macy's, Costco, and the Golden Gate Bridge District, all with jobs to be had. In addition to employers, the fair also featured a resource room with suggestions to improve your resume, interview techniques, and tips on how to dress. Microsoft Office 2007 is Coming to COMThe Instructional Technology Department and Staff Development Office are working together to upgrade office computers to Microsoft Office 2007. Software will be installed and training workshops will be offered beginning in June. Watch your campus e-mail for more information. Annual Faculty and Staff LuncheonThe annual faculty and staff luncheon will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m., Thursday, May 21, in the campus green area of the Kentfield campus. In an effort to conserve resources, invitations were sent via campus e-mail May 5. An R.S.V.P. to Melinda.Molloy@marin.edu was required by May 15. Registered Nursing Program Pinning CeremonyThe faculty and 2009 graduating class of the College of Marin Registered Nursing Program will hold their annual Pinning Ceremony Thursday, May 21, at 6 p.m. in the Fine Arts Theatre. The traditional Nurses’ Pinning Ceremony is held to observe the completion of the Nursing Education Program and dates back to Florence Nightingale. The pin itself identifies the particular school of nursing that the graduate nurse attended and symbolizes the philosophy, beliefs, and aspirations of the nursing program. The ceremony is a community celebration of the completion of the nursing program and is evidence of the achievement, learning, and skill that the graduate nurse has attained. You are cordially invited to attend the ceremony with reception following. College of Marin Foundation Scholarship Awards CeremonyThe College of Marin Foundation Scholarship Awards Ceremony will be held Friday, May 22, 2009, at 5 p.m. in the Student Services Center. Refreshments will be served afterward. Over 100 students will receive scholarships. For more information, please contact Margaret Elliott at comf@marin.edu. College of Marin 82nd Commencement ExercisesCOM’s 82nd Commencement will take place on Saturday, May 23, at 10 a.m. in the Harlan Center Quad Area. For more information refer to www.marin.edu and click on the Commencement 2009 link. Flex UpdateMark your calendars for the fall 2009 Flex days. Non-mandatory Flex days are August 12 and August 13. The Mandatory Flex day is Friday, August 14. College Convocation will take place from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by department meetings organized by your department chair, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. If you would like to present a workshop during the Non-mandatory Flex days or during the fall semester, please e-mail kathleen.kirkpatrick@marin.edu. Flex information and scheduled activities will be posted on the Staff Development Web Page on the College website. Reminder! Spring 2009 Flex Verification Forms are due in Human Resources by Friday, May 22, 2009. The forms can be downloaded from the Staff Development Web Page. Free E-Waste Collection at NorthgateBring all of your old electronics to Northgate and help do your part to stop the fastest growing segment of waste from entering our landfills. Electronic waste includes: monitors, televisions, PC systems, notebooks, computer servers, networking equipment, printers, copy machines, scanners, computer components and peripherals, digital cameras and camcorders, VCR/DVD players, MP3 players, PDA’s, cell phones, telephones, home entertainment systems, fax machines, dry cell and car batteries. The collection will start at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, and Sunday, May 31, 2009. Northgate Mall is located at 5800 Northgate Mall in San Rafael. The event will be held in the northeast corner of the parking lot by Macy’s. Visit http://www.shopatnorthgate.com/home.asp for more information. KudosKudos to the fifteen classified staff members who were nominated by their colleagues for consideration for the Golden Bell Award: Brian Chi, Melody Creel, Gordon Hedemark, Tom Hudgens, Andrea Hunter, Kathleen Kirkpatrick, Vickie Lamke, Laurie Loeffler, Lupe Oropeza, Jeff Peck, Becky Reetz, Rowena Southard, Barbara St. John, Patricia Torres, and Karen Van Kriedt. To learn more about these outstanding classified staff members, read excerpts from the nomination forms on the Classified Senate Web Page. On Thursday, April 9, College of Marin was host to approximately 280 local Latino high school students who were eager to learn what the campus had to offer. The event was coordinated by Jorge Alfonso and the Office of Outreach and School Relations. Special thanks go out to the following COM Student Services representatives, Margaret Elliot, Cecilia Gutierrez, Roz Hartman, Grace Hom, Laurel Jimenez, Jesse Klein, Ron Palmer, Diana Verdugo, and Brian Wilson for being part of this important outreach event. MusicContemporary Opera Marin June Yokell’s Paintings on display throughout the CommunityCollege of Marin Matriculation Office Technician June Yokell’s paintings will be featured at a number of upcoming art events. Yokell’s work provides a quiet reflection on observations made in the natural world that surrounds us. Where: The San Rafael Corporate Center Where: Levy Art and Architecture
Have a great week! Frances L. White, Ph.D.
President's Monday Briefing webpage |
College of Marin is one of 112 public community colleges in California and is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Approximately 10,000 credit and noncredit students enroll each fall and spring semester. Classes also are offered during the summer.
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