LAREDO COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

Laredo, Texas

The regular meeting of the Laredo Community College Board of Trustees convened on Thursday, April 30, 2009, beginning at 6:02 p.m. in the Samuel A. Meyer Board Room Laird Hall 124 of the Fort McIntosh Campus.

	MEMBERS PRESENT	OTHERS
ROLL CALL	Pete Saenz, Jr., President Belinda Guerra, Secretary Carlos Carranco, Jr.* Hilario Cavazos, III Rene De La Viña Mercurio Martinez, Jr.** Edward C. Sherwood James McCarry, Ex-officio	Juan L. Maldonado Eleazar Gonzalez Fred Solis, Jr. George Meurer, College Attorney Jose Reyes
	*Arrived at 6:10 p.m. **Arrived at 7:03 p.m.
	MEMBERS ABSENT Leonides G. Cigarroa, Jr. Cynthia Mares, Vice President
CALL TO ORDER	Mr. Saenz called the meeting to order. Ms. Guerra called the roll. A quorum of the members was present.
MINUTES	Mr. Sherwood raised the point that a correction be made to the March minutes to reflect the Board’s intent for Item 10.a as follows: 2. That the Board appoint the Finance and Audit Committee to evaluate, score, and rank respondents to the RFQ for Financial Advisory Services. 3. That the Board authorize the Finance and Audit Committee to negotiate a fee with one of the respondents, beginning with the best qualified, and award a Financial Advisory Services contract to said firm. Once said corrections are made, he moved that the minutes be approved. Mr. De La Viña seconded the motion; motion carried.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION BY D.D. HACHAR CHARITABLE TRUST	Dr. Juan L. Maldonado, LCC President, acknowledged the generosity from the D.D. Hachar Charitable Trust for their scholarship donations in the amount of $450,000. Mr. Jim Moore, BBVA Compass President, Mr. Joaquin Romero and Ms. Norma Machado, both Trust officers presented Laredo Community College with a check.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY	No one signed up for public testimony.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CENTER (EDC) REPORT	Mr. Cavazos moved to move up Item 8 for presentation. Mr. De La Viña seconded the motion; motion passed. Councilmen Johnny Rendon – District V, and Webb County Commissioner Jerry Garza – District III addressed the Board in support of the Laredo Community College Economic Development Center, which helps with the educational training of Laredo’s workforce. Dr. Maldonado acknowledged the presence of Mr. Bob Zachariah, President of the Laredo Hotel & Lodging Association. Mr. Jose Reyes, LCC Director of EDC, provided a presentation information relating to LCC’s Economic Development Center’s: the mission and vision, collaborations with ISDs and programs with local, state, & federal agencies, economic initiatives with Business & Industry, and opportunities for EDC to provide economic development services. Mr. Zachariah expressed his view that Laredo is overdue in the development of a program in economic development. Discussion followed. This item was presented for information purposes; no action was required.
COMMUNICATIONS/ INTRODUCTIONS/ RECOGNITIONS	Dr. Maldonado introduced the student representative - Rick Reyes member of the Music Club, and new employees: Deborah H. Matthews- South Campus Librarian, Marcela Vera – Assistant Director Child Development Lab, Beatriz Flores – Mathematics Tutor Coordinator. He reported the precautions the College was taking to address the present health alert and the options being considered.
FACULTY ASSEMBLY REPORT	Mr. McCarry reported the results of the Faculty Assembly elections as follows: Dr. Alfonso Martinez – President Mr. Chris Turner – Vice President Mr. Bill Wisner – Secretary Ms. Martha Fenstermaker, Ms. Donna Lewey, and Ms. Charlotte Cunningham will be senators at-large. Mr. McCarry complimented the manner in which Mr. Lee Spain very skillfully handled an employee mediation.
DASHBOARD REPORT – ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES	Mr. Fred Solis, Jr., Vice President for Instruction, presented information on the College’s yearly accountability measures categorized as follows: participation, developmental education, student success, and institutional effectiveness. The report noted that: fall semester enrollments are up, number of unprepared students has dropped, half of the students need financial aid, college-readiness in reading still presents a challenge, transfer students and graduates are increasing, course persistence needs some improvement, most instruction is taught by full-time faculty, and administrative costs have also dropped. Discussion followed. The report was for information; no action was required.
Finance & Audit Committee UPDATE ON AUDIT FINDINGS REPORTED IN fy 2008 letter to management (ORAL REPORT)	Mr. Eleazar Gonzalez, Chief Adm. & Financial Officer, presented the Board with an oral update report as to what direction administration has taken to address the issues presented in the FY 2008 Letter to Management. He addressed and reported on: purchasing procedure violations - the development of flow charts outlining procedures for process improvements, accountability and inventory of student records in federal programs - the development of a program monitoring form that will be checked every six months for file accuracy, and processing of financial aid awards – review of data to ensure students being awarded meet all the requirements of the award. The report was for information. Discussion followed; no action was required.
Ratification of AWARD OF FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES CONTRACT	Mr. Sherwood reported the committee met and heard three presentations from the firms who submitted proposals. The Committee evaluated, scored, & ranked the respondents and selected the firm of Estrada Hinojosa out of Dallas. Mr. Sherwood moved that the Board ratify the Committee’s recommendation. Mr. Cavazos seconded the motion. Discussion followed and Mr. Meurer clarified the process and the selection criteria published in the Request for Qualifications (RFQ). Mr. Cavazos made a motion that the Board accept the recommendation of the Finance & Audit Committee and direct staff, with the assistance of Mr. Meurer, to negotiate a contract. Mr. Sherwood moved to accept Mr. Cavazos’ amendment to his motion. Ms. Guerra expressed concern that with so many motions it was unclear what they were voting on. Mr. Sherwood restated his motion, “I move that the Board of Trustees ratify the award of the Financial Advisory Services contract to the firm of Estrada Hinojosa and direct the administration, with whatever assistance is needed by our attorney, to negotiate a contract that would be then given to the Board for final approval.” Mr. Cavazos seconded the motion. Mr. Martinez stated that the point of order is that the Board should act on the amendment and vote on the amendment and afterwards vote on the motion. Mr. Saenz called for the vote on the amendment. The amendment passed. The vote was taken on the motion; the motion carried.
COPS HIRING RECOVERY PROGRAM GRANT MATCH	Mr. Sherwood reported the Finance & Audit Committee discussed and recommend that the Board approve the COPS required grant match of approximately $172,016 to be secured by an annual earmarked amount of $57,339 over a three year period. He so moved. The motion was seconded by Mr. De La Viña; motion carried.
APPROVAL OF A TAX REFUND	Mr. Martinez reported the Finance & Audit Committee members with the exception of Mr. Cavazos approved the tax refund in the amount of $10,237.01 to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Mr. Martinez noted that state law required that the governing board approve tax refunds for amounts in excess of $2,500.00. This refund is a correction of personal property meaning inventory because of depreciation that was not applied. He so moved. Ms. Guerra seconded the motion. Discussion followed on consequences for non-approval. The motion passed. Mr. Cavazos abstained from voting.
MARCH MONTHLY financial report	Mr. Martinez made a motion that the Board approve the monthly financial report in addition to the investment report as required by state law. Mr. Sherwood seconded the motion. Mr. Gonzalez noted there was a revision on the agenda item. Mr. Martinez amended his motion that the Board acknowledge the revised addition on the 2009 March monthly financial report including the quarterly investment report as required under the Public Funds Investment Act. Mr. Sherwood withdrew his second to the initial motion and seconded the amendment. The Board voted on the amendment; it passed. The Board voted on the motion; motion carried.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT	Dr. Maldonado reported the most serious concern at this time is the Level 5 health alert. He mentioned security issues continue to be addressed. Ms. Guerra commended Mr. Blas Castaneda for maintaining his travel expenses low.
EXECUTIVE SESSION	At 8:17 p.m. the Board went into executive session as moved by Mr. Sherwood and seconded by Mr. Martinez for the items indicated below: 12. Closed session consultation with the Laredo Community College District’s attorney regarding legal issues concerning the Level III grievance hearing of Rosario Peña pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551.071. 13. Closed session consultation with Laredo Community College District’s attorney regarding Steve Mon Dragon v. Laredo Community College, Cause No. 2007 CVQ-002153-D2, pending in the 111^th Judicial District Court, Webb County, pursuant to Section 551.071 of the Texas Government Code. 14. Closed session consultation with Laredo Community College District’s attorney regarding Calixto Leija v. Laredo Community College, Cause No. 2008 CVQ-001592-D2, pending in the 111^th Judicial District Court, Webb County, pursuant to Section 551.071 of the Texas Government Code. The motion carried. The Board reconvened at 9:20 p.m. from executive session and Mr. Saenz noted that no action was taken.
SCHEDULE LEVEL III GRIEVANCE HEARING OF ROSARIO PENA	Dr. Maldonado recommended May 12, 2009, as the date for the grievance hearing.
NEXT MEETING DATE	The next regular meeting date is Thursday, May 28, 2009. Dr. Maldonado announced he would schedule a meeting for the Board to review the Facilities Master Plan sometime during the second week of June. Mr. Sherwood inquired, “When would work begin on the budget?” Dr. Maldonado indicated he would meet with Mr. Gonzalez to determine the calendar and develop the first draft of the budget.
ADJOURNMENT	At 9:25 p.m., Mr. Sherwood moved to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Mr. Carranco; motion carried.