Bids were accepted and purchases were approved at last night’s meeting of the North Central Missouri College Trustees. Personnel actions were also taken.
The architectural firm Ellison Auxier of St. Joseph will be paid $110,600, which is 20 percent of the architect fee the college incurs on the $7.9 million-dollar Nuttall Student Center on the Trenton campus. The total architect fee is $553,000 (7% of $7.9M).
Sunbelt Environmental Services will be paid $105,851 for remediation work that included the removal of underground fuel tanks in the 1200 block of Main Street.
Generational Buildings of Jamesport was approved to replace and repair the metal roof of a maintenance building. The cost of $29,700 is covered by insurance.
Upon moving classroom supplies and equipment to Savannah, the college nursing staff at Maryville reported that it no longer needed a variety of linens, smaller instructional supplies, older model head units, and a hospital bed. Trustees declared the items as surplus and the college donated them to the Northwest Technical School.
A resignation, effective today (June 28), was accepted from Tobi Crippen as the extended campus operations specialist. Head Start staff resignations at Chillicothe came from Kaci Persell and Lacey Caudill as teacher aides, and Damaris Summerville as a cook.
Regarding employment, Kenlee Frank of Moberly will be an assistant softball coach and residence life coordinator at Selby Hall on campus beginning July 6th.
Six persons were hired as adjunct instructors for the college.
Krit Engemann of Troy, Kansas, will be a radiologic tech; Tad Trombley of Trenton will teach some business courses; Megan Erickson of Trenton will head pre-athletic training courses; Jeffrey Grider will have welding classes as needed; Cora Jackson will teach therapeutic massage courses and develop curriculum; and Janelle Golden will be an adjunct teacher for psychology courses.
Upon a recommendation, trustees approved a revised job description to change extended campus specialist to the role of dean or director at the new Savannah campus. The 12-month, salaried position involves administrative duties, supervision, and academic oversight for NCMC programs at Savannah.
Recognizing the additional work and management done by the Workforce Development office at 912 Main in Trenton, a one-time stipend of $7,000 was approved to be shared by Workforce Director Brent Stevens and fiscal manager Jeannie Griffin. They oversee the conversion of the northeast and northwest offices into one workforce development region of 34 counties. Stevens reported an overall increase in three programs: adult, youth, and dislocated workers. Trustees accepted the program year 2023 budget for the Workforce Development program. Revenues are listed as $415,777, and expenditures are projected at $415,867. That’s a $90 deficit for the one-year period.
College trustees approved the Head Start assessment and community assessment as recommended by the Head Start Policy Council. The 2023-2024 college catalog, which lists the Savannah programs, was also approved at the meeting last evening.
For the fiscal year beginning Saturday (July 1st), North Central Missouri College will operate on a $15 million budget following approval last night by the college Board of Trustees. Revenues are projected at $15,854,675 for the one-year period. Expenses are listed at $15,846,407. The difference means a possible balance or surplus of $8,268. These figures represent the NCMC unrestricted accounts, which include operating funds and auxiliary accounts, including the Ketcham Community Center.
The only debt obligation for fiscal year 2024 is the annual lease payment of $82,485 for the new student apartments on the campus.
Dean of Business and Finance, Tyson Otto, reported that expenses have increased by $1.4 million over last year. He noted that much of that is due to raising salaries, hiring more personnel, and adding programs. The college has 130 employees. Otto commented that personnel wages and associated benefits comprise 71 percent of the NCMC operating expenses. Employee salary increases and increases in health insurance premiums were approved by the Trustees at meetings in March and April.
Revenues are based on the anticipated enrollment level for fiscal year 23 credit hours, plus board-approved increases in tuition rates and fees. State core funding appropriations are over $3,669,350. It is anticipated that the local tax revenues generated within the college district will remain stable.
Since the Trustees reviewed the budget in advance, little discussion occurred last night when the five Trustees present unanimously approved the budget.
While North Central Missouri College President Lenny Klaver was upbeat last evening on the preliminary fall enrollment numbers, ten weeks before classes start, he also expects those numbers will decrease. But he told the Board of Trustees that he hopes the upward trend will continue. As of this past week, NCMC reported that enrollment is up from a year ago by 22 percent in headcount and up ten percent in credit hours. Of the increase of 140 students, it’s noted that there’s an earlier-than-usual report that 120 are dual-credit students. Credit hours show a gain of 802, with 650 attributed to dual credit. These figures are for all campuses, including Savannah, of North Central Missouri College.
As of June 20th, the college has received 1,140 applications, excluding dual credit. That’s a greater number than each of the three previous years by the 20th of June. The increase in fall applications received this year is 154 more than one year ago.
Dr. Klaver reviewed a community college study by the National Center for Higher Education Management, which claims that North Central is 48 percent underfunded as it pertains to state appropriations. That was the highest among 13 community colleges in Missouri. But in spite of that statistic, Klaver noted that North Central has the largest geographical territory and the smallest population but still manages to excel in terms of graduation success, job placement, and student retention.
Vice President of Academics, Tristan Londre, announced that Trenton will lose its adult education and literacy site due to a cutback in programs by the sponsoring St. Joseph School District. However, it could potentially come back if additional funds are located.
After an executive session on June 27th, the North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees assigned the interim dean/director of the Savannah Campus. Sue Nichols will start the position on July 3rd.
Nichols has been Practical Nursing to Associate Degree in Nursing Online Coordinator for NCMC.
During the regular meeting, the trustees approved a revised job description to change the extended campus specialist to the role of dean/director at the Savannah Campus.
