The North Central Missouri Board of Trustees received a consolidated budget update on May 25, 2021.
The 2021-2022 budget projection includes total operating revenue of $11,111,547. With auxiliary operations of $12,151,045, the total consolidated income is projected at $13,262,592. Revenues include $7,433,078 for tuition and fees and $2,939,169 in state appropriations.
The budget projection also includes total operating expenditures of $10,935,623. With auxiliary operations of $2,151,045, the projected total consolidated expenditures are $13,086,668. Expenditures include $5,755,288 for salaries and $1,726,282.
That leaves a projected operating surplus of $175,924. Vice President of Business and Finance Tyson Otto said he thought that was the biggest cushion the college has had since he has been in his position. He added that everything looks encouraging at this point.
Otto noted the projection assumptions include tuition revenue based on minor enrollment increases and an approved credit hour increase. They also include state appropriations revenue based on an additional $373,000 increase, salaries expenses based on raises for staff, and an increase to the overload/adjunct/clinical rates.
President Doctor Lenny Klaver reported work continues on the Savannah Center. He noted the Savannah location would merge the Maryville nursing, Bethany nursing, and North Belt Center offerings. It will be a more centralized location.
The information he provided about the new location in Savannah indicates there are two phases to the project. Phase 1 included the former car dealership being purchased and now being remodeled to house career technical education programs. Secured grants, fundraised money, and unrestricted funds in the NCMC Foundation are footing the cost of Phase 1 to the level of about $800,000.
Phase 2 includes new construction adjacent and attached to the existing building, which will be predominantly a Nursing and Allied Health facility. It will also have the ability to house Behavioral Health and Early Childhood Education as well as general education courses. The cost of Phase 2 is estimated at $5,072,387.
Board President Diane Lowrey reported Savannah is supportive of NCMC, and the city welcomes the college.
Klaver reported enrollment for NCMC for the fall is up 100 applications compared to the same date in 2020.
Summer orientation is in progress, and new marketing efforts are being used.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Doctor Tristan Londre reported NCMC hosted a delegation from the kingdom of Tonga on May 7th and 8th. Five individuals came to Trenton from all over the United States to see the campus, sample residence hall life, and film a promotional video to be used for recruiting purposes on the state television network in Tonga.
Londre said the delegation also saw the commencement and liked that Trenton is relatively safe. The group hopes to send students to NCMC as early as this fall.
The college received the Higher Learning Commission report on its quality initiative. The initiative began in the fall of 2018 and closed out with a report submitted in the summer of 2020. Londre said the commission evaluates quality initiatives on the seriousness of commitment and effort by the college. The commission notified NCMC that its quality initiative has been accepted.
Chief Information Officer Jennifer Triplett reported Information Technology Services worked with maintenance to replace wireless access points in the Ketcham Community Center gym. She noted that the replacements were up high, and maintenance helped in a “big way.”
IT Services reviewed updated network documentation and worked with vendors to improve data center stability and backup strategies.
Triplett said infrastructure refresh tasks planned for June include continued tuning of data center and network technologies and advancing video surveillance camera installations. Other infrastructure refresh tasks include planning the installation of outdoor wireless access points and continued planning of the logical network redesign.
IT Services finalized its list of IT hardware needed for the new residence halls and posted a request for bids. The bids have a deadline of June 9th.
Triplett reported IT Services is preparing for an upgrade to NCMC’s OneCard physical access system, which is scheduled to take place in late June. She noted this is a mandatory upgrade due to compatibility requirements for the new residence halls’ physical access hardware.
It was also reported that IT Services has worked with Proofpoint in the last two months to configure the college’s updated email security system. Cutover to the new system took place on May 18th.
Green Hills Head Start Director Janet Gott reported a ribbon cutting was recently held at the new Trenton Center. She said there were requests to see the inside of the new building. There might be a possibility for viewing the building after summer school is finished there on June 25th.
Gott reported all of the Green Hills Head Start centers have finished school, except for Unionville. She noted that the location closed for a while due to energy consumption.
The Brookfield Center had to shut down for one day due to a staff member testing positive for COVID-19.
Head Start Director Sue Ewigman reported Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act COVID-19 relief funding has been received, which will be used to upgrade the virtual cloud service. The upgrade will cost $2,500 per location for five years. Some of the funding will be used for emotional and social curriculum. Ewigman said that the about half that is left after those expenses will be used for personal protective equipment and supplies.
She noted other COVID-19 funding has been applied for but not yet received for about $271,200.
Ewigman reported outcomes for a Head Start self-assessment will probably be a little skewed this year due to COVID-19. A formal self-assessment is to be typed up and presented at next month’s NCMC Board of Trustees meeting.
Green Hills Head Start received a Focus Area 1 report, and there were no findings. Gott and Ewigman are pleased with the results.
Tina Marrs with Green Hills Head Start went over home base and center outcomes. She reported Green Hills Head Start was above average for each category for home base outcomes. The lowest area was literacy, and Head Start wants to work on that this coming year. Other areas were gross motor skills, fine motor skills, receptive, expressive, math, daily living skills, interpersonal, and self-regulatory.
For center outcomes, math was the lowest area. The other areas for center outcomes were social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, and literacy. Marrs noted all of the centers had at least 80% for meeting or exceeding expectations in each category.
She added that Green Hills Head Start wants to find ways to better support staff.
The North Central Missouri College Board of Trustees on Tuesday, May 25,, approved salary schedules, salaries, and stipend recommendations for 2021-2022.
The non-nursing faculty schedule’s base will increase by $1,000 to $32,187 for a bachelor’s degree, $35,947 for a master’s degree, and $39,727 for a doctorate. The non-nursing faculty schedule will also allow for the movement of one vertical step, which is about a five percent increase total.
The nursing salary schedule will allow for the movement of one vertical step, which is about a one-point seven percent increase.
Vice President of Business and Finance Tyson Otto said the Faculty and Negotiations Committee requested those changes to the faculty salary schedules.
The classified staff salary schedule will increase by four point five percent. Administrative professional employees will receive a two-point five percent increase.
Basketball, baseball, and softball head coaching stipends will increase by $500 to $6,500. The golf head, assistant, and dance coaching stipends will also increase by $500. Golf head coaching stipends will be $4,250, assistant coaching stipends $3,250, and dance coach stipend $2,500. The shooting club coach stipend will be $2,500, and it will be split between two employees.
The adjunct/overload rate for a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree will increase by $25 per credit hour. That will make the rate for a master’s degree $575 per credit hour and for a bachelor’s degree $500 per credit hour. The clinical nursing rate will increase by $8 per clinical day to $288 per clinical day.
NCMC President Doctor Lenny Klaver’s salary will be $164,720. Vice President of Academic Affairs Doctor Tristan Londre’s salary will be $107,804. Vice President of Student Affairs Doctor Kristen Alley’s salary will be $87,789.
Otto noted the increase in pay will cost NCMC about $270,000 more than what it is now paying. With insurance, the increase will be about $317,000.
The board of trustees approved a memorandum of understanding with Metropolitan Community College reassigning Buchanan County to the NCMC service region beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year. The MOU was approved with the deletion of part of a sentence, as recommended by legal counsel. The sentence that was changed read “…NCMC will commence providing community college higher education to school districts of Buchanan County therein until another change of service area is made.” The part about another change of service area was deleted.
The MOU says Metropolitan Community College will transition out of the site in the Hillyard Technical Center of Saint Joseph during the 2021-2022 academic year. MCC has the authority to perform and discharge obligations under the existing MOU with the Saint Joseph School District. It also has the authority to complete steps to teach out programs and students for the next school year that may be required by national, federal, and state agencies; accreditors; and third-party accreditors. When the transition is complete, NCMC will provide community college higher education to the school districts of Buchanan County.
Klaver said the change will add a lot of students to NCMC’s service area. It will also reestablish NCMC in Buchanan County.
Klaver reported State Senator Tony Luetkemeyer withdrew a bill he previously introduced that would have added Buchanan County to NCMC’s service area. The senator withdrew the bill toward the end of the legislative session.
The board approved NCMC prepaying a lump sum on the new student housing project of $1.2 million to Weldon Builders and Construction. Otto noted the prepayment on the lease will reduce future lease payments to about $87,000 per year. The annual lease amount can be covered by the annual revenues generated through housing fees. The funds for the prepayment will come from capital project reserves.
The board approved the continuation of audit services for the next three fiscal years with KPM CPAs and Advisors of Springfield. The annual costs will be $45,000, $45,600, and $46,100 respectively. KPM has provided auditing services for NCMC since 2013. Otto noted the college paid $45,000 last year for auditing services.
The board took action on personnel, including accepting the resignation of Math Instructor and Math, History, Science, History, and Social Science Division Chairperson Traci Norris. Her last day will be June 30th.
Megan Erickson of El Cajon, California was approved to be hired as an athletic trainer at an annual salary of $37,500 on a 10-month contract. She will begin the position on August 2nd.
The hiring of Janna Ingram of Brookfield was approved as a Behavioral Health instructor at a salary of $37,097 on a nine-month contract. She will begin that position on August 18th.
Cassie Franken was employed as an adjunct instructor for Imaging courses at the North Belt Center beginning this summer.
Alex Holcer of Meadville was hired as a clinical adjunct instructor at the current clinical rate beginning this fall.
The board approved revised and new job descriptions. The revisions included the position of Senior Network/Security Administrator, which involves a change in duties and responsibilities for a current employee.
New positions included Athletics Assistant, which will combine head coaching duties for men’s and women’s golf and assist with athletic and Ketcham Community Center duties. The position will be funded by not refilling part-time hours/positions and currently budgeted head coaching allowances for men’s and women’s golf. It is budgeted to begin with the new fiscal year.
Digital Media Specialist is another new position and will maintain Pirates Digital Media efforts. It is to be budgeted to begin with the new fiscal year.
Grant Writer is a new, temporary position that will help with grant acquisition and funding opportunities for NCMC. The position will be funded through the NCMC Foundation for the first year and could become permanent with grant acquisitions. It is to be budgeted to begin with the new fiscal year.
The board waived the first reading regarding changes to board policy and approved the changes. The changes would allow existing employees transferring into new roles within six months from July 1st to be eligible for salary range adjustments.
