Summary of the December 17, 2024 Board Meeting

Dec 18 2024

The Board of Trustees held its annual organizational meeting on December 17, 2024. The Audit Committee also met immediately prior to the Board meeting. It is my pleasure to share a summary of both meetings with you. I refer you to the minutes of the meetings if you want a detailed report of both meetings. Those minutes will be available at the January regular Board of Trustees meeting.

Audit Committee Meeting

• The Committee approved the District’s final audit report. I am pleased to report that we received an unmodified audit report. And no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses, financial statement findings for the year ending June 30, 2024, or any non-compliance material to our financial statements were identified.
• The Committee, Julia, and I discussed possible next steps in the Measure I bond issuance process with Danielle Arruda from KNN Public Finance and a few post-election housekeeping actions with David Casnocha from Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth LLP. The Committee is familiar with Johanna and David from previous meetings since Danielle guided the Board through the Measure Q refinancing process and David talked to the Board about a potential bond when the Trustees were considering whether to move forward with putting a bond measure on the November election ballot.
  
  I also shared a list of potential projects that I believe should be considered for funding via Measure I. The below list of potential projects has been identified in our Facilities Master Plan.

• • Replace outdated/unsafe Eureka Campus student housing that will include affordable student housing units.
  • Construct a Del Norte Campus Healthcare Education Training Center that will replace outdated/unsafe portable buildings (healthcare, Pelican Bay Program, and art) and faculty offices.
  • Complete the athletic field replacement/Community Stadium Phase 2 project.
  • Replace the outdoor firing range with an indoor facility to separate the noise from increasing instruction and people on the east side of the Eureka Campus.
  • Complete HVAC and roof replacement or improvement projects on the Eureka and Del Norte Campuses.
  • Separate roads from pedestrian areas and relocate more convenient parking on the Eureka Campus.
  • Replace the Academy of the Redwoods facility.
  • Reprogram the Library to support modern learning needs.
  • Create a “Heart of Campus” for the Eureka and Del Norte Campuses.
  • Purchase a wastewater/sewer generator.
  • Complete geotechnical work for future for FUSION projects.
  • Complete various ADA Upgrades.
  • Create space for special programs.

I consider the first three projects—Eureka Campus housing replacement project, the Del Norte Campus healthcare training center, and the completion of Phase II of the community stadium upgrade—vital to CR’s long-term success and must be prioritized as immediate. My rationale did not come as a surprise to the Trustees since these three projects served as the foundation for the Board’s decision to move forward with putting the bond on the November ballot. Additionally, I reasoned that moving forward with these three projects at the same time is essential for the following reasons.

1. 1. We were awarded $28.1 million in state funds for to increase student affordable housing capacity. It is in our best fiscal interest to combine the state money with our bond funds to build the new residence halls. I do not know how long the $28.1 million will be available to us if the state wants to reallocate unspent funds to other state budget priorities.
   2. The new residence halls, the healthcare training center, and the community stadium renovation are critical to our ability to increase enrollment and revenue. The window of opportunity for us to capture enrollment growth funding from the state will narrow in the coming years if the state needs to reduce spending.
   3. We have seen the cost of construction increase significantly over the past several years. The longer we delay these projects, the likelihood that construction costs will cut into our finite pool of Measure I funds is a certainty.
   4. Moving forward on constructing the Del Norte Campus healthcare training center will alleviate the unsafe classroom/office situation on the Del Norte Campus, will help us raise additional funds from the Yurok Tribe and the Del Norte Community Healthcare District, and help build trust with the Del Norte Campus and Del Norte County communities.
   5. Completing the community stadium project will help our coaches recruit student athletes and strengthen our connection with the local community.

So, what’s next? I asked David to draft the Resolution Establishing Oversight Committee and Approving Bylaws, drafts Bylaws, and an Application for Committee membership for my review and submission to the Board at their January 7, 2025 meeting. We will start to advertise for Oversight Committee members once these documents are approved by Board. We are obligated to have at least one member active in a business organization representing the business community located within the District, one member active in a senior citizen's organization, one member active in a bona fide taxpayer's organization, one student member both currently enrolled at College of the Redwoods and active in a college group, and one member active in the support and organization of the District (maybe the Foundation). Because of the diversity of our service area, we want to make sure that we have representation from each of our counties on the Committee.

I would like to have David draft a resolution Entering Election Results for Trustee approval at their February Board meeting. We will have to officially form the Oversight Committee within 60 days after the election results are entered into the minutes of the Board.

I asked Julia to start discussing the bond issuance process with Danielle sometime after the beginning of the new year. Have Stradling provide the Oversight Committee members with training regarding their roles and responsibilities.

Regular Meeting of the Board

• Trustee Area 2 and Trustee Area 5 became vacant as of 8:00 am this morning (December 17, 2024). According to the Education Code in the event of a vacancy by resignation, the District has 60 days from the date the resignations were filed with the county superintendent of schools (received) having jurisdiction over the District to make a decision on how to fill the seat, assuming the resignations were not deferred to a later date. The two resignations were filed with HCOE Superintendent Michael Davies-Hughes on December 16. He acknowledged receipt of those resignations on the same date.

Per Education Code Section 5091, the Board can either order an election or make a provisional appointment to fill the vacancy. A provisional appointment confers all powers and duties of a governing board member upon the appointee immediately following his or her appointment. Whoever receives the provisional appointment will hold office only until the next regularly scheduled election for district governing board members. [E.C. section 5091(d)] The next election will then fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term.  If the board orders an election to fill the vacancy instead of a provisional appointment, the person elected will hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term.
The Board decided to move forward on making provisional appointments to fill the two vacant seats. Today, the Trustees discussed the criteria, application process, application materials and timeline they want to use to make a provisional appointment for these vacant.

Here is the timeline they discussed:

December 18 and January 6—The President’s office will publicize the vacancy via a press release, our website, and our social media feeds. During this time period, the President’s Office will also receive applications and provide information to interested candidates.

January 6—This is the deadline for trustee candidates to submit an application for Board consideration.

January 7 (Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees)—The President’s Office will distribute candidate application materials to Board for review and the Board will finalize their interview questions.

January 11 (Special Meeting)—The Board will interview candidates and act to appoint people to fill the vacant Area 2 and Area 5 trustee seats.

January 25 (Board Workshop)—New Trustees will be sworn in and Brown Act and Ethics Training will be given to the full Board.

January 26-February 7—There is a statutory notice that must be sent after provisional appointments. After provisional appointments are made to fill the vacancies caused by the resignations, we have ten days of the Board making the provisional appointments the District to publish the notice in three public places in the District; a newspaper of general circulation published in the District, stating a provisional appointment was made, and on our website. The notice must include: the fact of the resignation; the date of the filing of the resignation and the effective date of the resignations; the full name of the provisional appointees and date of appointments; and a statement that unless a petition calling for a special election, containing a sufficient number of signatures, is filed in the office of the county superintendent of schools within 30 days of the date of the provisional appointments, they shall become an effective appointment. The President’s Office will publish notice of appointment, notify candidates who were not selected, and notify the HCOE Superintendent and Elections Office of provisional appointment.

• • Pursuant to Board Policies 2210 and 2305 the Trustees elected Colleen Mullery President of the Board, Ms. Carol Mathews Vice President of the Board, and Mr. Richard Dorn as Clerk of the Board for 2025-26.
  • The Board approved Pakunihanich Martin as a Student Development Advisor for the Native American Student Support & Success Program (NASSSP), Valerie Cleek as our new District Accounting Analyst, and Dr. Kristin Lima as the permanent Dean of our Del Norte Center and Pelican Bay Program. The Trustees also ratified the resignations Shauna Burdick, Debbie Romero, and Cheyenne Schorlig.
  • The Board approved three recommendations critical to our Eureka and Del Norte Campus projects. Although John Pospishil was hired as the Inspector of Record (IOR) for the Physical Education Replacement Project, California’s Division of the State Architect (DSA) required us to hire an Assistant IOR because of the size of the PE replacement project. Therefore, the Board approved John Craven as the project’s Assistant IOR. Additionally, the Board approved my recommendation to seek proposals from qualified professionals to design the Del Norte Healthcare Training Center and manage the construct the DNHTC.
  • I recognized Tom Cossey, Jose Ramirez, Mark Bernards, Kirt Frischknecht, and Amador Renteria for their work on expanding wireless access on the Eureka Campus. The operational improvement we’ve seen in our IT department warrants our profound collective appreciation. I also congratulated the football student athletes and coaches for a second straight Grizzly Bowl victory.
  • The Society of American Foresters (SAF) Committee on Forest Technology School Accreditation granted initial accreditation, under the forest technology standard, to CR’s Forestry and Natural Resources Technology program leading to the A.S. in Forest Technology effective January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2028.
  • The ACCJC approved our Substantive Change Application acknowledging that fifty percent or more of total enrolled students take a least one course offered through distance education.
  • I want to provide some information contained in the senior staff’s written administrative reports. First, the planning teams from CR (Vice President Crystal Morse, Vice President Julia Morrison, and Dean Jessica Howard) and Cal Poly Humboldt CPH (Mr. Michael Fisher and Provost Jenn Capps) are discussing plans to move the Healthcare Education Hub from the “warehouse” Arcata location to the Stewart School. I mentioned that Dakota Sanders, CR wrestler from Arcata High, placed second in the state in his 125-pound weight class at the recent state tournament and attained All-American statues. I also mentioned that I received the Strategic Review of the Del Norte Education Center report. I will discuss the report with the Board at their workshop on January 25, 2025 and share the full report, with my response, with the District on the 25^th.

Second, Julia Morrison noted that for fiscal year 2021-22 a little over $300 thousand was written off, for fiscal year 2022-23 a little less than $200 thousand was written off, and for fiscal year 2023-24 a little over $200 thousand was written off. Third, Crystal Morse’s report focused on the North Far North and Vision 2030 convening, titled "Coming Together for Enduring Impact in an Interconnected World," brought together district leadership teams from across the region to align on transformational career education, market-driven workforce development, and strategies for building vibrant communities and a thriving region. Last, Marty Coelho’s report recognized Tim Wolcott and Sky Kirsch for their research and analyses on Finish Line scholarship recipients.  The analyses showed that Finish Line recipients were more likely to "persist 1 to 2 primary terms beyond when they received the award when compared to students who do not receive the award" and that "depending on the award year, Finish Line Scholarship recipients were up to 21% more likely to complete a degree of certificate by Fall of 2024 than non-recipients."  These analyses were utilized in the 2025-26 grant application for Finish Line funds.