I wasn’t able to attend this one and it took me a hot minute to get to the Youtube recording. The full recording is is over 90 minutes long, so if you just want the highlights, here you go:
Budget Study Session
Skip the first twenty minutes. It’s mostly just Dr. Pham talking about the overall state budget and how unfair it is that the Department of Corrections gets more than Education, and how “lucky” classified staff were to get a total of 5.5% this year when everyone else got about 2% (nevermind that we had to wait a year for it).
The more interesting part comes in around 22:00, when he shows a list of new financial commitments the college is making this year.
Most of these expenses are filling in gaps in state funding, like ELCAP classes and providing additional support for HR, Financial Aid, and Guided Pathways. More notable is the $75,000 now allocated to the Office of Civil Rights and ADA compliance plan. ADA accommodations and funding part of our contract negotiations this cycle, and this funding should help ensure that equipment is on hand and available, speeding up and streamlining the process.
Also on the budget was another $200,000 in ITS security software. This will help with data security on campus. There are so many companies–both legit and scams, domestic and foreign–that want our data, and these funds will help protect our software and infrastructure.
The last item on the list was to bring in a Controller. For those unfamiliar with the term, a Controller is a financial professional who ensures compliance with local, state, and federal guidelines when it comes to matters of money. It’s a highly trained and highly specific role, and I was honestly shocked that the college has never had one before, since the controller usually manages things like taxes and audits for the college. Some might call this more “bloat” at the administrative level, but as someone who has worked in the controller’s office of a college before, I assure you it is an essential expense that will help hold Highline accountable.
Additionally, the college is exploring funding from other sources for upgrades to the Mt. Townsend meeting room and the community pantry. These funds might come from the Highline College Foundation or other outside sources like grants. The upgrades to Mt. Townsend are focused on the a/v system to hopefully make it more accessible, since that is usually the “sensory friendly” room.
According to Dr. Pham’s calculations, he is projecting increased expenses of about $5m, but for the revenue to increase proportionally as our enrollment numbers have been up despite all the challenges we’ve faced.
It will come as a shock to no one that the college is being extremely fiscally conservative in their future outlook, and has no plans for major infrastructure investments due to the financial challenges at the state level, the cost of existing in the state of watching and the absolute insanity happening in the federal government. Buildings will continue to slowly crumble and cease to function for the foreseeable future due to this uncertainty.
General Session – Committee Reports
Around 1:00:00, the board adjourned for an executive session, which was not open to the public, then returned for the general session. There were very few observers in this session, no public comments, and no reports from HCEA, WPEA, Faculty Senate, or ASHC.
Foundation – The scholarship process for students has been streamlined to make it easier and faster for students to access funds. The annual Shark in the park celebration had record attendance to support the MAST Center.
Area reports
Academic Affairs – New Dean of Workforce Pathways, Jodi Novotny. Report stands.
Administrative Services – Report stands.
DET – Report Stands
Human Services – Collective bargaining in progress. People Leaders (supervisors?) received conflict resolution training, which will be ongoing. There are also new faces around the office, including a temp while Naomi’s position is filled, and two new student interns.
ITS – Report stands.
Institutional Advancement – 2 National Science Foundation grands are expected to be funded this year.
Student Services – report stands
President’s Remarks/Report
Explained the importance of FTE stats to the various parts of the college. These numbers will now be included with her regular email updates. If you are really interested in the numbers, you can start watching around 1:20:00, but since this video is already nearly two months old I’m not going to put the info here since it’s now outdated.
Washington is near the bottom of all states in FAFSA and WAFSA being filled out, so Gov. Ferguson is trying to make it required for all high school students to graduate. Completing the form before they leave school in May/June, when they can get advice and guidance from teachers and guidance counselors will make it easier for students to know what funding options are available for them in the fall and makes them more comfortable with it for the future.
The class of 2026 was the largest Highline graduating class ever. Wow!
The next board meeting will be coming out soon (Sept. 17, I believe), and the board will vote on our contract there.
