By Talaina Kor The Navajo County Community College Governing Board convened Tuesday, Feb. 16, where they received a summary of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) funding and spending. The funding received under CARES was used primarily to assist students who were facing disruptions and financial challenges related to the coronavirus. The funding can be used between March of 2020 to January 2022. “We have received three different amounts, the total of those is $727,223,” stated Associate Vice President Chief Business Officer Maderia Ellison. The spending was done primarily on scholarships, technology for students, support services for students, safety and operations. As of December, $434,872 of the funds has been used. “Sixty percent of it has been spent, the majority for student related items,” said Ellison, adding that $292,351 is the amount of the funding that is being planned to be used in the future. NPC Friends and Family Director BetsyAnn Wilson also presented to the board and discussed the addition of approximately $33,000 in scholarships to the foundation to benefit students attending NPC. Interim President Jeanne Swarthout gave an update on the hiring process for the new president, stating that the week of March 22-26 will be when candidate interviews are held. She also noted that the board will need to set up a special meeting in late March or early April as a decision meeting for the final candidate and offer. The board approved the contract with MetaPro, Inc. for teletherapy services at a cost of $18,500. MetaPro, Inc. provides proactive self-help education for students as well as the option to connect with a therapist of their choosing through an application that can be accessed on their personal devices. In other business, the board: * Approved the consent agenda, except for the items pertaining to the intergovernmental agreement amendment between Navajo County Community College District and Show Low, St. Johns and Winslow unified school districts due to an error where the board was misnamed Northland Pioneer College Community College District in the agreement. * Adopted the fiscal year 2019-2020 expenditure limitation report. * Approved the adjustment to Fiscal Year 2020 budget. The adjustment was an outcome of the completed financial audit and expenditure limitation report audited by the State of Arizona Office of the Auditor General for the fiscal year. The District did not spend all of the General Fund, Auxiliary Enterprises Fund, Restricted Fun, and Unexpected Plant Fund. The budgets were adjusted to the actual expenditure amounts. The original total of these funds was nearly $50.8 million which was revised to a total of nearly $30 million. * Approved for first reading of academic years 2021-2022 tuition and fees. The rates listed in the reading are $79 per credit hour for fiscal year 2020-2021, $82 per credit hour for fiscal year 2021-2022 and $85 per credit hour for fiscal year 2022-2023. Senior Citizens, CCP courses and summer session courses will be 50 percent of the applicable rate. The board received an overview of the current financial report. The board had a presentation from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness which included course improvement survey results.