The Navajo County Community College Governing Board convened on Tuesday, May 17, opening with public hearings and a special meeting in regards to truth in taxation and the proposed budget. The truth in taxation was published in the Tribune and White Mountain Independent. There was no public comment.

The board voted on the 2022-2023 primary property tax rate of $1.7505, which will generate a tax levy of nearly $16.1 million. Board members Kristine Laughter, Elias Jouen, Everett Robinson and Derrick Leslie voted in favor, while member Frank Lucero voted against. “I’m opposed to it because the whole basis of the TNT (truth in taxation) rates is when the county is doing well, we tax higher, and we the county isn’t doing well, we tax lower and I tend to believe that,” stated Lucero. “I feel the college has to tighten its belt along with everybody else in the county.”

The board also approved the 2022-2023 budget as presented. “The only change from the April meeting is the $200,000 reduction for capital purchase,” stated Vice President of Administrative Services (VPAS) Maderia Ellison. This reduction is due to the Carl Perkins Grant, which will pay for those anticipated purchases.

The board also adopted the 2023-2025 proposed capital budget, which is where the $200,000 reduction was applied to the 2023 budget. This reduced the expenses from $11.7 million to $11.5 million for the year 2023.

The board received an enrollment report from Dr. Chato Hazelbaker. The report showed a significant decline in enrollment, due in part to the COVID-19 resurgence during December and January. “We did continue to see a significant COVID impact for the Spring,” stated Dr. Hazelbaker. Enrollment during the Spring 2022 semester went down 8.8% since the previous Spring semester in 2021.

Improvements to the overall pandemic situation, and specific outreach efforts for Fall 2022 should help reverse that decline. Hazelbaker did note a significant 86.2% average increase in attendance at physical locations.

Early College enrollment has seen an increase as well. “Early College has been on a steady growth pattern and continues to be on a steady growth pattern,” stated Hazelbaker, which has seen an increase of 9.7% from Spring 2021 to Spring 2022.

The college is hoping to improve enrollment by assigning a key contact for each prospective student, debt forgiveness and outreach, expanding Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) outreach, and recruitment incentives for faculty and staff.

Associate Dean for Educator Preparation Dr. Allison Landy updated the board on the progress to potentially offer baccalaureate degrees at the college.

“We have made some decisions around which degrees we would like to consider conferring in our future,” stated Dr. Landy. The degree options have been determined to be Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Applied Science, and Bachelor’s in Applied Management and are projected to all be offered by Fall 2025.

The first program of study has begun being designed as well. The ad hoc group created to outline the program has conducted early childhood education advisory board meeting, started the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) application process with screening form, as well as opened Association of Departments of English (ADE) portal for program application and approval.

The next steps of the ad hoc groups is building out the college infrastructure for implementation, which includes tuition recommendations, faculty recommendations, advisement training, financial aid application for program eligibility, and financial considerations.

English faculty member Melody Niesen provided the end of the year NPC Faculty Association report, which included the new leadership team for the association. “The new co-presidents for the 2022-2023 academic year will be Ryan Jones, who is English faculty and Frank Pinnell, who is CTE (Career and Technology Education) faculty,” she stated. Dr. Susan Hoffman will remain as the Faculty Association Recorder and Tony Hill will continue as treasurer.

NPC Friends and Family Director Betsyann Wilson gave a report as well stating that the organization has awarded $36,850 to 28 students for the upcoming Fall semester.

Director of Facilities and Vehicles David Huish gave a construction update, specifically in regard to the Show Low campus, Snowflake campus reparations, and Winslow’s Little Colorado Headstart building, which are all still under construction.

In other business, the board:

* Approved the consent agenda which included board policies 1000 through 1962, modifying Policy 1016, adding additional policy language about settlement agreements. Chairman Kristine Laughter and board members Elias Jouen, Everett Robinson and Derrick Leslie voted in favor, with member Frank Lucero voting against, stating Policy 1016 should be rewritten.

* Approved Chairman Kristine Laughter to attend the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Leadership Congress.

* Supported establishing the former board member Daniel Peaches Presidential Scholarship program to be developed by the college president in conjunction with Northland Pioneer College Friends and Family.

* Approved a contract for maintenance and service related to college tower equipment. The contract is with JTS in the amount of $110,155.

* Approved a purchasing warranty on Cisco Equipment ordered through the Rural Utilities Services – Distance Learning and Technology (RUS-DLT) grant for a total cost of $47,945.

* Approved the designs for parking lot expansion and front office remodel at the Little Colorado Campus in Winslow.