October Board Meeting Highlights

The Board of Trustees gathered for their October 21st meeting in the Science, Engineering, and Academic Center on the Cowley College Mulvane Campus. Trustee White provided the invocation, and Chair Bazil recited the College Mission Statement.

Loyd Group, LLC has completed the annual audit of all college funds for the year ended June 30, 2024. Holly Harper, Vice President of Finance and Administration, provided the Management Discussion and Analysis (MDA) and Christina Henson with Loyd Group, LLC discussed the audit findings.The board voted to accept the audit by a vote of 7-0.

Under Awards and Reports, Cowley President Dr. Michelle Schoon spoke regarding her recent listening tour, the ACES programs continued success under the leadership of the Impact program, and a recent meeting she and Government Affairs Liaison Jessica Lucas took with Senator Larry Alley to advocate for additional funding. 

Schoon then noted awards and honors presented in the last month including:

• National Council of Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR), Cowley Team won eight awards.
  • Three gold medallions, three silver medallions and one bronze medallion
• Holly Harper, VP of Finance and Administration, was selected to represent Region 3 on the Community College Business Officers (CCBO) Board of Directors.

Government Affairs Liaison Jessica Lucas discussed legislative updates regarding this upcoming year's budget. In the recent visit with Senator Alley concerns regarding tax cuts were brought to his attention as it pertains to government funding of educational tax credits and scholarships. Lucas also provided a recap of the October 15, 2024, Trustee Sumner County Sales Tax Subcommittee meeting, where members of the Subcommittee and college administration requested Board approval to place the Sumner County ½ cent sales tax renewal on the November 2025 ballot (Approved 7-0) .

Under Administrative Reports, the Tiger Learning Center had 552 unique visits for Independent Study and tutor assistance in September. A total of 183 new applications were processed in the month of September. The number one nationally ranked Cowley College Lady Tigers Volleyball team had a huge statement win on Saturday, Oct. 12 in W.S. Scott Auditorium against conference rival Johnson County winning 3-0.

No Public Comments were made.

Under Standing Committee Reports, Trustee Joe Shriver provided a recap of the October 15, 2024, Trustee Academic Subcommittee meeting, where members discussed the Electrical Technology Program. The Trustee Academic Subcommittee requests the Board approve the new Electrical Technology Certificate B, Certificate C and AAS (Approved 7-0). 

Holly Harper, Vice President of Finance and Administration provided a recap of the October 14, 2024, Trustee Finance Subcommittee meeting, where attendees discussed the audit results, Music Library items under procurement, and the upcoming Central Christian Church lease renewal.

Under the Discussion Agenda, Chair Bazil requests the Board approve the renewal of the Workforce and Community Education building lease with the Central Christian Church as presented (Approved 7-0).

Under Procurement, the Cowley College Music Programs would like to purchase a storage system that would help organize and protect the materials necessary for these programs. Bids were requested from four companies with three returning bids: Wenger, SchoolsIn, and Southwest Solutions. The music department recommends purchasing from Southwest Solutions. The Board approved this action by a vote of 7-0.

Trustee Alan Marcotte provided a recap of the October 17, 2024, Trustee Policy Subcommittee meeting where policy 135.00 – Soliciting by Vendors and Agents (Revision), 168.00 – Debt Management (New), 169.00 – Investments (New), 470.00 – Equal Opportunity (Revision) were presented for a first reading. Formal approval will be requested at the November Board meeting. The 408.00 – Student Complaint Policy was presented for a second reading including an additional sentence.

The Board moved to approve the Consent Agenda, including the Minutes of the September 16, 2024, regular meeting, Financial Reports, Bills, and Claims, Personnel Transactions, Board Policy 408.00 – Student Complaint Policy (New) was approved by a vote of 7-0.

With no other business to discuss, Chair Bazil declared the meeting adjourned at 7:08 pm.

For more details, see the agenda or visit https://cowley.edu/about/administration/board/index.html.

Hunter Ferguson | Integrated Communications Specialist
Cowley College
125 S. 2nd Street
Arkansas City, KS 67005
hunter.ferguson@cowley.edu