BOARD TALKS KMHD, TUITION, COMMUNICATION

The MHCC District Board of Education had a busy February talking about KMHD, the budget, state funding, and tuition increases at its monthly meeting and one of its periodic retreats.

MONTHLY MEETING

On Feb. 20, the board met for its monthly meeting, with a packed audience eager to give public input.

After the board’s vote last month to work on renegotiating the license management agreement between the college and Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) to transition MHCC’s FM radio station back to the college, many current listeners and community members had their concerns, which they brought directly to the board.

Attendees expressed deep satisfaction with how KMHD is currently programmed and formatted. They love sharing jazz music with their families, and are concerned that a move back to the college could negatively change one of the only dedicated jazz radio stations in the country, they said.

Each person speaking concluded with a plea for the board to reconsider its decision and keep KMHD at OPB, met by resounding applause from other community members present.

Overall, listeners said they are confused about why the college wants the station back, what its plan is to make it successful, and what will happen to the current KMHD employees and volunteers when the station returns to the college.

The board does not respond directly to public input, and KMHD was not on the meeting agenda, so after speaking up, the crowd mostly emptied for the rest of the board session.

First on the agenda, the People Strategies Council presented results from 2018’s Mt. Hood employee satisfaction survey which had a 32 percent response rate, making it statistically significant. It included statements about the college, rated by employees for both importance and satisfaction.

Areas of focus centered on where something is of high importance, but of low employee satisfaction. Themes found in these areas include internal campus communication and information sharing; processes with training and onboarding new employees; and in how the college plans things. The goal is to use the feedback to take action and create higher satisfaction in those areas.

Next, the board approved and signed an updated trust agreement with PACE, the college’s insurance provider.

Jennifer DeMent, MHCC budget director, led a brief update on where things are at with the Student Hub, and asked the board for approval to begin negotiations with contractors. She said the college currently has $173,000 from the MHCC Foundation which will cover phases one and two of the project, but $275,000 will be needed to complete all four phases. Contract negotiations will be based on the total amount needed, so all four phases will be completed, she said. This procurement was approved.

The last action item was a board resolution calling on the Oregon Legislature to increase funding for community colleges. The resolution was put together by Mt. Hood President Lisa Skari, and approved unanimously. It will be shared with the Oregon Community Colleges Association and state legislators who represent the college’s district, and their legislative committees.

BOARD RETREAT

On Feb. 23, the board met for a retreat at the Bruning Center campus near downtown Gresham to discuss plans related to the college’s 2019-20 operating budget, KMHD radio, communication protocols, and its evaluation of Skari, the first-year president.

Shirlene Warnock and Gary Corbin led the budget discussion. They worked with the board to narrow down their principles and parameters for developing a budget, and highlight the key message to give the budget managers. The pair will meet with 40 to 50 budget managers on March 1 to work on finding areas to make cuts and where to find new revenue to create a balanced budget.

The board worked to prioritize its budget concerns. Tied for No. 1 one was tuition and affordability for students, along with participation and enrollment. Other goals included putting a $10 per-credit cap on a tuition increase (though the projected needed tuition increase to balance the budget is $12), expanding public-private partnerships, and letting go of programs with less student participation and benefit.

Board member Tamie Arnold said she believes a $10 per-credit increase is still too high, but likes the idea of a cap. Later, Skari had the board agree on a number members would be more comfortable with: the $7 to $8 range.

The board will see a proposed operating budget in April, based on the guidelines set at the retreat.

Next on the agenda, the board received updates on KMHD from Skari as put together by the KMHD Sustainable Operations Committee. Prior to the retreat, that committee had three meetings to discuss how KMHD-FM could look under full MHCC District control.

The panel first examined what the station would look like if it returns to campus in August, if a new contract with OPB is not worked out. If KMHD does return in August, it will initially look like an enhanced version of the current (streaming)student station, KMHD2. 

The committee is now beginning work on a strategic approach to bringing KMHD back in two years, the first choice of the District board. This includes how the station would be integrated academically and with the community.

Both scenarios include crucial equipment repairs and replacements to continue reliable operation. Currently, the college’s radio transmitters are in ‘soft failure’ mode which means they’re operating at 80 percent of capacity. Taking care of the transmitter is something that has to happen even if KMHD were to stay at OPB.

The KMHD committee is on track to provide a recommendation to Skari by the end of Winter Term.

Next up for retreat discussion were protocols for board communications, specifically emails sent to board members.

Finally, Arnold led discussion, with board colleague Kenney Polson, about this year’s presidential evaluation at MHCC. The process should be more simplified and uniform by removing redundancies and gearing it towards SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely) goals.

Megan Phelps assisted in reporting for this story.