Donna Castro

Key discussions included the presentation of Spring 2026 enrollment reports, which showed comparable student counts to the previous year, with clarifications regarding dual credit student registration timing and data integrity cleanup for student categories. The Faculty Senate reported on faculty concerns regarding the proposed transition to mostly eight-week courses, highlighting potential negative impacts on student performance and suggesting a collaborative approach involving faculty input for flexible course scheduling based on class-specific data. The Faculty Senate also raised concerns about students submitting work generated by generative AI and requested immediate technological assistance, such as paid access to Chat GPT, noting that the available Microsoft Copilot tool is primarily a productivity tool. The Staff Senate report confirmed the presentation of previous minutes and highlighted the successful joint meeting with the Faculty Senate concerning the eight-week course transition. Staff Senate also noted that professional development fund applications were increasing and mentioned the new director of the Center for Professional Learning and a collaboration training on refreshing courses in Canvas. The President's report detailed a successful work session with strategic planning contractors focusing on three critical issues: communication regarding the transition from Banner to Workday, extensive forthcoming training opportunities, and legislative matters. Legislative follow-up included a discussion about House Bill Two language concerning tuition increases, where the consensus was to forgo a tuition raise for another year to avoid potential negative repercussions, such as the reduction of opportunity or lottery awards by the LFC.

The Work Session agenda included the determination of a quorum, the approval of the Work Session agenda, and action items such as the Election of Board Officers. Discussion items focused on reviewing the minutes from the Governing Board Work Session meeting of November 12, 2025, and the Governing Board Meeting of December 3, 2025. Additional discussion topics included the Financial Report for November/December and a discussion regarding District Mapping. The meeting concluded with board discussion on scheduling, including setting the date for the next Governing Board Meeting.

The agenda for the Regular Meeting included the determination of quorum and call to order, a welcome from the Chair, and the adoption of the agenda. The consent agenda involved the approval of minutes from previous meetings (Work Session of November 12, 2025; Regular Meeting of December 3, 2025; Special Meeting of December 17, 2025) and financial reports for November and December 2025. Key discussion items included an Enrollment Report for Spring 2026, reports from the Faculty and Staff Senates, the President's Report, and a discussion regarding the Board Orientation and Budget Meeting. Provisions for public comments and closed sessions, adhering to the Open Meetings Act, were also outlined.

The meeting commenced with the adoption of the agenda and approval of the consent agenda. Key action items involved a detailed financial report presentation covering operating cash balances, tuition fees revenue, state appropriations, and mill levy revenue, noting a decrease in operating cash largely due to bond proceeds spend down, but an increase in tuition and state appropriation revenues compared to the prior year. Discussion on expenses highlighted a 2% overall decline, partially attributed to utility cost management following the micro grid project completion. The meeting also addressed the importance of maintaining clear financial reporting regarding restricted cash funds for accreditation purposes, and touched upon facility maintenance issues amidst ongoing large capital projects and below-capacity campus operations, establishing a protocol for board members to report maintenance concerns.

The meeting included discussions and votes on several key items. The first was the approval of NMHD capital project forms for a capital outlay committee hearing, specifically related to a contract for a concrete slab in the greenhouse area. The second major item was the consideration and voting on the process for appointing a new board member to the current vacant SFCC board member position, including discussion of a resolution to appoint the individual who received the next highest number of votes in the recent election.