Zak Boone

The Advocacy Committee meeting agenda included reviewing updates on the College Funding Petition to Oregon Legislators and the OCCA Updates regarding priority bills in the 2026 Oregon Legislative Session. Key discussions also involved recapping the 2026 ACCT National Legislative Summit, providing an update on Elected Leaders Outreach, and reviewing the internal and external timelines for advocacy and legislative activities, including the upcoming legislative session end date and HECC schedule.

The agenda for the Board of Directors' Meeting included several key items. Information items covered the Monthly Budget Status for December 2025, New Hire Reports, the 2025 Audit Report presentation, and updates on the Strategic Plan regarding Student Access and Community Engagement. New Business involved a resolution to support participation in CTE Month. Board of Directors' Operations included the second reading of recommended changes to policies on Communication and Counsel to the Board (BEP 7) and the Role of Chairperson/Vice-Chairperson (BEP 4). Committee updates covered Advocacy, Audit and Finance (which noted a clean opinion from auditors), Policy Review, and Real Estate. The Real Estate Committee discussed updates on commercial development and a proposal from the Central Oregon Center for the Arts (COCA) for a facility on the Bend campus. The President's Report highlighted the FIPSE grant for the Manufacturing program, GED success at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution, and COCC's recognition by Firewise USA, alongside concerns voiced regarding the HECC's proposal for strategic consolidation.

The meeting agenda included an executive session pertaining to labor negotiations, followed by a review of the Board's goals focusing on onboarding and setting up the new President for success, ongoing professional learning for the Board, community outreach, and return to regular policy review. Further discussion points involved a final update on the Madras Campus Expansion and a session dedicated to Campus Pulse/Opportunities, covering lessons learned from employee meetings, culture and communication, the First-choice College initiative, and operational efficiencies. A review of the President's Fiscal Year 2026 Goals was also scheduled.

The meeting commenced with the Native Lands Acknowledgement, recognizing the Wasco and Warm Springs people. Agenda modifications included the removal of updates from the Policy Review Committee and potentially the Advocacy Committee due to scheduling. During public comment, the Faculty Forum President and a colleague presented data regarding faculty compensation, cost of living disparities, and the resulting strain on faculty, leading to issues like innovation fatigue and high recruitment costs due to faculty departures. This presentation highlighted that current salaries are not fully adequate for living in Bend, Oregon, leading many faculty members to work second jobs or take on overload/summer work. The board also addressed a point of clarification regarding the phrasing in the previous meeting minutes concerning the $4 million match for the HEP grant, suggesting replacing the term 'raise' with 'allocate' or similar wording to accurately reflect the funding source.

The Policy Review Committee meeting agenda included several policy reviews and revisions. Key discussion items involved proposed revisions to the Board Expectation of the President (BEP) 9 concerning the General Fund Reserve Policy, review of BEP 7 regarding Communication and Counsel to the Board, review of the internal calendar's alignment with Governance Process (GP) 7: Board Planning Cycle, and review of GP 9: Board Operations. The agenda also included proposed revisions to Board-President Relationship (BPR) 1: Delegation to the President.