COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT 9
November 16, 2006
STUDY SESSION
Executive
Session
MEETING
Call to Order
Roll Call
Members Present:
Rita Creighton
Ed Davila
Mike
Regeimbal
Attorney General Representative:
Dr. Chen announced that the agenda would be cleared for one action item
regarding the president’s contract. All
scheduled reports were postponed to the next Board meeting and apologies were
given for any inconvenience caused to those prepared to report.
Action Item:
President’s Contract:
It was moved by Ed Davila and seconded by
Motion carried
unanimously.
The Board expressed their appreciation for Dr. Bell’s many contributions
to the College and said that it was a very hard decision but the Board and the
president had reached philosophical differences and the Board decided that it
was in the best interest of the College to terminate her contract. The Board will be meeting in the following
weeks and months in Executive Sessions to follow up on this issue.
At 10:12 a.m. Dr. Chen announced that the Board would go into Executive
Session for thirty minutes to discuss the performance of a public employee.
At 10:35 a.m. the Board reconvened the meeting.
Dr. Chen announced there would be one more action item.
Action Item:
It was moved by Ed Davila and seconded by
Mike Regeimbal that Dr. Jack Bermingham would be appointed Interim President
and Larry Yok would be Acting Interim President until Dr. Bermingham returns to
campus from a business trip.
Motion carried.
Dr. Chen announced that public comment would be taken.
Ruth Windhover, President of HCEA said that on behalf of the Highline
Education Association, she wished to register the Association’s strong support
for Dr. Bell’s leadership and their complete confidence in her. They are shocked and dismayed at the actions
of the Board and wished to make clear that the union was not consulted
concerning Dr. Bell’s performance, and that they considered her to be an
exemplary leader and advocate for the College.
Trustee Ed Davila responded that this decision was a disappointment and
a shock to the Board also; however, because of philosophical differences that
had arisen and in the best interest of the College they felt unanimously that
this was the only decision they could make.
He stated that the Board cares about Dr. Bell but cannot discuss the
details of the contract termination due to confidentiality. They recognized Dr. Bell’s support and
leadership to faculty, staff and students. He stated that the Board values everyone on
the campus and believes in what the institution represents and will do whatever
necessary to protect, sustain, and provide opportunities for the College to continue
to succeed.
Dr Chen said that as long as Dr. Bell has been at Highline, the Board
has always been a very strong supporter of Dr. Bell. They supported her decisions and backed her
on almost all her decisions and really appreciated her contributions to the
College and that this was a very hard decision for the Board. They assured everyone that the College’s best
interest was their number one concern when they made this decision and that
this was a very tough decision.
Trustee Creighton also said that this was a very difficult decision for
the Board to make personally and collectively.
She also wanted to assure everyone that no one was included in the
decision because there were legalities as to why that was not allowed. As the College moves forward, it is very
important to the Board to involve the whole campus and to have the search
process for replacing the president to be collaborative and they will be
requesting support and input from all constituent groups on campus.
Trustee
Dr. Chen said that the Board will be examining processes and procedures
for the search process and will involve the whole campus which is very
important to the Board. An interim
president is necessary at present and the Board has every confidence in Dr.
Bermingham to provide the leadership to continue to move the College forward
with its initiatives. She restated that this
was a very tough decision and that everyone should remember that the College is
the Board’s number one priority and everyone will work together to move forward.
At 10:55 a.m. the Board adjourned to Executive Session for
approximately 30 minutes to discuss performance of a public employee.
The Board reconvened at 11:35 a.m.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 11:35 a.m.
Next Regularly Scheduled Meeting of the Board of Trustees
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the
8:00 a.m. Study
Session Building 25, Room 411
10:00 a.m. Meeting Building
25, Board Room
ORIGINAL
SIGNED DECEMBER 14, 2006
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