Steve Goa
In Motion Staff writer
President Kent Sharples and the members of the board met in mid-April for a new session of the college district board of trustees' meeting.
They consulted on finances spent and gained by the school this year and found the budget stable.
According to Randy Spiwak, executive vice president, the total revenues acquired by DBCC is estimated at $5 million, due to an increase in both student tuition and enrollment.
Still, Spiwak said that revenues are 19 percent lower than most colleges in the state. An estimated $2 million in reserve, however, leaves the college "in good shape" to deal with any future problems, he said.
One of the major requests submitted and approved by the board was an out-of-district trip for the DBCC Concert Choir, the adult with disabilities program and six contract managers.
Also, the board agreed on a fundraising event for the Futures Foundation. It will be at the Advanced Technology Center on Saturday, May 12. Another fundraising event will take place later this spring on June 30. This event is the 16th annual fundraising dinner hosted by the DBCC Foundation, whose assets include $25 million. Part of this amount goes to financial aid for students DBCC President Kent Sharples also asked for, and received, permission to serve beer and wine at the annual event.
In addition to these requests, Sharples pointed out an agreement that was omitted from the consent agenda. This agreement primarily concerns the student athletes. The college wants to operate dormitories in order to lodge athletes participating in team sports.
Sharples informed the board that these dormitories, located near campus, are three buildings with at least two bedrooms in each apartment.
"The place has been renovated and it is very convenient for students," said Mary Bennett, an Ormond Beach board member.
Despite the fact that community colleges, by law, are not allowed to have dormitories, DBCC will share them with the state. This mutual agreement is made possible thanks to property and real estate investments. The board must agree on the contract before May 15.
Overall, the Board of Trustees agreed on most of the agenda requests, proposals and pressing matters with a majority vote, except for one suggestion-which was put on hold until its next meeting. This case concerns lab fee recommendations for students from the department of Modern and English Language studies.
Forough Hosseini, another Ormond Beach board member, argued that these students were already exhausted from the fees of entrance exams. She did not approve of an additional increase of lab fees.
Then she added, "We should cut the lab fees for these international students because these expenses can be a barrier against the enrollment in the English program. Once we have students enrolled in the program, we can get our money."