Lynn Cornett, Chair
Shaw Blackmon, Vice Chair
Pepper Bullock
Doug Carter
Chris Clark
Ben Copeland
Tommy David
Mary Flanders
James Gingrey
Chunk Newman
J. Richard Porter / Sylvia Russell
Trey Sheppard
Shirley Smith
Michael Sullivan
Carl Swearingen
Dinah Wayne
Tim Williams
Jack Winter
Joe Yarbrough
MINUTES
(Approved)
Absent: Chris Clark, Tommy David, Sylvia Russell, and Shirley Smith
I. WELCOME AND CALL TO ORDER Lynn Cornett, Chair
Dr. Lynn Cornett, chair of the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia, opened the Board meeting at 1:45 p.m. at the date and location stated above. She began by welcoming the presidents of the technical colleges, and thanked them for their participation in the committee meetings. Dr. Cornett stated that she appreciated their valuable input with the committee discussions.
Her first order of business was to request a motion to approve the September 5, 2013, State Board Minutes. Mr. Michael Sullivan made the motion, with a second made by Mr. Shaw Blackmon. The State Board unanimously approved the motion.
II. CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS Lynn Cornett, Chair
Dr. Cornett began her comments by announcing the resignation of State Board Member Otis Raybon,
effective immediately. She explained that Mr. Raybon was relocating to Brookhaven, Mississippi
to work with Boone Newspapers. Dr. Cornett read a quote from Mr. Raybon’s resignation letter to Governor Deal, “We must passionately work to coach, encourage, and nurture those Georgians without a high school diploma to complete the GED and enroll in technical colleges.” Dr. Cornett stated that Mr. Raybon was extremely passionate about adult education. His wife, Barbara, was also a teacher in the Adult Education Program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College. Dr. Cornett stated that we will try to get Mr. Raybon back in the near future to thank him for his service and commitment to the Board and the TCSG.
Next, Dr. Cornett explained that during last month’s meeting, some of the visits to the colleges were discussed. She thanked Mrs. Dinah Wayne for arranging the workforce development tour of Lanier, Athens, and North Georgia Technical Colleges for Congressman Doug Collins. Dr. Cornett asked Mrs. Wayne if she would like to share any comments that Congressman Collins made about the tour.
Mrs. Wayne began her comments by thanking the colleges involved and their presidents, Dr. Ray Perren, president at Lanier Technical College, Ms. Flora Tydings, president at Athens Technical College, and Dr. Gail Thaxton, president at North Georgia Technical College and their staff for working so hard to make us so proud of the technical college system. They graciously welcomed Congressman Collins and those who traveled to each college. She continued by thanking Mrs. Brenda Wise, director, State Board Operations, for coordinating all the logistics. She also thanked Mr. Brad Sims, director, Internal Affairs, for driving everyone to the different colleges. Mrs. Wayne stated that Commissioner Jackson was missed, but everyone was aware that he was participating in Governor Deal’s Trade Mission to China and Japan.
Mrs. Wayne also thanked Mr. Darren Kendall, district director for Congressman Collins, for his efforts in making the workforce development tour possible. He sent Mrs. Wayne some key thoughts that Congressman Collins gained from the tour. Mrs. Wayne shared some of the thoughts with the Board. The first being that Congressman Collins gained new insights to the innovative ways the technical colleges work to create training programs for specific jobs that companies need to fill. The next issue he mentioned was the huge advantage that high school students receive from participating in dual credit programs. During the roundtable discussions, they heard amazing stories that were shared by parents of students who had found their true passion by attending technical colleges. Mrs. Wayne stated that Congressman Collins felt that the major draw for companies to locate near a technical college was due to the fact that technical colleges develop qualified workforces to staff them, and that technical colleges are vital to economic development. Congressman Collins also mentioned that the participation during the roundtable discussions held at each college was invaluable in demonstrating what the technical colleges mean to their communities.
Mrs. Wayne stated that Congressman Collins expressed his sincere appreciation to the TCSG, the presidents, staff and community leaders who participated in the tour. She was told that Congressman Collins stated that this was one of the most successful and rewarding tours he had ever done. In closing her remarks, Mrs. Wayne again thanked everyone for taking part in the tour.
Dr. Cornett thanked Commissioner Jackson for his budget presentation last month and the Members for their quick response approving the revision to the budget that was submitted to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget.
She discussed her visit with Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, Ms. Irene Munn, Commissioner Jackson and the TCSG staff to discuss the system’s ongoing efforts with career academies. While there, a check was presented from AT&T for $50,000 to expand the efforts and support of career academies. Dr. Cornett also thanked Member Sylvia Russell and AT&T for this grant.
Dr. Cornett also thanked the Members for attending the GED Awards Luncheon. She encouraged the Members to try to attend the EAGLE Awards and GOAL and Rick Perkins Awards luncheons held in the spring.
She then thanked Members Chunk Newman, Pepper Bullock, and Jack Winter for their attendance at West Georgia Technical College’s Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on September 20 at the Coweta Campus in Newnan. Dr. Cornett stated that Dr. Skip Sullivan, president at West Georgia Technical College, had assembled a great group, and how proud she was to see the support that community gives to the college.
Dr. Cornett asked Mr. Newman if he would like to make any comments. He explained that he had been to several events at West Georgia Technical College. Mr. Newman stated that he was extremely pleased with the community outreach and support for the college. Dr. Cornett encouraged the Members to visit the college whenever they were in the area.
In closing her report, Dr. Cornett stated that she had been to Albany Technical College for President Anthony Parker’s State of the College event. Dr. Cornett stated that Dr. Parker’s address included his goals for the college and included good statistical information. Again, there was evidence of great community support for Dr. Parker and Albany Technical College.
Dr. Cornett then asked for Commissioner Jackson’s comments.
III. COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS Ron Jackson
Commissioner
Commissioner Jackson began his report by discussing the budget and the request by the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (OPB) that the budget be resubmitted because of his request for new operating funds and utilities. OPB considered the request as enhancements rather than workload increases. He explained that during the negotiations, an increase for the operating funds was increased from $3.89 to $4.11 per square foot. This rate increase, along with our projected increase in square footage and the new square footage coming online next year, will result in a request in a budget increase of $5,401,662 in operating costs.
He also explained that the request for operating costs and utilities is still a part of our special initiatives list that will be considered, however, funding them will depend greatly on the state’s revenue funds, along with the other demands of state government. He explained that the good news was that the special initiatives list was not rejected. Commissioner Jackson expressed his appreciation of the quick response from the Members for the approval needed to resubmit the revised budget request.
He continued his report by discussing the Alliance of Education Agency Heads (AEAH), which he chairs, that met on September 9. He stated the meeting was a productive, and the Alliance is continuing its work on the Race to the Top grant which primarily goes to the K-12 education system, but a portion goes to the system to develop the longitudinal data system. The system will be able to track students from Pre-K through college and graduate school. He continued by stating that the data system will enable the TCSG to track students and enable us to know how we are doing at all levels, and is one of the most critical things we can do for education in Georgia. The Alliance is receiving regular updates on the progress of the data system.
Commissioner Jackson next discussed his attendance at the State Workforce Investment Board on September 26. He stated that Mr. Blake Ashley, the new director of the State Workforce Investment Board, is working very closely on a number of issues supporting the technical colleges.
Recently, Mr. Ashley, through the Workforce Investment program, was instrumental with Georgia Northwestern Tech’s”Fast Track Innovation” program. The goal of the program is to train 80 entry level industrial maintenance employees in the Dalton area to work in the manufacturing sector. GNTC entered into an agreement with the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development to use funding provided by an incentive grant awarded to the State of Georgia by the US Department of Labor to support the training. It is a unique partnership between state government, the technical college system and several manufacturing employers in the Dalton area.
There will be 4 groups of 20 people each that will receive the training over a 12 month period of time. Each group will receive 400 hours of classroom and lab training over a 10-week period. The individuals were recruited by the Georgia Department of Labor and the WIA staff in the region and interviewed by a panel of Human Resource people from the respective companies in the partnership. The individuals were previously unemployed or recently displaced workers in the region.
The unique aspect is the selected participants were actually hired by the respective companies and are being paid during the 10-weeks of training. Upon successful completion of the program the individuals will continue to be employed and encouraged to continue their college education to complete an associate degree in Industrial Systems. The industrial companies in the partnership include; Mohawk Industries, Shaw Industries, J&J Carpets, IVC Corporation, Engineered Floors and Beaulieu Carpets.
Commissioner Jackson stated that Mr. Ashley is working to reorganize the local workforce investment boards that may allow the TCSG to tap into some of the local funding that weren’t accessible in the past due to the structure of the past workforce investment boards.
Next, Commissioner Jackson discussed the Presidents’ Council meeting held in Macon on September 10-11. While there, Commissioner Jackson presented the budget to the presidents. They were very receptive to the special initiatives request.
He then discussed the Seven-Day Enrollment report for the semester that indicates a slight decline in enrollment system-wide. The Seven-Day Enrollment report is actually a snapshot of the true picture. This report indicates there is about a two percent drop in enrollment. By the time the semester ends, there could be an adjustment that may indicate we are level. Commissioner Jackson explained that this is not unusual for higher education in America. He noted that a drop in enrollment occurred when the HOPE grant required a 3.0 grade point average. A number of colleges helped cover the gap for students without HOPE or the Pell grant by entering the federal loan program. Due to the high default rate, several of our colleges have opted out of the federal loan program.
Commissioner Jackson indicated that it is important for us to find other financial aid for technical education students. The required HOPE grant 2.0 grade point average has been restored and should help to close the gap.
Commissioner Jackson expressed his belief that federal loans are not the solution to the problem. He continued stating that federal loans have been very helpful to some students, however, the colleges are responsible for those loans and the defaults. It is the responsibility of colleges to try to collect the money when the loan goes into default. In addition, he stated that all federal financial aid would be at risk if the default level at a college participating in the federal loan program reaches a certain level. Commissioner Jackson stated that we would continue to monitor those colleges electing to stay in the federal student loan program, particularly those with high default rates. Commissioner Jackson stated that pulling out of the federal loan program may be a contributing factor to the decline in enrollment.
Commissioner Jackson continued his comments by discussing his attendance at the Georgia Higher Education Savings Plan Board meeting on September 19. Governor Deal was also there. This is the savings plan that allows contributions for your children and grandchildren’s education. One benefit is that contributions made to the savings plan reduce your taxable income. Another benefit is that when the student withdraws the money to be used for college expenses, the money is not taxed. Currently, there is over a billion dollars in the fund. The returns have been very good. The Board meets once every three years. Commissioner Jackson encouraged everyone to look into the plan.
The Commissioner also announced that he participated in the Atlanta Partners for Education (APEE) breakfast panel on September 20. The APEE is a 32-year old partnership between the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Atlanta Public School System. APEE is chaired by Mrs. Ann Cramer who is a huge fan of the technical system. APEE’s mission is to inspire innovation and to help improve student achievement by partnering the business community with the Atlanta Public Schools. They provide opportunities for the business leaders to work in an Atlanta public school for a day.
He then stated that he had attended the Great Promise Partnership Governing Board. This is a great program, and the TCSG system office staff has thoroughly enjoyed participating in this 501c3 program. The students go to high school for half the day and then work at the TCSG system office for the remainder of the day. Mr. Mike Beatty, the former commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, has now retired. He is now heading the Great Promise Partnership 501c3. He has a limited staff with a huge job to do. They will be working with the state to bring more businesses into the Great Promise Partnership program. Commissioner Jackson stated that he will continue to support the program as it expands.