CBC Board of Trustees Statement

The Coastal Bend College Board of Trustees strives to ensure student success at CBC and strives to ensure that CBC is fiscally responsible with taxpayer money. The Board achieves these goals by guiding, directing, and overseeing all actions of the CBC President and CBC administration.

Over the last three academic years, CBC has seen a decline in enrollment, but hadn’t realigned positions and duties to serve a smaller student population. This led to a budget deficit that was made worse by reduced state funding and increased expenses that led CBC to deplete college reserves.

· The CBC fiscal year 2013 (September 1, 2012-August 31, 2013) budget and expenses were set at $26,522,000.

· The projections changed due to a shortfall of revenue in tuition and fees of $540,000.

· State funding for the 2012-2013 biennium was reduced by $645,269 for CBC.

· A cut in retirement benefits from the state impacted CBC a total of $777,010.

· CBC carried forward a $1.4 million deficit from fiscal year 2012 to this current fiscal year.

The college took several actions to address the revenue shortfall, both in this fiscal year and in the upcoming fiscal year 2014 that begins on September 1, 2013.

· Faculty overloads and adjunct budget were reduced by $160,000.

· Restructuring the maintenance schedules to reduce overtime saved $85,000.

· Restructuring of CBC’s technology and communications infrastructure saved the college $130,000.

· The administrative reorganization cut $250,000 by realigning and redistributing duties instead of replacing vacated positions.

· Reducing the number of contract renewals for fiscal year 2014 will save the college $575,000.

· Changing property and liability insurance providers saved $140,000.

To date, these cost savings measures total about $1.3 million, which gets the college closer to having a balanced budget and decreasing the $1.4 million deficit it was burdened with this year.

The Board tasked Dr. Beatriz T. Espinoza, CBC President, to find ways to realign costs and spending to a level that coincides with current revenue and enrollment. Under Board directive, she had to make some tough recommendations to the Board in order to fix the financial situation at CBC, but we believe they were necessary recommendations to move the college forward. The Board took action to support the current recommendations because these were necessary to be good stewards of public funds.

However, the Board realizes there is much work still to be done as we prepare for the fiscal year 2014 budget process. We are asking Dr. Espinoza to lead the College Board, faculty, and staff in achieving the following goals for the upcoming fiscal year:

· CBC will ensure that student success is a top priority. Every student will be able to complete a certificate or degree on time, and CBC will always provide access to affordable, quality education.

· Ensure that college staffing is in line with current enrollment by 2014.

· Re-establish fund balance to $5.4 million–This will require the college to contribute $1.5 million per year through fiscal year 2015.

· Reduce costs and spending to ensure a $1.5 million contribution to reserves annually.

· Continually evaluate programs and positions to meet the needs and demands of our service area. Invest and support programs with growth and student success, and review and evaluate programs that are declining. Always keeping in mind student and community/industry needs.

· Research new programs and initiatives that would help serve the needs of the service area.

These goals will help the college utilize funds responsibly and put us on a path towards a more balanced budget, while still meeting the needs and demands of the areas we serve.

The Board cares about every single student that enrolls at CBC. None of the changes that have been made, or that will be made, negatively affect student access and success/completion. Students can still graduate on time with a workforce certificate or degree. Students can still complete the core curriculum and transfer to a university. But most importantly, students will always be able to succeed at CBC. We make sure of it.

CBC faculty, staff, students, and community partners have much to be proud of. The college has awarded over 15,000 degrees and certificates to hardworking students. In two years, the college will celebrate 50 years of helping educate and train people in South Texas and beyond. CBC has done great things, and will continue to for many years to come. We hope you support CBC by helping us keep student success in sight.

The CBC Board of Trustees next meeting is Tuesday, May 14, 2013 (moved from the original May 16, 2013 date) at 6 p.m. in the Robert J. Beasley Administration Building, Sandy Dirks Board Room, 3800 Charco Road, Beeville, Texas.

The regular meeting for June has been moved to Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 5 p.m. in the Robert J. Beasley Administration Building, Sandy Dirks Board Room, 3800 Charco Road, Beeville, Texas.

Information about the CBC Board of Trustees meetings can be found on our website at http://www.coastalbend.edu/board/.

###