JWCC Board approves audit

The John Wood Community College Board of Trustees approved the fiscal year 2021 audit and heard a special report on JWCC’s Support Services programs during its regular meeting Wednesday night.

The firm of WIPFLi, LLP completed its audit of the financial records of JWCC for the fiscal year 2021. The board approved to file the audit report as presented. JWCC President Michael Elbe shared a special note of appreciation to JWCC Director of Fiscal Services Nora Klingele and the entire Fiscal Services and Business Office team for delivering a clean audit, meaning financial statements that are free from any mistakes with no material findings on reporting.   

“Our objective is always to be good stewards and fiscally responsible of the district’s tax dollars by using a conservative fiscal approach with investments in strategic initiatives,” Elbe said. “We continue to hold true to our Board’s commitment to remain a progressive and forward-thinking institution as it benefits our workforce, students’ success and the quality of life in the communities we serve.”

The Board heard a special report on Support Services which provide a wide range of intensive services to assist learners in pursuing their educational goals, including TRiO Support Services, Upward Bound and Academic Talent Search. Tutoring, disability services, cultural activities, degree planning and test preparation are just a few opportunities available to help students succeed at John Wood. 

JWCC Director of Support Services Robert Hodgson said, “TRiO programs assist at-risk students in the John Wood district to achieve their education goals. Every year they work with around nine hundred 6th-12th grade and college students who do not have access to support systems for their success.”

Lauren Archer of Pittsfield was selected by JWCC’s student body and took the Oath of Office as the College’s Student Trustee for 2022-23. Trustees recognized outgoing Student Trustee Noah Gay of Pittsfield, who served from 2021-22.

Eric Foster, JWCC coordinator of student life introduced the newly selected Student Government Association Officers for the 2022-2023 academic year:  Catharine Miller, president, Connor Hagerbaumer, vice president, Cameron Sweeting, treasurer, Anna Voss, secretary, Shea Coyle, PR secretary, Lauren Archer, student trustee.

The Board conducted its reorganization of officers as part of the meeting. Trustees voted to re-elect Diane Ary of Quincy as chair of the Board, Bob Rhea of Camp Point as vice chair and Andrew Sprague of Kinderhook as secretary. The Board’s Executive Committee is Diane Ary, Bob Rhea and Larry Fischer of Quincy, past chair.

As chair, Ary appointed Trustees to the following Board committees:  Finance and Audit: Don Hess and Dr. Randy Greenwell; Curriculum: Paula Hawley and Andrew Sprague; Paula Hawley was appointed as the Board’s representative to the Illinois Community College Trustees Association (ICCTA) and Don Hess will serve as first alternative ICCTA representative.

In other business, the board:

• Accepted $152,690 in grant funds from AmeriCorps for the Adams, Brown & Pike County RSVP Program. 
• Accepted $23,000 in grant funds from the Illinois Community College Board for Developmental Education Co-Requisite Instruction. 
• Authorized submission of a $220,000 grant application to the Illinois Community College Board for the Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency Fund (CURE) College Bridge Program. 
• Authorized submission of a $2,000,000 grant application to the US Department of Education for the Supplemental Support / American Rescue Plan (SSARP) and Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF). 
• Authorized submission of $15,000 grant application to the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center for a Computer Networking & Cybersecurity Innovation.
• Authorized submission of $20,000 to the Illinois Board of Education for GAST (Growing Agricultural Science Teachers).
• Authorized entry into a one (1) year lease agreement with two (2) successive one (1) year automatic renewal options with the University of Illinois Extension for space at the ORR facility on the Baylis Agricultural Education Center property.
• Authorized entry into a one (1) year lease agreement with two (2) successive one (1) year automatic renewal options with the University of Illinois Extension for space at the Mt. Sterling Education Center.
• Approved a tuition increase for fiscal year 2023 in the amount of $7.00 for in-district, out-out-of-district, and on-line.
• Accepted a proposal from Live Space, LLC for a video wall with the cost of $63,536.73 plus the option 1 of $2,855.42 and the option 2 of $5,755.00 for a total cost of $72,147.15.
• Approved the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 college academic calendars.
• Approved honorary titles of Professor Emeritus for Norman Rodriguez and Gary Shupe.
• Approved the contract with the Pauly Group as the presidential search firm serving as an independent contractor.

The next regular meeting of the JWCC Board of Trustees is May 18, at 6 p.m. at JWCC’s Quincy campus.