[Speaker 2] (0:08 - 0:25) Good evening. I hereby call this meeting of the Lee College Board of Regents on Thursday, April 16th, 2026 at 6 p.m. to order. We do have a quorum. Next item on the agenda is invocation and pledge to the United States flag and pledge to the Texas flag. Regent Judy Geralds will lead us. [Speaker 12] (1:19 - 1:32) With liberty and justice for all. Texas flag, I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state, under God, one and indivisible. [Speaker 2] (1:34 - 1:45) Thank you, Regent Geralds. All right, next item on the agenda, we're going to go to item four, special recognition. Item, yeah, four, the Puente program. [Speaker 1] (1:46 - 1:53) Yes, I'd like to invite Kristen Martin, a faculty member in English and Humanities, to introduce our students. [Speaker 6] (1:55 - 3:43) Thank you. Good evening to the members of the board, all faculty and staff present. I'm Kristen Martin, a full-time English faculty member and the Puente coordinator for the Lee College Puente program. The National Puente Project was founded in 1981 at Shabbat Community College in Haywood, California. The program has since expanded to include many institutions across California and South Texas. The Puente program's mission is to increase the number of students who enroll in colleges and universities, earn college degrees, and return to the community as mentors and leaders to future generations. The program is interdisciplinary in approach with culturally relevant coursework, writing assignments, transfer and career advising, and mentoring components. Currently at Lee College, Puente courses are offered in the fall and spring within the English and Humanities, the Learning Frameworks, and Social and Behavioral Sciences divisions. This year, the Puente's national team's focus and vision is to increase the National Puente Project's presence in Texas and to increase the number of divisions that offer Puente courses at the current Puente campuses within Texas. The Puente program also offers robust training schedules that support student success and belonging initiatives and requires all Puente faculty, advisors, and other staff to participate in regional professional development sessions and one summer training institute. Puente is open to all students. This evening we will hear from Bianca Calvillo, one of the four recipients of the Fall 2025 Puente Scholarship, and she will share her experiences as a Puente student. I welcome Bianca Calvillo. [Speaker 5] (3:51 - 6:36) Hello, good afternoon. My name is Bianca Calvillo and I'm a first-year student at Lee College. I immigrated to the United States when I was just four years old. Growing up in a family where neither of my parents had the chance to attend middle school or college, I often felt the weight of their sacrifices and the hopes they had for me. From a young age, I dreamed of attending a big university, not just for myself but to make my parents proud and honor the struggles they endured so I could have better opportunities. However, as the first person in my family planning to attend a four-year university, I quickly realized how challenging it was to navigate the college system on my own. The transfer process from community college to a four-year university felt overwhelming and confusing. I did not know where to start, what steps to take, or who to ask for help. Without family experience to guide me, I felt lost at times and unsure if I could reach my goals. That's when I discovered the Puente program, an organization dedicated to supporting students like me, first-generation college students, and those from underrepresented backgrounds who aspire to transfer and succeed in higher education. Attending my first Puente meeting was a turning point. I felt an immense sense of belonging and relief. Knowing I was not alone in this journey, the Puente community became a source of encouragement, knowledge, and friendship. With the guidance of Ms. Martin, my Puente mentor, I was able to tour a large university for the first time in my life. Walking through the campus, seeing the classrooms, and imagining myself there made my dream feel even more real and reachable. Ms. Martin helped me understand the transfer requirements, application deadlines, and scholarship opportunities, which gave me the confidence to take the next steps. I made it a priority to attend every Puente meeting, eager to learn and connect with other students who shared similar dreams and challenges. Through Puente, I not only gained valuable academic and transfer support, but also made new friends and created wonderful memories that have enriched my college experience. Recently, I was honored to receive a $500 scholarship for being an active and engaged member of Puente. This recognition means so much to me because it reflects my commitment to the organization and my determination to succeed despite obstacles. It also motivates me to keep working hard and give back by supporting other students who are just starting their journeys. Puente has been more than just a program. It has been a community that has empowered me to overcome barriers and believe in my potential. I'm excited about the future and the opportunities ahead, and I'm grateful to be part of a group that truly understands and supports students like me. Thank you for your time. [Speaker 11] (7:34 - 7:38) All right, moving on. I need a little private time. [Speaker 13] (7:41 - 7:47) Can I ask a question about the Puente program? So you said it's only in California and Texas? [Speaker 6] (7:50 - 7:54) Yes, currently the only institutions are in California and Texas. [Speaker 13] (7:54 - 7:57) Does that surprise you? It's been around for quite some time. [Speaker 6] (7:57 - 7:57) It has. [Speaker 13] (7:57 - 7:59) And it hasn't caught on in other states. [Speaker 6] (7:59 - 8:24) It does surprise me, but they are looking to expand here. They're starting to, well, one big discussion now, they're going to develop a non-profit that's different than the non-profit for the California part of the program so that more funding can come into Texas. So as Texas grows, I'm sure they'll think about Louisiana, you know, and maybe branching out. Thank you. [Speaker 2] (8:25 - 9:08) Very much. Any other questions? All right, we're going to put item 3 aside for just a few minutes, and we're going to move to item 4, disposition of minutes. We have before us the Building Committee meeting, March 18th, 2026, and the Board meeting, March 19th, 2026. Looks like we slacked off a little bit in March, didn't we? We only have about five or six meetings. All right, if anybody read the minutes, I'll entertain a motion to approve. So moved. A motion from Regent Hall, second from Regent Cotton. Any other comments or discussion on the meeting minutes? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed, no. Minutes are approved. [Speaker 11] (9:09 - 9:11) I'm not sure if Regent Guillory is going to be voting. [Speaker 2] (9:15 - 9:26) Okay. All right, next we'll move to report of the Chairman. I do not have a report tonight. Building Committee report. Regent Hemsel, are you reporting? Yes, I am. [Speaker 4] (9:27 - 11:58) The Building Committee met Tuesday, April 14th, and we included the following items. Proposals were reviewed to construct a security fence around the McNair Center. This will be presented for action tonight, and approval is being recommended by the Building Committee. The update on the Facilities Master Plan. The first deliverable from Pfluger Architects is scheduled for April 30, so there will be some new information data analysis for us to see very quickly on that. The project is on schedule thus far, and also there is a QR code that was sent to all the Regents electronically, and that was sent to the faculty and employees, and we would like to have a survey, so we would like everyone to look at that. That was sent out, David? Okay. On the proposed land exchange between the City and the College, a general update was made to the Committee, and tonight the particulars will be shared with the entire Board in closed session, followed by consideration of action in open session. The demolition of TV-8, which is the old Cosmetology Building. A permit was needed from the City, which was received last week. Demolition is now planned for either this weekend or the following weekend. Safety Projects Update. Thomas Quinn reported on several items. A project is underway to upgrade safety cameras. The installation is underway for the public address speakers inside and outside of buildings. Installation is complete of a lightning outdoor warning system. Installation is complete of the license plate readers at the College entrances, and also he reported that we have received an offer from some of the cell tower providers to put up cell towers on College property, and that we'll be looking at that possibly later on. We looked at the ADA Phase 2 projects and life safety projects, which work continues, including installation of fire sprinklers in the buildings, fire hydrant replacement, installation of water line cutoff valves, and also the rehabilitation and repair of sidewalks. And that concludes our report, sir. [Speaker 2] (11:59 - 12:05) Thank you very much. Any questions for Regent Hemsel? Thank you. All right, Policy Committee. [Speaker 9] (12:05 - 13:02) Yes, we finally met on April the 6th, and we discussed an alphabet of update 50 policies, all local policy, BABBA, BAAA, BBE. It just goes on and on and on, but I want to, and we discussed those, but of particular interest was BBE, which doesn't mean anything to you probably, but it's about local information access, and we had a rather lengthy discussion about striking a balance between the needs of the administration and the needs of the individual board members. So, if you happen to look at that, just, I want the rest of the board to know that we did have a pretty, very good discussion with all the committee members there, and so that concludes my report, unless you want me to go into all the details of all these other alphabet. [Speaker 2] (13:02 - 13:04) Up to you to highlight what you want to highlight. [Speaker 9] (13:04 - 13:07) I just, that's, I did want to highlight that one. [Speaker 2] (13:07 - 13:14) Thank you very much. Any questions for Regent Hall? All right, next, Audit and Investment Committee report. Regent Geralds? [Speaker 10] (13:14 - 13:48) Yes, we met this past Monday, and we have several, well, first off, we had the quarterly report, financial report, and that has been sent out to everybody, so I'm sure you noticed in your emails you got the quarterly report. Then, we have several audits that are a work in progress. The content management and records retention, PAC operations, work day, which is the ERP, and business impact analysis, so, and cybersecurity. So, we should be, maybe on our next meeting, probably have a report on those. [Speaker 2] (13:49 - 13:56) Yep. Thank you. Any questions for Regent Geralds? All right, we'll move on. [Speaker 11] (13:57 - 14:08) Has the second student arrived yet? Students? No, no, hold on. [Speaker 2] (14:08 - 14:27) Do we, do we have both students here yet? We have one. Okay, we're, you expecting them to show up? We'll give them a little more time. No worries, unless you need to be somewhere. Do you need to be somewhere? Okay, if you give us a couple more minutes, and we'll see, and we'll go, we'll come back to that item. Thank you. Let's move on to report of the President. [Speaker 1] (14:28 - 20:17) Thank you, Chairman Santana. Sorry, I want to start with the most important piece of news that I have. Right now, we have 923 students on track to graduate this spring. That is the most in the history of Lee College in any spring semester, so we are very pleased about that. Obviously, these students have to finish their classes and get passing grades, but right now, we have 923, which we're very excited about. I would also like to recognize Ingrid Wallace and Laura Capson. These are faculty members who have been the recipient of the Faculty Assembly's Excellence in Education Award. This is a tradition that goes back to 1969 at the college, and essentially, faculty recognize one of their own that has been with the college for more than 10 years, and one faculty that has been with the college for fewer than 10 years, so we're very happy to honor and recognize their efforts. They are essentially selected by a committee. It's based on excellence in teaching, commitment to Lee College, community service, and so this is a it's the season for honors and recognitions, so we're happy to recognize them. Regent Hensel already gave a short update on the Facilities Master Plan. I would mention that part of the deliverables that we expect by the end of the month is a revised Facility and Condition Index, which was one of the issues that we reviewed late last fall in making our determination to switch vendors, so we're very excited to see that piece of information being provided so early in the process. With regard to the Workday ERP update, we are currently in green status. We have 20 work streams that are in process, and so what that means is it's broken down into pieces, so we have 20 different pieces that we're working on simultaneously. This includes financial accounting, core human resources, customer accounts, PMO, banking and settlements, expenses, projects receiving learning benefits, data conversion, payroll, organizational change, management and training, absence, procurement, supplier accounts, business assets, reporting, and integrations. This is a big lift for us. Currently, we have only one that is yellow status and we expect that to be in green status by the end of the week, so we are still staying on pace even with the breadth of the work that we are doing right now. And a lot of credit goes to our IT team, our finance team, and our HR team as they're the ones that are primarily being impacted as we speak. I wish that I only had good news to share with the board today, but I do have one issue that I need to report. Huffman ISD has notified us that they will be changing partners for their dual credit service starting this fall. They will be switching from Lee College to Lone Star at the Itasca Ceda campus. There are a couple of reasons that I think are contributing to this decision for Huffman. Number one, their campus is 11 miles away. Our campus is 25 miles away. And there's a pretty significant priority put on face-to-face education in some of these smaller ISDs, and for students to get the full breadth of opportunity in dual credit, they've got to either come to our campus or they've got to go to Itasca Ceda, and it's less than half as far away. The second thing that I believe is contributing to this is the cost is significantly less at Lone Star than it is at Lee College. Approximately $100 less, which includes textbook access. So for FAST eligible students, there's no difference, right? That's totally covered by the state. But 55% of the students in the Huffman district are paying full freight, and so there's there's a cost savings that they're enjoying and they have more access because the campus is closer. We are contemplating strategies that we could implement to address some of these issues, particularly on the borders, but with it being so far away, it's very difficult for us to get faculty members who can commute up there to teach classes on site. And we've contemplated maybe doing roving faculty members who just travel around, but the bell time, the start and end times for classes aren't the same in every ISD. So one class gets out and then it's off sync, and so we're working on this, but that is a difficult challenge for us. Ultimately, I think this gets better for us once we have an expanded campus in Dayton or Liberty, where we can develop the workforce programs that are in high demand and have more of a central location for some of our northernmost ISD partners, where dual credit can come to that's not quite so far away as main campus. We will keep you posted on this, but that goes into effect this fall. So it's between 160 and 180, it fluctuates a little bit. [Speaker 11] (20:22 - 20:45) Any other questions on that before I move on to my next item? So I'm... There we go. [Speaker 1] (20:46 - 23:56) So a picture is worth a thousand words, and you guys don't want to listen to me say a thousand words, so I thought I'd just show you a few pictures. These are photographs taken April 13th of the construction project at Barbers Hill. Here you can see the the main site, the small building that's being constructed in the back is Central Plant. So you can see the work is progressing. The Central Plant is actively under construction. That building will be completed prior to the main facility being constructed. You can also see that all of the in-ground infrastructure is going in. So right here it's the hydronic lines that are going to Central Plant. They're also running electrical and some of the other in-ground. And that's the current update on that project. I will try to have pictures for you each month so that you can see the progress on this construction. On a slightly lighter side, today on campus we had cows for consent. So we had two miniature cows on campus in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. We had hundreds of students over the course of several hours come out and participate. Had Cain's chicken that we were giving away. We also had little fluffies for the cows It was incredibly well received and you know different periods, especially in between classes, we'd have lines with 20 or 30 students. For those of you who don't know, I grew up on a farm and in case you're wondering, there's actually proof that I'm a cow whisperer. So the idea was, you know, wait for the cows to acknowledge that they could be petted. I don't know that we spent a lot of time talking about that. It's mostly a celebration, but it's a good reminder and a good celebration to bring the students out during the month to talk about that critical issue. Finally, I have tremendous news. Our Lee College debate team finished nationals and they won last week. This is not the first time that we've won a national championship, but considering the extra challenges that we've had the last few weeks, this is a tremendous accomplishment for our students. I couldn't be prouder about what they've achieved and the approach that they took. I'm very grateful for those that helped to assist with this and next month they will be our student highlight and so you'll get a chance to meet each of these students and to hear a report from them, but this was too good to not share prior to May. And with that. [Speaker 2] (23:57 - 24:04) Thank you, President Atkin. One question on the debate team. How many of those students are impact students? [Speaker 1] (24:04 - 24:07) So five of the seven were impact students. [Speaker 2] (24:08 - 24:33) It's amazing that the students impact is producing. All right, any questions for President Atkin before we move on? All right, we still waiting? We're gonna do that. We're gonna move back to item three. Special recognition of our academic team. Ms. Callie Ford Spears is going to introduce. [Speaker 8] (24:37 - 25:53) All right, good evening. So I'm pleased to be here to honor two of our amazing students who this evening who are both part of our organization Phi Theta Kappa, our International Honor Society, which recognizes outstanding community college students. Each of these students has demonstrated exceptional dedication both inside and outside the classroom and serve as exemplary representatives of Lee College. So first, Ms. Kamri White is unable to be here this evening, but she was nominated to the All-USA academic team, which is an honor that recognizes high achieving students who combine academic excellence and intellectual rigor with meaningful leadership and service that extends beyond the classroom to benefit society. So we'll give a warm congratulations to Kamri. And second, Ms. Bea Almirah. Bea has been selected for the Coca-Cola academic team, which similarly honors students who exemplify academic excellence, leadership, and service. In recognition of this achievement, she has been awarded a $1,300 scholarship to support her continued educational pursuits. Well done, Bea. [Speaker 2] (25:59 - 26:02) Been recognized a lot here lately, hasn't she? [Speaker 11] (26:02 - 26:03) Has. Yeah, great. [Speaker 2] (26:52 - 26:58) All right, well, we have some awesome students here, for sure. [Speaker 11] (26:59 - 27:11) We'll go back to our financial report. Ms. Woodruff. Good evening. [Speaker 3] (27:24 - 30:54) Tonight I'm going to provide a financial update as of March 31st. I'm going to begin with the cash and investments. We're holding a pretty stable balance. We continue to prioritize liquidity, safety, and yield in our investment strategies. This is a summary of a snapshot of where we are at March 31st. Our revenues are 88.23% of budget and expenses are at 54.46% of budget. We're right in line with our 58.3% of the fiscal year. So our expenses are aligning much better than they have in the past. Our salaries and benefits are right in line. And see here, I've got a comparison of current year compared to prior three years. Our salaries and benefits for 23 were at 56, 24 at 55, and 25 at 55. The reason for this is we have increased our salary savings from 5%. It was 5% one year, 6% the last two years, and we increased it to 8%. So we're better aligned with the expected budget. So this will help us align better come year end. Here we have our projected net revenue for as where we project to be August 31st. We're looking at a 2.4 million surplus as a result of that at 1.5 of its revenues, which is expected with tuition and fees, my books fees, district taxes being the primary reasons, and expenses. We're at 763,000 now but we're expecting that to lower because we still have my books fees that are my books expenses that need to occur that we're still working with Vital Source on that issue. So we're looking for that to decrease. So we're looking, we're looking to be a lot lower on our surplus than we have in years past. Our facility projects as of March 31st. Issues to report here. Capital projects you can see the budgets are aligned with their, I mean their expenses are aligned with their budgets. Restricted funds are federal, state, and private grants and contracts. Federal grants and contracts will be drawn down as they're authorized and approved to be drawn down. Our local and state grants are it, or they're in the positive because they've been reimbursed. They're, they're mostly on a monthly reimbursement. Federal, most federal grants are quarterly. We're looking at negative 580 for federal grants. State grants, 488,000. Private grants, 442. Giving us a total of 351,000 net income as of March 31st. Any questions? [Speaker 2] (30:55 - 31:17) Any questions for Ms. Woodruff? Gonna make it easier for her tonight? Gonna let her off the hook? Okay. All right. Thank you very much. Thank you. We get a lot more detail in our package, so we get a lot of detail. All right. I'm jumping all over the place today. I skipped over report of Lee College resignations and or retirements. [Speaker 1] (31:17 - 31:37) President Adkin. Thank you, Chairman. We have two resignations to report tonight. Linda Torres Mann, a mental health therapist, and Henry Duke, a faculty at Huntsville Center, have both resigned this month. Both of those individuals have worked for the college for the last five years. [Speaker 2] (31:38 - 31:50) All right. Thank you. Any questions? All right. We'll move on to public comment. Do we have anyone signed up to speak? We do, Mr. Chairman. We have Paula Lee. Okay. [Speaker 11] (31:51 - 31:52) Lee, come on up. [Speaker 7] (31:53 - 33:19) So, good evening, and thanks for a couple of minutes of your time. It's my public service announcement for the next concert with the symphony and the orchestra. It is on Saturday, May the 2nd at 730 at the PAC, and this one is the celebration of our 250th birthday of the country. So, it's a patriotic concert. It has a lot of American composers in it. One of the songs that we're doing is Amazing Grace, which turned 250 years old back in January of 2023. So, lots of things have been around for a while, and once again, there's several of our high school students that will be playing with the orchestra, so that's always nice. I think Clarence is planning a rather large group of players on the stage, because he was like, um, there may not be room for the choir. So, anyway, but marketing, once again, has done an amazing job with making the posters. So, thank you, as always, and please, you know, come to the concert. You know, come have an early celebration for the birthday of the country. Thank you. [Speaker 2] (33:20 - 34:08) Thank you very much. All right, we're gonna move on to personnel. We have a consent agenda. Consideration of new hire. The administration recommends that the board approve the new hire as presented below. I really wish I would have asked how to pronounce this name. Mr. Mr. Wogbo. He's a physics guy, so that's the way it goes. Do I have a motion? We had a motion to approve by Regent Warford, second by Regent Cotton. Are there any questions on this item? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Any opposed, no. All right, motion's approved. Move on to new business. [Speaker 11] (34:13 - 34:17) We're getting to Regent Hall's alphabet issue here. [Speaker 2] (34:20 - 34:50) Consideration of adoption of board policy revisions for local policies. The administration and board policy committee recommend that the board approve and adopt the revisions to local board policies as presented and recommended by the Texas Association of School Boards update 50. So moved. I had a motion by Regent Hall, second by Regent Cotton. Are there any questions on any of these policy updates? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Any opposed, no. [Speaker 11] (34:51 - 34:52) All right, the motion is approved. [Speaker 2] (34:57 - 38:14) Next item, consideration of McNair Center fencing purchase and installation. The administration recommends that the board authorize a president or his designee to negotiate final terms and approve the purchase and installation of fencing for the McNair Center for the sum of $265,951.12. So moved. Got a motion by Regent Hall, second by Regent Geralds because you've been in it already. Hemsel, Hemsel, Geralds, Hemsel and Geralds, correct? I heard you. We're good. I know I said Hall, but I heard you. I have corrected what I said. All right, any questions on this item? I did notice this item does have some decorative fencing along the frontage and then black fencing down the sides and and the back. Yeah, McNair's been pretty much wide open on the I-10 feeder road for a long time. So great project. Okay, any other questions or comments? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Any opposed, no. Motion's approved. All right, at this time the meeting of the Lee College Board of Regents on the above list to date after proper posting in accordance with chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code for the specific purposes provided will recess from open meeting, closed meeting. No action will be taken while the board is recessed in executive session. All right, the closed meeting has adjourned and the board will reconvene into open meeting. Next item on the agenda under new business. All right, agenda item is to review and consider resolution for declaration of surplus tracts of land located at 909 Decker Drive and 2 Price Street and exchange of same with the City of Baytown for tracts of land located at 1004 Market Street, 1006 Market Street, 1010 Market Street, and 1011 West Texas Avenue and related actions. The administration recommends that the board approve the presented resolution authorizing the conveyance of the land located at 909 Decker Drive, 2 Price Street to the City of Baytown in exchange for land located at 1004 Market Street, 1006 Market Street, 1010 Market Street, and 1011 West Texas Avenue and further authorizing the administration to negotiate final terms and execute all necessary conveyance instruments and take all related actions. Motion from everybody. I'm gonna go with Regent Hall. He talks louder and I'm gonna go with a second from over here. Who did I hear? Regent Cotton. All right, into the table here. Got the two anchors at the table. All right, are there any other discussion items? Any other discussion on this item? [Speaker 4] (38:15 - 38:35) The only thing I was going to say, this in no way is a joint venture with the City of Baytown. Is that correct? I'd like to get that on on the record that this is strictly land swap. There's no no business other than that associated with this resolution. Is that my understanding? [Speaker 1] (38:35 - 38:51) That is correct. So this is an exchange of property only. There is no shared responsibility or investment by the college into the Exxon Mobil Event Center or by the city into any facilities owned or operated by the college. [Speaker 4] (38:51 - 38:52) Now and in the future. [Speaker 1] (38:52 - 38:53) Now or in the future. [Speaker 2] (38:53 - 39:17) All right, thank you for the clarification. Any other comments? Hearing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed, no. The motion is approved. Next item on the agenda, matters of concern for future agendas. Anything from anyone? All right, hearing none, we will move to adjourn.