NCTC regents hear positive audit report

By DELANIA TRIGG, Register Staff Writer

The North Central Texas Board of Regents made quick work of a fairly brief agenda at Friday’s regular meeting on the NCTC campus in Gainesville.

The meeting was held two hours prior to the college’s fall commencement ceremony.

Certified Public Accountant Thomas E. Schalk was on hand to present the college’s 2008-2009 financial audit -- a 61-page soft cover booklet containing procedural explanations and financial statements.

The Gainesville certified public accounting firm of Schalk & Smith prepared the report.

The purpose of the document is, according to Schalk & Smith, to provide residents, taxpayers, investors, creditors and customers an overview of the college’s finances and to explain the way the college uses the money it derives from various sources.

The report reflects some good news.

Enrollment for both credit and non-credit courses continues to increase.

Student numbers increased from 4,254 in 2000 to 8,517 in 2008.

In addition, NCTC is continuing to see an increase in contact hours generated by student enrollment.

Contact hours are a component of the formula used to determine state funding.

These hours increased from 898,000 in 2002 to 1,289,140 in 2009, the report stated.

The audit reflects a mostly positive financial picture for the college, Schalk concluded.

After a brief discussion, the board voted to approve the annual financial and compliance audit.

In other money matters, the board voted to approve a recommendation from the administration to distribute a fund balance of $2 million to board-designated reserves.

Of that $2 million, $300,000 would be earmarked for parking improvements.

Of the remaining $1.7 million, $1 million would be set aside as a contingency to combat any reduction in state appropriations for the upcoming year.

NCTC President Dr. Eddie Hadlock pointed out that a contingency plan is prudent.

According to some authorities, Hadlock said, colleges such as NCTC can “except a 5 to 10 percent reduction in funding.”

Regent Dave Flusche questioned the amount of cash designated for parking-related expenses.

“Why do we need so much (for) parking?” he asked.

Hadlock said a sizeable chunk of the funding would help pay for parking upgrades at the college’s Corinth campus located in Denton County.

“We’ve got to do something with parking in Corinth,” he said.

Dean of Administrative Services, Dr. Steve Broyles told the board that the administration had hoped to have Corinth’s parking woes resolved “before school started.”

Apparently city regulations have slowed progress.

“The city dictates that we must go before the board of adjustments (before building) an access road for a temporary parking lot,” Broyles noted.

He said although the student parking lot is designed to be a temporary fix, the access route might be “more of a permanent road.”

The board eventually approved the distribution of the fund balance.

Next, the board voted to invest $4 million worth of board-designated reserves in certificates of deposit.

Right now, all college investments are held in TexPool earning an interest rate as low as .21 percent.

“Certificates of deposit would earn a higher rate of interest and provide diversifications of college investments,” the administration noted in its recommendation.

Vice President of Financial Services Dr. Janie Neighbors said the investments will likely be divided among several banks.

Some sample rates provided by administrators indicate the most recent interest rate on some CDs is as high as 1.45 percent at one local bank.

Taking care of some personnel matters, the board voted to approve contacts for several new faculty members.

Phyllis Casteel was hired as a vocational nursing instructor to replace Lori Cornell who submitted her resignation.,

Toni Perkins will replace vocational nursing instructor Lacey Cheeseman.

Becky Rodriguez will fill the position of College Connection 2+2+2 Coordinator.

The board also accepted the resignations of Cornell, Don Evans and Kay Evans.

Hadlock noted that Don and Kay Evans have been with the college since the mid 1970s and that both plan to retire.

In his monthly update to the board, Hadlock presented a summary of Texas Public Information requests and the costs associated with the requests.

He said there are no current or active requests and that one recent request was withdrawn.

He also spoke about a trustee conference in Austin the week of Jan. 11-12 and the TACC North Texas Region meeting of presidents and trustees in February.

Following Hadlock’s report, the meeting was adjourned.

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