During the Southwestern Community College (SWCC) board of directors meeting Tuesday, Tom Lesan, SWCC vice president of economic development, reported that a collective bargaining agreement was reached between the college and Southwestern Community College Education Association. Lesan said employees covered by the agreement would receive a salary increase of 2% to their base salaries for fiscal year 2021.
The agreement will continue through fiscal year 2022, however, Article IX, relating to salaries for fiscal year 2021, is effective for only one year and salary for fiscal year 2022 is subject to negotiation between the two parties. Minimum salary levels for 2020-21 are: entry level, $37,250; BA/BS, $38,250; MA/MS, $39,250; specialist, $41,650; and doctorate, $42,650. Following Lesan’s report, the board ratified the collective bargaining agreement as presented.
During the meeting, the board moved to extend the contracts of Lindsay Stoaks, SWCC vice president of instruction, and Dr. Barb Crittenden, SWCC president, through June 30, 2021, with salary increases of 2%.
The board re-appointed the following members to the Education Foundation board for the 2020-21 year: Amy Hook of Creston, Randy Huewe of Creston, Rick Oshel of Osceola, Allen Pohren of Red Oak, Jerry Smith of Osceola, Alec Turner of Corning, and Dr. Barb Crittenden, SWCC representative.
President’s report
During her report, Crittenden reminded the board of the college’s modified fall academic calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With this revised schedule in place, SWCC will transition to a virtual format for the final two weeks of the fall semester following Thanksgiving break.
Crittenden said the spring semester will begin as scheduled Jan. 11. Spring break in March will be eliminated to enable the college to end classes one week earlier on April 30 and alleviate the risk of spring break-related travel. Crittenden said these modifications are consistent with a number of other colleges and universities.
Ag site
Susannah Miller, SWCC ag instructor, spoke to the board regarding activities and programming related to the college’s ag department. Miller gave board members a tour of the newly renovated Agricultural Sciences Center. The college embarked on this $1.8 million expansion in 2019 and the reconstruction project was completed in late-spring 2020. The project included the addition of a 45-person classroo, a 24-person lab-style room, a 24-person classroom, a student lounge, a mud room, and two faculty offices.
