College keeps tax rate stable
Trustees hope for more public input
By Paul Smith
    With little ceremony, the Kansas City Kansas Community College Board of Trustees adopted a budget this week that will not raise its tax rate on Wyandotte County residents over the next year.
    The mill levy collected by the college will remain at 20.423 mills. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 in value that a property is assessed.
    The board also decided to hold its regular meetings at 5:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month in the Administration Building on the college campus. Over the objection of longtime board members, some trustees felt evening meetings would be more accessible to the public.
Even while its new budget included monies for some administrative raises and new positions on campus, Trustees Jo Ann Huerter and Mary Ann Flunder objected to the more than $300,000 requested in new salaries.
    Huerter specifically contested the idea of giving all coordinators, supervisors and professional assistants on campus a $4,000 raise— a total expenditure of $164,000— regardless of each person’s experience, education and length of college service.
    “I don’t think everyone on this list is qualified for or needs a salary increase,” Huerter said. “I don’t know anyone worth a $4,000 raise.”
    Vice President for Executive Services Morteza Ardebili contended that the raises are necessary to keep college salaries competitive, and are part of an ongoing effort to keep employees at industry standards.
    The motion passed by a 4-2 vote.
    Increased cost was just one factor involved in the board’s decision to remove the Kansas City Star as its official publication. The board opted for the Star over the Kansas City Kansan last month, but found that not only would it cost almost 9 times more to put notices in the Star but that it might violate state statute to publish notices in a newspaper based outside the taxing area of the college. The board again authorized the Kansan as its official publication.
    In other business, the trustees heard a presentation on the college’s online course offerings. Dean of Information Services Bill Chennault said that 30 percent of all credit hours racked up at the college next semester will be taken online.
    Online Project Director Anita Reach tried to reassure trustees that online course technology is a success. Since 1999, the ratio of passing grades for online courses ranged between 60 and 70 percent, which Reach said is comparable to traditional classroom courses— whose ratio ranged between 60 and 80 percent over the same period.
    However, Board Chairman J.D. Rios said that both online and traditional classes should aspire to higher passing rates.
    In other news, a reception for departing Vice President of Academic Services Kaye Walter will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 12 in Room 2325 in the Jewell Center. That will be her last day on campus, before she departs for Valencia Community College in Orlando, Fla., where she will serve as its executive chief learning officer.