PORT ANGELES — North Olympic Healthcare Network CEO Mike Maxwell is the new chair of the Peninsula College trustees and Joe Floyd, vice president of the Peninsula Dispute Resolution Center and former board president of the Peninsula College Foundation, is the new vice chair.
Replacements for outgoing chair Dwayne Johnson and member Mike Glenn, who have served as trustees for 17 and 14 years, respectively, will be appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee sometime this summer.
Trustees approved the new chair and vice chair unanimously on Tuesday.
They also approved unanimously a $31.2 million operating budget for the fiscal year 2023-2024, of which $24.7 million is dedicated to general operations for instruction, instructional support, student services, administration and facility operations. Vice President of Finance and Administration Carie Edmiston said $2.1 million in reserves was used to balance the operations portion of the budget.
“This is a conservative budget,” Edmiston said.
The 2023-2024 budget is $1.7 million higher than the one for 2022-2023 due to increased funding for programs from the state, cost of living adjustments and changes to health and benefit funding.
Peninsula College also is anticipating a drop in Running Start enrollment that will have a negative impact on revenue. Running Start is a dual credit program for 11th- and 12th-graders that allows them to earn college credit while attending high school; it covers up to 15 credits of tuition.
The resolution included approval of a 3 percent tuition rate increased that was authorized by the state Legislature.
President Suzy Ames told the board the college has received a grant of $150,000 from the state Board of Technical and Community Colleges, along with $20,000 from a private donor that came through the Peninsula College Foundation, for the re-booted automotive technology program. These programs can be expensive for schools to offer because of the high costs for the technology and equipment that are needed.
“We’re looking at dipping into reserves to get that going in the fall,” Ames said.
The Peninsula College Foundation also received gifts of $150,000 from Merrill & Ring and $25,000 from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for its natural resources program. Both were first-time donors to the college.
Peninsula College commencement ceremonies will be held Saturday on campus in the gym at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. In the morning, degrees in associate in applied science, bachelor of arts in applied science, associate in nursing, one-year certificate programs and high school diplomas will be awarded.
Degrees in associate of arts, associate in business, associate in computer science and associate of science degrees will be awarded in the afternoon. For more information, go to tinyurl.com/3v662fpv.
In other board news:
• At a ceremony prior to the meeting and held in the PUB, graduating students who had completed their degrees with 45 college-level credits and a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.85 received President’s Medal awards from Ames and Steven Thomas, vice president for instruction.
Students also were recognized with English essay, Tidepools, athletics and Pacific Northwest Association of Journalism Educators awards.
• The board recognized the Olympic Medical Center Foundation for establishing a $400,000 scholarship program for health workers in Clallam County.
Half of the funds will be used for graduating high school students and current Peninsula College students to help remove financial barriers to their education, and half will be dedicated to helping current OMC employees to further their career goals.
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached at paula.hunt@soundpublishing.com.
