Iowa Lakes Community College FY2020 Budget Approved

(Estherville, Iowa) The Iowa Lakes Community College Board of Trustees held its monthly meeting Tuesday afternoon in Estherville.

Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Soper, opened Tuesday’s meeting with the Treasurer’s Report and monthly bills. Soper then requested a resolution authorizing the payment of the General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2016.

“The levy will remain at the rate we promoted, and fortunately with a healthy economy and property valuations, this authorization will allow Iowa Lakes to pay the bonds early and save money for our district taxpayers,” said Soper.

The Board authorized the requested resolution.

A Public Hearing was held for the FY 2020 Published Budget, with the budget receiving unanimous Board approval.

In other business, the Board approved the new FY 2020 Campus Housing and Meal Plan contracts and rates.

The Iowa Lakes Board of Trustees then heard from Kathy Muller, the Executive Director of Human Resources. Muller provided the Board with an update on the Human Resources Department at Iowa Lakes Community College.

As a part of her presentation Muller introduced her staff, Beth Brown, Human Resources and Payroll Coordinator, who has been employed by Iowa Lakes for 30 years, and Amanda Fuhrman, Human Resources Specialist, who has been with Iowa Lakes Community College since 2014.

Muller then described the current recruiting and hiring process for any open positions at Iowa Lakes Community College and how internal Sexual Harassment and Title IX investigations are conducted.

Following Muller’s presentation, Delaine Hiney, Executive Director of Facilities Management, provided the Board with an update on the current building status of the Fine Arts Facility on the Estherville Campus.

Hiney then reported to the Board that the college’s 2011 International Eldorado Navistar 27 passenger bus requires replacement and research has begun to investigate replacement options. Also, she discussed the need for updating two vehicles in the college’s fleet that have reached their end of service.

Next, the board accepted a $6,350 donation from the Farm and Feed Store located in Gilman, Minnesota for the Construction Technology program located on the Emmetsburg Campus. This donation request was made by Jolene Rogers, Executive Director of Community and Business Relations.

Rogers then provided an update regarding scholarships. She noted that the priority deadline for scholarships was February 1 and that these applications are currently being reviewed. The next scholarship deadline is March 1, with the final deadline, April 1.

“Alison Mason, our Institutional Advancement Manager, has been working with our Enrollment Coaches to host scholarship workshops across the Iowa Lakes district and this has proven to be quite successful,” said Rogers.

Rogers then stated, “For the current academic year, $847,450 was awarded to scholarship recipients, with 80% of students who fully completed an application receiving at least one scholarship. The average scholarship amount awarded to recipients was $2,230.”

The Kossuth County Dancing with the Local Stars event has been moved to November 2019.

The next meeting of the Iowa Lakes Community College Board of Trustees will be on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, at the SERT Facility on the Estherville Campus located at 2421 7th Ave South, Estherville Iowa.

For More Information:

Iowa Lakes Marketing office at 712-362-7947