| December 4, 2019 | Juan Ibarra | editor-in-chief |
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Every month, TCC’s board of trustees hosts a governance meeting where proposals are discussed before gathering a week later for its regular meeting to approve them, but a recent change might shake up the current system.
During the monthly board meeting Nov. 19, board of trustees president Conrad Heede discussed the importance of the governance meetings and confirmed a recent change to the process.
“Since we discuss these items in great detail at our governance meetings, any item for approval that’s less than a million dollars we will put on our consent agenda going forward,” Heede said.
A consent agenda groups together multiple proposals that do not require discussion or debate and allows for the board to approve the items together.
In the past, the board has had a consent agenda threshold of $100,000 but with this change, there is a larger margin for items to be lumped together into the agenda for approval.
During the Nov. 14 governance meeting, the consent agenda change was first mentioned by Chancellor Eugene Giovannini.
Some colleges and municipalities have a signing authority of $100,000 but anything under a specific amount goes under a consent agenda, Giovannini explained.
“I think that’s reasonable. As I’ve said before, the $100,000 threshold was set many years ago as a result of some issues that we had,” board member Bill Greenhill said without elaborating.
The board discussed the matter and was in agreement at the time that raising the threshold would be beneficial to the overall process.
“The more we can do to simplify the routine stuff we do, the better off we are,” board member Kenneth Barr said.
At the start of the meeting two speakers commented on a proposal to make TCC a sanctuary campus, which would support undocumented students.
A local immigrants’ rights group, United Fort Worth representative Jessica Ramirez spoke about 287(g) agreements and the role they play in the comfort and safety of students on TCC campuses. The 287(g) agreements require the local law enforcement officers to receive appropriate training and to function under the supervision of ICE officers. Under these agreements, officers have the right to question the legal status of anyone they detain.
“This practice is racist and creates a culture of fear among the residents of Tarrant County,” Ramirez said.
Tarrant County resident Cyndi Mata added onto Ramirez’s comments in support of the proposal.
“By adopting a sanctuary campus proposal, Tarrant County College will be making a public declaration for the support of the safety and privacy of all undocumented students and staff members,” Mata said.
