SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM
October 4, 2001
Minutes
The Board of Trustees of the Houston Community College System held a Special
Meeting on October 4, 2001, at the System Administration Building, 2nd Floor
Auditorium, 3100 Main, Houston, Texas.
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Bruce A. Austin, Chairman
James R. Murphy, Vice Chairman
Herman Litt, Secretary
Michael P. Williams, D.Min., Deputy Secretary
Jay K. Aiyer
Herlinda Garcia
Christopher W. Oliver
Carol H. Smith
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT
Abel Davila
ADMINISTRATION
Bruce H. Leslie, Chancellor
Charles Cook, Vice Chancellor, Academic Development
Patricia Williamson, Vice Chancellor, Institutional Development
Sue Cox, President, Southwest College
Jack Daniels, President, Central College
Gloria Walker, Executive Director, Accounting Operations
Nat Campos, Executive Director, Human Resources
Dianne Bynum, Interim Director, Public Information & Marketing
Isabel Nart, Director of Governmental Relations
Miles Bradshaw, General Counsel
Brenda Cox, Interim Assistant to the Chancellor
OTHERS PRESENT
Arturo Michel, System Counsel, Bracewell & Patterson
Other administrators, representatives from the news media
and interested citizens
Houston Community College System
Special Board Meeting – October 4, 2001 – Page 2
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Austin called the meeting to order at 4:13 p.m. and declared the Board
convened to consider matters pertaining to the Houston Community College
System as listed in the duly posted meeting notice.
ELECTIONS FOR DISTRICTS II AND VII CANCELED
Motion – Mrs. Smith moved approval of authorization to cancel elections for
Trustees with no challenger. Mr. Aiyer seconded the motion. Last month the
Board took no action on a motion to cancel elections in Districts II and VII in
which the incumbents, Trustees Austin and Litt, were unopposed.
The Trustees took the opportunity to express their opinions on the issue. Mr.
Austin felt that canceling an election was a serious matter and one that must be
based on accurate and reliable information. He invited the Houston Chronicle,
which had criticized the Trustees on their decision to hold the elections, to
examine the many positive things taking place at HCCS.
Dr. Leslie explained that Harris County Clerk Beverly Kauffman informed him that
if all three HCCS trustee elections were held, the estimated total cost to HCCS
would be approximately $184,000. The total cost to cancel the two uncontested
elections was estimated at no more than $5,875. The estimated total savings to
HCCS would be approximately $124,000.00 - $118,000 of that from Harris
County and $6,000 fro Ft. Bend County. He also learned that canceling the
elections would not save the taxpayers money – it would only increase the share
of responsibility of the remaining governmental entities in the election. The total
cost of the election ($1.8 million) would not change. The Chancellor
recommended redirecting any savings to the recruitment and retention program
to be earmarked for student tutoring.
Mr. Oliver stated the will of the people must prevail and urged his colleagues to
vote to cancel the elections. Mrs. Garcia was of the opinion that voters had the
right to know who their elected officials were in order to hold them accountable.
Mr. Murphy commended his colleagues for coming together and debating this
issue for the greater good. Mr. Aiyer felt the Board made a decision without
having all the facts, but felt the cost savings warranted canceling the elections.
In speaking with constituents, Mr. Litt found that some were in favor of canceling
elections and others felt the right to vote was paramount. He planned to vote for
cancellation since the savings would benefit the tutoring program.
Dr. Williams maintained that Trustees should hold to their beliefs and not be
swayed by pressure from the media. Mr. Aiyer acknowledged the current trend
by other community colleges to cancel uncontested elections and felt HCCS
should follow suit.
Houston Community College System
Special Board Meeting – October 4, 2001 – Page 3
The motion carried 6-2 with Trustees Aiyer, Austin, Litt, Murphy, Oliver and Smith
voting affirmatively; and Garcia and Williams opposed.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEXT MEETING
Mr. Austin announced that the next Regular Board Meeting would be held on
October 30, 2001.
ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, Mr. Austin adjourned the meeting at 4:45 p.m.
Minutes Prepared by:
Reliable Transcription Services
Reviewed, Finalized and Submitted by:
Herman Litt, Secretary
Board of Trustees
Minutes Approved as Submitted:
August 25, 2005