Board Duties and Responsibilities
Board of Trustees Policy: 2.1
Date: April 2024
Supersedes: June 2022, November 2019 and May 2017
Purpose
The Board of Trustees establishes the necessary policies for operating Montgomery
County Community College and has all the powers, duties, and obligations as specifically
set forth in the Community College Act of 19631, its amendments and supplements. The Board of Trustee's aim is to serve the educational,
workforce, and cultural needs of our students and Montgomery County communities.
Specific Responsibilities
In accordance with the Community College Act of 1963 (the Act), these responsibilities are specifically assigned to the Board of Trustees:
- to hold, rent, lease, sell, purchase, and improve land, buildings, furnishings, equipment, materials, books, and supplies [Section 6.2];
- to enter into contracts for services required to effectuate the purposes of the Community College Act of 1963 [Section 6.3];
- to accept and receive gifts of real and personal property, federal, state, and local monies and grants, and to expend the same [Section 6.4];
- to make policies providing for the admission and expulsion of students, the courses of instruction, the tuition and fees to be charged, and for all matters related to the governing and administration of the College [Section 6.5];
- to submit to the state Board of Education, for its approval, proposed amendments to the community college plan [Section 6.6];
- to enter into contracts for services to high schools of member districts to provide area vocational technical education services [Section 6.7]; and
- to exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as are necessary to carry into effect the purpose of the Community College Act of 1963 [Section 6.8].
Section 6.1 and 7(a) of the Act assigns the Board of Trustees the responsibility to appoint the president and to adopt policies to ensure that the chief executive and chief educational officer of the college performs all duties in accordance with policies adopted by the Board of Trustees. The process adopted by the Executive Committee and the Presidential Evaluation policy (2.4) provide a framework for these responsibilities:
- to oversee the drafting of the president’s contract by a person designated by the Board of Trustees in consultation with the College’s solicitor;
- to present the contract to the full Board of Trustees for review and after any revisions to the contract by the Board of Trustees in consultation with the College’s solicitor be presented for approval by the full Board of Trustees; and
- to appoint and fix the salary of the President.
Fiscal Responsibility
Contracts shall be entered into, and other acts shall be done by the Board of Trustees
of a community college in the name of the community college. The Board of Trustees
shall submit an annual budget for consideration and approval by the local sponsor.
The Board of Trustees shall supervise the expenditure of appropriations made by the
local sponsor and shall conduct the business affairs of the community college in accordance
with the rules, regulations, and procedures approved by the local sponsor. All property
purchased by or granted to the Board of Trustees of a community college shall be held
in the name of a community college on behalf of the local sponsor of the college.
Sponsor Relations
The local sponsor is authorized to enter into a written agreement with the Board of Trustees of the community college for the purpose of providing operating expenses and for capital projects through a dedicated millage collected on an annual basis, subject to Montgomery County Commissioners approval. In no event shall the local sponsor's obligation for the operation and capital expenses of a community college exceed the limit of the local sponsor to levy taxes pursuant to this act or any other act of the General Assembly or its rights to incur or increase its indebtedness under Article IX of the Constitution of Pennsylvania.
Duty of Care
Trustees will discharge duties in good faith and with care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise in a like position and under similar circumstances. This includes attending Board monthly and committee meetings, as well as carefully preparing in advance of meetings and upholding all Board policies within the day-to-day operations of the College. A trustee unable to attend 75% of their meetings in an academic year will meet with the Chair to discuss their individual record of attendance. The Chair may share the record of attendance with the local sponsor for consideration in renewal of a trustee’s term of service.
Meetings of the Board of Trustees
All meetings of the Board of Trustees will be open to the public, except at those times when the Board meets in executive session. When deemed necessary, the Chair may call the Board into executive session. Minutes will be taken for all regular, special, and annual meetings of the Board of Trustees. Approved minutes will be posted publicly on the College’s website. Hardcopies of the approved minutes will be stored in the College’s archives located in College Hall.