Flint Hills Technical College's independence appears to be safe for now. In fact, a new state proposal could leave it and the state's other technical institutions better off than before.
The Kansas Technical Education Commission is considering a proposal that asks to increase technical education funding to about $100 million over the next two to three years, FHTC President Dean Hollenbeck said Monday. Another proposal before the commission calls for a a state technical education system, which would remove technical schools from the authority of the Kansas Board of Regents.
But the best news may be what hasn't happened. So far, Hollenbeck said, an earlier proposal to merge the state's technical colleges with nearby community colleges doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
"I think there's a good chance the commission will say that technical institutions can merge where it makes sense, and if they want to," Hollenbeck told his college's Board of Trustees on Monday. "And I think we'll choose to stay independent."
The commission meets Jan. 2 and 3 and is scheduled to submit a report to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius by Jan. 5. In all likelihood, Hollenbeck said, the commission will probably be extended and continue its work through the end of June.
Hold the phone
The technical college is starting to take proposals on a phone system, after its previous one crashed during a power surge.
The damaged system is about 15 years old and parts are hard to come by, according to a letter from Stutler Technologies. So far, President Dean Hollenbeck said, the voice mail has crashed, transfers aren't always going through and some incoming calls are being lost.
"A number of times, they're hearing a ring and we're not," said Lisa Kirmer, dean of student services. "Calls are being dropped. It's happening daily."
Initial proposals to replace the system have been offered by Stutler and by AT&T. Formal bids have not yet been requested.
Dental donation
The Jones Trust has tentatively approved a $50,000 donation for the college's proposed dental hygienist program.
The trust has asked that the college coordinate its actions with the Flint Hills Health Center before anything gets underway. That's not a problem, said Monica Jones, the head of the college's dental assisting program.
"We pretty much had to say we wanted to partner before they'd give us the dollars," Jones said. "But we wanted to do that anyway."
The college's board of trustees will decide in January whether to apply for the program. If it does, it would need the approval by the Kansas Board of Regents and accreditation by the American Dental Association. If all goes well, classes could start by fall 2008.
In other action:
-- The college's defense for its accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission will be Jan. 22 in Chicago. "I'm not anticipating any hurdles, since their visiting team gave us a pretty clean bill of health," college President Dean Hollenbeck said.
-- The board reviewed the annual report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006.
-- The board acknowledged the re-accreditation of the school's paramedic program. Its credentials must be renewed every three years.
-- Steve Loewen, the college's dean of instructional services, said that training for Interest-Based Bargaining would begin in February. IBB is a non-confrontational bargaining style used by the college to negotiate its staff and teaching contracts each year.