State Tech Regents extend president's contract, approve budget

LINN, Mo. - State Technical College President Shawn Strong received a one-year contract extension Friday.

"We went through a very extensive process when we chose Dr. Strong," Board of Regents President John Klebba explained, "so we had all the confidence that he was going to do a good job - and we've been very pleased with how things have come out. I think he has really focused on some things that are real positives for the college, going forward."

Strong, who became State Tech's president one year ago, was pleased with the regents' vote of confidence - which was announced after a half-hour closed session Friday afternoon.

"As I told the board, this is by far the best job I've ever had," Strong told the News Tribune. "The school definitely aligns to what I think is important in higher education. We are so true to our mission, and a lot of institutions aren't (but) look at, 'Where can we go next, that is beyond our mission?'

"Here, technical education is all we do - and we do it better than anybody else."

Chief Financial Officer Jenny Jacobs walked the board through a number of budget documents showing how the school is dealing with its tight financial situation, ultimately leading to the board's approval of a $16,520,192 general operating budget for the state business year that begins today.

That's nearly $1.82 million less than the school's revised operating budget for the business year that ended Friday - with much of the reduction caused by state budget reductions and withholdings.

"We're starting with a 9 percent" lower budget, Jacobs told the regents during a work session before the official budget approval - so Gov. Eric Greitens' decision to withhold more money from higher education likely won't have much impact on the two-year school.

Klebba, who also is an attorney and president of Legends Bank, told the News Tribune budget planning is "difficult when we have decreased appropriations by the state, coupled with a slight decline in enrollment - which we're looking to address - and, also, a significant increase in some other costs such as the MOSERS (retirement) assessment that we have."

Still, he said: "There's nothing in the budget that, I think, should be delayed - as a matter of fact, there's a lot of it that, I think, is an investment in the future. We are a very lean institution," financially.

Some Missouri colleges, including Lincoln University and the University of Missouri system, have cut jobs as a way to deal with budget issues.

"We're actually adding positions," Strong noted, to help with a couple of new programs State Tech administrators think will help spur future growth.

"We are going to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million out of reserves next year," Strong added, acknowledging using reserves is a short-term fix that can't help future budgets.

"It really is just being good stewards of the taxpayers' money," he said. "Our biggest issue is, if I want to cut anybody, I'm going to actually have to cut programs."

State Tech wants to begin an associate's degree program in nursing starting in fall 2018.

One of the new jobs in the 2017-18 budget is the director of that program because, Strong told the board, "we have to have a faculty member in place for a year before the program begins."

State Tech's regents approved suspending the Physical Therapist Assistants programs that were offered at North Central Community College, Trenton and Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff.

The change means both years of the program, which leads to an associate's degree, will be offered only at State Tech's main campus - but the school kept the option of reviewing the situation within the next two years.

Regents also approved moving the Nuclear Technology program from the Advanced Technology Center in Mexico to the main campus in Linn.

And the board approved adding a "broadband" option to the Electrical Distribution Systems Program that trains line workers for the electric and telecommunications provider industries.