Monday, 28 March 2011 06:16

Amador Community College Foundation seats two new members

slide3-amador_community_college_foundation_seats_two_new_members.pngAmador County – The Amador Community College Foundation board of directors got two new members recently, and invited the public to its next meeting in April.

Board member Karen Dickerson said the “good news is we have a full board” for Amador Community College Foundation, “in accordance with representation requirements of our operating guidelines.”

Guidelines call for two representatives from the administration of Amador County, two from the Amador County Unified School District, one ACUSD Trustee, one representative of Cosumnes River College, and five members of the public.

Renee Chapman serves as Board Facilitator and is a non-voting member. Public board members include Dickerson of The Grant Tree Group; Paul Molinelli Jr., general manager of ACES Waste Service; Ron Mittelbrunn, executive director of the Amador Economic Development Corporation; Frank Leschinsky, business services executive of Volcano Communications Group; and ACCF Board Vice Chairman Richard Vinson, retired District 3 Supervisor.

Amador County Chief Administrative Officer Chuck Iley, who assumed Terri Daly’s place on the Board as the second Amador County representative. He joins ACCF Board Chairman, District 1 Supervisor John Plasse. Amador Unified is represented by Trustee Pat Miller, school counselor Janice Davis, and Superintendent Dick Glock. Dickerson said Whitney Yamamura, vice president at Cosumnes River College, who has a scheduling conflict on Board Meeting dates, designated Dr. Judy Beachler, Dean of Instruction, as the representative for Los Rios. Beachler will attend meetings by phone conference.

The Amador Community College Foundation board plans a “meet and greet” immediately before its next meeting. The meet and greet starts at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 21, and the board meeting starts at 2:30 p.m. Dickerson said the Board wants to hear the public’s thoughts about the community college effort in Amador County.

The foundation has helped to get six evening classes offered through Cosumnes River College, in two classrooms at the Amador Learning Center, at Independence High School. The Center’s two classrooms are equipped with networked computers.

Spring 2011 class schedules and enrollment are available on the Amador County and Cosumnes River College websites. The program currently serves 300-400 students per semester.

Dickerson said a Facilities Committee is looking for expansion sites where they can offer day and night classes, and ACCF is exploring the Health & Human Services Building. It is looking for a space to have five or more classrooms, with “networked computers capable of offering classes over broadband in real time and completely interactive with hub locations at universities and community colleges.”

Future goals include a “satellite center,” which would require 500 students. The Foundation is also researching annexation or formation to align or establish the county’s own community college district.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.