Minutes

A special meeting of the Board of Trustees of Community College District VIII, 3000 Landerholm Circle SE, state of Washington, was held on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. Pradnya Desh, chair, presided. This meeting was held in B201 and on Zoom. A telephone line was also available.

Chair Desh called the business session to order at 5:03 PM.

Roll Call

A quorum of the Board was present.

Present: Chair Pradnya Desh, Vice Chair Rich Fukutaki, Trustee Richard Leigh (remotely), Trustee Greg Dietzel, Trustee Michelle Flowers-Taylor, President David May, Assistant Attorney General Tricia Boerger (remotely), and Board Secretary Alicia Keating Polson.

Absent: none.

There were 80 guests in attendance.

Approval of Agenda and Minutes

Trustee Dietzel made a motion to approve the agenda (June 24, 2026.) Trustee Flowers-Taylor seconded.

The motion passed unanimously.

Public Comment

Elena Maans-Lorincz, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided public comment on budget.

Nan Ma, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided public comment on institutional changes.

Kris Miller, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided public comment on student affairs.

Sandra Doyle Wilson, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided public comment on interior design program manager.

Linda Schinman, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided public comment on student affairs.

Paige Spicer, staff member at Bellevue College, provided public comment on union employees.

Annika Zumbrunnen, student at Bellevue College, provided public comment on budget.

Cassie Cross, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided public comment on writing lab.

Frank Lee, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided public comment on budget.

Marlowe Zoller, staff member at Bellevue College, provided public comment on institutional changes.

Suzanne Lane, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided written public comment on organizational changes.

Tatyana Prisak, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided written public comment on program manager position.

Gulnoor Brar, student at Bellevue College, provided written public comment on administrative support.

Jason Fuller, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided written public comment on budget and reorganization.

Bree Stalhut, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided written public comment on program manager position.

Caroline Fitzpatrick, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided written public comment on program manager position.

Jacqueline Gapinski, faculty member at Bellevue College, provided written public comment on program manager position.

Heather Marcotte, student at Bellevue College, provided written public comment on staff cuts.

Action

2026-2027 College Budget

Jorge de la Torre, Vice President of Administrative Services and Ty Bergstrom, Associate Vice President of Finance and Campus Operations, presented the 2026-2027 budget.

The presentation began with correcting a mistake that was in the Board packet under the 2026-27 College Reserve Report, which listed an extra row “Total Reserves | $97,453,916.” This row was included in error and is not correct or relevant for the 2026-27 College Reserve Report. The public Board packet posted on the Board of Trustees website has since been corrected and this row has been deleted.

Recess

Chair Desh called a 5-minute recess at 5:44 PM. The Board reconvened at 5:50 PM.

Motion 19.26

Trustee Fukutaki moved that the Board of Trustees of Community College District VIII approves the college budget plan, as proposed, for the fiscal period 2026-2027. This approval of this budget includes the Board of Trustees authorizing:

• the College President to proceed with the execution of the planned program;
• the College President to transfer funds within the General Fund, or from local and other funds, to eliminate any cash deficit as required by RCW 43.88.2601, to provide working capital, and to support approved projects and activities;
• the tuition and fee schedule as established by law, by the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, as implemented by the College President, and as listed in the College catalog;
• the College President to accept allocation amendments from the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, to accept such grants and contracts as may be acquired during the budget period, and to report on such changes, at least quarterly, to the Board of Trustees;
• the adjustment of staff and faculty positions if necessary to carry out the College’s programs; and
• the College President to determine the fee schedule for contract courses and programs.

Trustee Dietzel seconded.

The motion passed unanimously.

2026-2027 S&A Budget

Motion 20.26

Trustee Flowers-Taylor moved that the Board of Trustees of Community College District VIII approve the 26-27 Services and Activities budget allocation recommendation of $3,446,500.00. Trustee Dietzel seconded.

The motion passed unanimously.

Revision of Policy 4760: Exempt Employee Evaluation

Motion 21.26

Trustee Dietzel moved that the Board of Trustees of Community College District VIII approves the revision of Policy 4760: Exempt Staff Performance Evaluation. Trustee Flowers-Taylor seconded.

The motion passed unanimously.

Creation of Policy 4460: Consensual Relationships

Motion 22.26

Trustee Fukutaki moved that the Board of Trustees of Community College District VIII approves the creation of Policy 4460: Consensual Romantic or Sexual Relationships Between Faculty, Staff, and/or Students. Trustee Dietzel seconded.

The motion passed unanimously.

Revision of Policy 6230: Driver Safety

Motion 23.26

Trustee Flowers-Taylor moved that the Board of Trustees of Community College District VIII approves the revision of Policy 6230: Driver Safety. Trustee Dietzel seconded.

The motion passed unanimously.

Revision of Policy 6380: Security Cameras

Motion 24.26

Trustee Dietzel moved that the Board of Trustees of Community College District VIII approves the revision of Policy 6380: Security Cameras. Trustee Leigh seconded.

The motion passed unanimously.

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Unscheduled Business

There was no unscheduled business.

Executive Session

At 6:00 PM, Chair Desh announced the Board would convene for 60 minutes (to begin at 6:10 PM) in executive session under RCW 42.30.110(1) for the following purpose: (g) To review the performance of a public employee. Chair Desh also announced that the Board would also meet in closed session to discuss collective bargaining negotiations. Pursuant to RCW 42.30.140(4)(a), these matters are not subject to the Open Public Meetings Act. Chair Desh announced that no final action would be taken during the executive session or closed session.

At 6:58 PM, Chair Desh extended the executive session to go until 7:30 PM.

The executive session ended at 7:28 PM.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Chair Desh adjourned the Board of Trustees meeting at 7:31 PM.