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QuickTake:
Members sat through a pair of presentations about bias, harassment and insurance coverage at an Oct. 15 work session, but some of their philosophical divisions still emerged at times.
One of the presentations was titled “Creating a Culture of Inclusion and Compliance: Board Roles, Responsibilities and Boundaries.”
The other one was titled “Am I Covered? A Coverage Overview for Board Members,” and began with three PowerPoint slides: The first one read: “Am I Covered?” The second one said: “It Depends.” The third one said: “Thank you!” with an image of a mic drop. (That was an intentional joke, of course; 17 additional slides outlined various issues involving legal liability and insurance coverage.)
The two presentations took up most of the time at a three-hour work session of the Lane Community College Board of Education, Wednesday, Oct. 15, and offered occasionally pointed advice for a board that has struggled with divisive philosophical issues.
Wednesday’s work session was relatively sedate, with board members occasionally making comments and asking questions. And a key issue dividing the board — how deeply should it delve into operational issues at LCC? — occasionally bubbled up during the three hours.
The 90-minute session on “Inclusion and Compliance” was presented by Samantha Maldonado of Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Chaska Consulting. The session followed an independent investigation that found board member Zachary Mulholland had been verbally abusive in meetings with LCC President Stephanie Bulger and had acted in an “overwhelmingly aggressive, unprofessional and intimidating” manner toward an LCC student in an April 2 encounter. The other board members formally censured Mulholland at its Sept. 3 meeting.
At its Sept. 30 meeting, board members offered a formal apology to Bulger for their “dismissive conduct” toward her during a previous meeting. The investigation found that, with the exception of Julie Weismann, board members dismissed and failed to acknowledge Bulger’s feedback during a conversation about an operating agreement.
Maldonado said the investigation provided the backdrop to her presentation: “I know this training comes at a very important time for Lane Community College,” she said, noting the “confirmed findings of discrimination and bias and harassment allegations, so there are ongoing concerns about appropriate conduct and boundaries. … So this is not hypothetical, this is real. It is serious and requires our full attention.”
As board members, “your job is to set the destination and make sure that we’re headed in the right direction,” said Maldonado (no relation to board member Jesse Maldonado). “When you cross the line into management, several things can happen, all of them creating confusion, dysfunction.”
Some of the board members had questions: Mulholland, for example, asked what members should do in situations in which an action was harmful or contrary to board policy. Maldonado answered that an issue like that should be taken up with the president and brought to the board’s attention.
“But it’s not like one individual going rogue and talking off to the side,” she said.
‘This philosophical issue’
Board member Steve Mital raised a similar point during the legal liability presentation from Jens Jensen, director of property casualty claims for PACE, which offers coverage options for Oregon educational institutions.
Mital pointed to “this philosophical issue that the board is wrestling with” regarding whether it should function primarily as a policy board or get more involved in operations. “Does it increase our risk if we are to become a more operationally oriented board?”
Jensen referred back to his second slide: “It depends,” he said.
But he went on, although he emphasized that he wasn’t an attorney: “Everything you do has a bit of risk associated with it,” he said, but added: “The more hands-on (in) the day-to-day operation, that’s when more potential for exposure exists.”
Austin Fölnagy, the board chair, referred to an earlier slide Jensen had shown reporting that the board and its members were covered “while acting in the course and scope of their duties.”
Fölnagy asked whether governance falls under the “course and scope” of a board’s duties.
“Yeah, definitely,” Jensen answered, but repeated that in his experience, personal exposure to liability may increase as a board delves deeper into operational matters.
At the end of Maldonado’s presentation, board members were asked to sign a code of conduct that included these items:
- Board members shall not manage day-to-day operations or supervise staff.
- Board members shall not undermine the president’s authority or make unilateral decisions.
- Board members shall not give direct orders to college employees (except the president).
- Board members shall not create separate communications channels that bypass leadership.
The board is scheduled to next meet Nov. 5.
