Board of trustees receive operations reports, approve hangar lease, reschedule Dec. meeting

Uvalde, TX, October 25, 2021 - SWTJC Board of Trustees met in Uvalde on Thursday, Oct. 21. Board members heard several reports including the August 2021 quarterly investment report from vice president of finance Anne Tarski.
 
College president Dr. Hector Gonzales presented the end of academic year board report for 2020-2021 and the president’s report.
 
The board members were informed of the current COVID-19 status at the college. According to Gonzales there is a downward trend to the recent infection surge.
 
“It is my expectation that within the next 30 days we will return to the levels we had this past May-June,” Gonzales said. “Although our positivity rate in Uvalde is still around 15 percent, cases are beginning to decrease significantly. If the current trend continues along this pathway, we should be able to have a more normal spring semester.”
 
The college is currently making tentative plans for Turkey Trot, High School Basketball Invitational and Christmas at the College. The administration will continue to monitor the active cases and positivity level and adjust as necessary.
 
Gonzales addressed the recent grants which were awarded. The first is the $1.5 million IREPO grant, approximately $4 million U.S. Department of Education Title III grant. The Title III grant is focused on expanding the technical programs such as surgical tech, construction science, ag science, and cyber security programs.
 
In other matters, Dr. Gonzales spoke about the funding received from the CARES and HEERF Acts, which are funds from the federal government to help students pay for eligible expenses such as food, housing, childcare, learning materials, health care, safety, and transportation.
 
SWTJC has received approximately $11 million for student relief and $16.5 million for the institution's expenses.
 
In other business, board members approved the September 2021 financial statement and approved the Del Rio hangar lease which is used for the airframe mechanics program.
 
Board of trustees voted to reschedule the Dec. meeting to Dec. 9.