Meet Ann Motte
Hi, my name is Ann Motte (photo). I am an elected trustee for Trustee, Area 4, on the Mt. San Jacinto Community College Board of Trustees. I am a property owner, taxpayer and conservative republican. My husband and I have a 25 year historical perspective of the college as elected board members. I have known all six college presidents personally and been involved in three presidential searches.
The issue for the college is growth with efficiency. The courageous discussion at MSJC is about student access and/or participation rate which is the adult population numbers divided by the state funded FTES (full time equivalent students). MSJC has near the lowest funded service level in the state and access has decreased with recent workload reductions.
If serving students is our mission, then just meeting state funded enrollment targets, increasing classroom “seats” and offering 5% over cap is not enough and does not fulfill the whole mission. Since 2009, with state workload reductions, MSJC cut 3,000 FTES by cutting hundreds of sections. Those workload reductions are now being reinstated however as one board member, it is my position that increases in administrative salaries should not be approved until/unless all former cut sections are reinstated for student access.
With the new state funded apportionment formula, capital construction projects no longer receive a “bump” for increased FTES growth. Thus, enrollment management policies need to measure cost of sections at each instructional site for resource efficiency as more sites duplicate administrative costs and capital expense in lease/utility/building improvement costs.
Doing more with less requires strong presidential leadership to maximize resources and increase access. As Board President, I have recently lobbied at the state level for an additional metric added to the existing funding formula which increases apportionment for institutions in high population corridors that have low college going rates well below state average. Unless we do this, MSJC will always be underfunded and remain low in college going rates. Management practices which preserve institutional human resources above student access are not acceptable in our high growth district. Legal costs and campus security costs must be diligently managed for efficiency and controlled so that class sections increase to meet demand.
Planning of future campus location/sites must be concentrated in the highest population area of our district ( I-215 corridor) and align with facilities master planning documents. Recently, (2014) MSJC purchased property in Wildomar purposed for a future campus for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Hopefully, construction can begin on this project within three years. Degrees in the STEM disciplines create the highest income employment opportunities in todays economy.
To assure the taxpayer maximum efficiency in qualifying for new state funded facilities, state revenues must be maximized through aggressive enrollment policies (increased seats plus added sections), and efficient scheduling practices. A triple net lease in Temecula (TEC1) and construction of a Banning outreach campus with general fund dollars, (I opposed) while not fully utilizing space at the two existing state approved sites, is poor management of limited resources and cost the college millions over the past 8 years.
From 2000 through 2006, (I opposed) a status quo enrollment policy, which resulted in MSJC not earning all state growth funding and had an accumulated effect of -$10,000,000 (million) in lost revenue for all future years every year and loss of access for thousands of potential students.
Meeting state growth targets above cap, maximizing facility use by measuring cost of FTES at all sites will allow thousands more students enrollment access for transfer and/or work force development. Doing so, positions the district to maximize earned points at the state level to qualify for new state funded facilities requiring less local contribution. This demands much from administration but serves you the taxpayer and positions the college to be more competitive when state construction bonds become available.
As the parent of adult children, all recent college graduates and employed taxpayers, I am informed about educational issues and the need to have access to class sections to complete educational goals. A strong community college is vital to the economic development of our area and quality of our society. Community Colleges are the workhorse of the California Educational Masterplan.
I attended Colorado State University (1969-1972) as a business administration major, worked in private business 10 years, owned my own business for 5 years and for the past 20 years have worked with my husband in commercial investment real estate. I work hard to be informed and be your voice for students and taxpayers.
I promise to never become a rubber stamp board member or a bureaucrat.
