How We are Governed

The ultimate authority if governance of the college district is the Board of Trustees. The Board is made up of nine individuals who are elected by the voters in district-wide elections. The Board meets monthly on the first Thursday of the month, except January when no meeting is held. Board meetings are open to the public and employees may, if they choose to do so, attend any meeting.

The Board of Trustees is charged by law with specific responsibilities, such as the appointment of the chancellor, the establishment of an operating budget, the approval of contracts and specific levels of purchasing, the conduct of elections and the levying of ad valorem taxes. The Chancellor is the Chief Executive Officer of the district (CEO) and the only employee reporting directly to the Board. The Chancellor is responsible for the overall operations of the district and the administrator of policies and procedures to obtain the goals and missions of the district.

The Location Executive Officers (LEO), and the vice chancellors, report directly to the Chancellor and have ultimate responsibility and budgeting control for a specific college (presidents) and specific administrative areas (vice chancellors). Among the important responsibilities of the LEO's are:

• The establishment of the organization of the college or administrative area;
• The selection and evaluation of the managers who report directly to them;
• The preparation, submission for approval and administration of an operating budget;
• The approval of new positions, reassignment, hiring, transfer, demotions and recommendation of the non-renewal of a contract or the discharge of a full-time employee;
• The appointment of civil rights administrators and the imposition of disciplinary actions for noncompliance with civil rights policies; and,
• The conduct of hearing for employee appeals and grievances.

At the college level, the president is the chief decision-maker who is responsible for the operational decisions that are unique and specific to an individual college. Reporting to the president are the vice presidents (in some cases, deans) with responsibility for credit and non-credit programs and college-level business and operating matters. The academic and instructional faculty members are organized into departments, with deans and department chairs providing direction and leadership.