Board approves revised version of TCC harassment policy
by Carlos Raigosa, editor-in-chief

     The TCC Board of Trustees approved a revised version of the district’s sexual harassment policy last week at its meeting on South Campus.
     The policy outlines what is considered “sexual harassment” by the district, and it stipulates the person assigned by the district to handle complaints.
     Erma Johnson, vice chancellor for administration, was named as the person to coordinate the district’s efforts to comply with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination and harassment of students on the basis of sex.
The policy states that “any student who perceives that he or she has been treated in a discriminative manner on the grounds of sex may consult with or file a written complaint with the dean of student development and educational services.”
     In other business, the board selected a local contractor to build the new SE Campus Art Complex.
     With the recommendation of Richard A. Jaynes, principal at VLK Architects, the board chose Prime Construction Company to do the addition.
     The firm’s bid of $1,464,770 was $108,230 lower than KMJ Contractors’ bid, the next lowest.
     The board also approved the repair of a current road and construction of an additional surface to a road adjacent to the NE Campus property.
     The construction, to be done by the City of Hurst, will allow for traffic flow to continue while the city plans to expand Precinct Line Road, according to Dr. Larry Darlage, NE Campus president.
     Along with the approval of the construction, the board approved an extension of the interlocal agreement between the two entities.
     During the chancellor’s report, Dr. Leonardo de la Garza, told the board about the district’s acknowledgement as second best in the state in student development among colleges by the Texas Higher Education Board.
     “We have an advantage, unlike universities that compete amongst themselves to attain funds because we (state colleges) attempt to get funds together,” he said.
     The education board allots funds to state colleges based on performance, de la Garza said.
     “The main criterion in determining the performance is by the amount of students who pass the TASP test after enrolling in one of our enrichment programs,” he said.
     A multi-media presentation was shown prior to the beginning of the meeting by the South Campus media department highlighting the 1960’s.
     The presentation was part of the JFK presidential exhibit opening today on South Campus. The exhibit will remain open until April 25.
     An item to consider appointing the chancellor as an additional investment officer, given the vacancy in the vice chancellor for financial affairs was tabled at the request of De la Garza.
     De la Garza told the board that he would begin his “chancellor chats” on NE Campus Tuesday, Nov. 14.
     These chats will allow faculty and students to approach him with any concerns and to allow for an open forum to voice any issues, the chancellor said.
     The next meeting of the board of trustees will be Thursday, Nov. 16, in the NW Campus Optimum room .