Z-1375               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 6216

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State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Senators Saling, Gaspard, Bauer, Patterson, Patrick, Conner and Rinehart; by request of State Board for Community College Education

Prefiled with Secretary of the Senate 1/5/90.  Read first time 1/8/90 and referred to Committee on  Higher Education.

AN ACT Relating to the community college exceptional faculty awards program; and adding new sections to chapter 28B.50 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature recognizes that quality in the state's community colleges would be strengthened by additional partnerships between citizens and the institutions.  The legislature intends to foster these partnerships by creating a matching grant program to assist public community colleges in creating endowments for funding exceptional faculty awards.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     (1) The Washington community college exceptional faculty awards program is established.  The program shall be administered by the state board for community college education.  The community college faculty award trust fund hereby created shall be administered by the state treasurer.

          (2) Funds appropriated by the legislature for the community college exceptional faculty award program shall be deposited in the community college faculty award trust fund.  All moneys deposited in the fund shall be invested by the state treasurer.  Notwithstanding RCW 43.84.090, all earnings of investments of balances in the fund shall be credited to the fund.  At the request of the state board for community college education, the treasurer shall release the state matching funds to the designated institution's local endowment fund.  No appropriation is necessary for the expenditure of moneys from the fund.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     (1) In consultation with eligible community colleges, the state board for community college education shall set priorities and guidelines for the program.

          (2) Under this section, a community college shall not receive more than four faculty grants in twenty-five thousand dollar increments, with a maximum total of one hundred thousand dollars per campus in any biennium.

          (3) All community colleges shall be eligible for matching trust funds.  Institutions may apply to the state board for community college education for grants from the fund in twenty-five thousand dollar increments up to a maximum of one hundred thousand dollars  when they can match the state funds with equal cash donations from private sources.  These donations shall be made specifically to the exceptional faculty awards program and deposited by the institution in a local endowment fund.  Otherwise unrestricted gifts may be deposited in the endowment fund by the institution.

          (4) Once the private donation is received by the institution, the institution shall inform the state board for community college education and request state matching funds.  The state board for community college education shall evaluate the request for state matching funds based on program priorities and guidelines.  The state board for community college education may ask the state treasurer to release the state matching funds to a local endowment fund established by the institution for each faculty award created.  If any portion of the pledged dollars per campus is not received within three years of the effective date of this section, the state board for community college education shall make the designated funds available to another community college that has qualified for additional exceptional faculty matching grants.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     (1) The faculty award is the property of the institution and may be named in honor of a donor, benefactor, or honoree of the institution, at the option of the institution.  The institution shall designate the use of the award.  The designation shall be made or renewed annually.

          (2) The institution is responsible for soliciting private donations, investing and maintaining all endowment funds, administering the faculty awards, and reporting on the program to the governor, the state board for community college education, and the legislature, upon request.  The institution may augment the endowment fund with additional unrestricted private donations.  The principal of the invested endowment funds shall not be invaded.

          (3) The proceeds from the endowment fund shall be used to pay expenses for faculty awards, which may include in-service training, temporary substitute or replacement costs directly associated with faculty development programs, conferences, travel, publication and dissemination of exemplary projects; to supplement the salary of the holder of a faculty award; to pay salaries for his or her assistants; or to pay expenses associated with the holder's program area.  Funds from this program shall not be used to supplant existing faculty development funds.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     Sections 1 through 4 of this act are each added to chapter 28B.50 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.     If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.