(A) Qualifications - appointees of the board
of trustees shall be qualified electors residing in the Central Ohio technical
college district. By charter granted by the Ohio board of regents, the legal
district of the college consists of the contiguous counties of Licking, Knox
and Coshocton.
(B) Term of office -
the term of office shall be three years.
(C) Number and manner of appointment - the
board shall consist of nine members. Three trustees shall be appointed by the
governor with the advice and consent of the senate.
For
trustees not appointed by the governor who are appointed prior to January 1,
2024,
Six
six trustees shall be appointed by a joint caucus by
the county, city and exempted village boards of education of the school
districts whose territories are embraced in the technical college district.
Prior to the appointment of the trustees, the president of the board of
education of the city school district having the largest pupil enrollment shall
call a caucus of the board of education of the foregoing boards of education at
a time and place designated by such president. At such caucus the board members
shall select by majority vote of the attending members the six trustees.
Trustees not appointed by the governor
who are appointed on or after January 1, 2024, shall be appointed by a trustee
selection committee. The COTC board development committee shall appoint the
members of the trustee selection committee. The trustee selection committee
shall consist of either three or five members who are local business, civic, or
non profit leaders and who are not currently sitting members of the colleges
board of trustees. The board of trustees shall nominate individuals to be
considered by the trustee selection committee. The trustee selection committee
may select new trustees from the individuals nominated by the board of trustees
or other applicants. To the greatest extent possible, trustees appointed by the
trustee selection committee shall be individuals who hold leadership positions
within significant industries in the technical college district. Trustees
appointed by the trustee selection committee shall reside within the technical
college district. Trustees shall be appointed with the advice and consent of
the senate.
(D) Date
of appointment and expiration - based upon the date of original appointments,
new appointments become effective on October first, unless otherwise indicated
by the appointing authority. Likewise, terms expire on September thirtieth, or
on a later date if so indicated by the appointing authority. Any trustee shall
continue subsequent to the expiration date of his term until
his
their
successor takes office
, or until a period of sixty
days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.
(E) Oath of office - each member of the board
of trustees, before entering upon his/her official duties, shall take and
subscribe to an oath that he/she will honestly, faithfully and impartially
perform the duties of office.
(F)
Duties and powers of the board - in accordance with the Chapter 3357. of the
Revised Code (technical colleges), the fiduciary board of trustees of the
Central Ohio technical college district is the governing board of the college.
It is charged by the Ohio Revised Code with responsibility for establishing the
rules which are necessary to operate Central Ohio technical college.
(G) In accordance with division (A) of
section 3.17 of the Revised Code, any
member of the board of trustees of an institution of higher education who fails
to attend at least three-fifths of the regular and special meetings held by
that board of trustees during any two-year period forfeits his position on that
board of trustees.
(H) Authority of
members - no member of the board of trustees shall have power to act in the
name of the board of trustees outside regular or special board meetings unless
so directed by the board of trustees.
(I) Compensation - the trustees shall serve
without compensation, but may be paid for their necessary expenses when engaged
in the business of the board and authorized by the board of trustees.
(J) Conflict of interest - when any purchase
of goods and or services by the college is made which normally requires board
approval which is from a source which any member of the board of trustees is an
officer, director, employee, owner or has any significant connection therewith,
that purchase shall be separately noted by the treasurer and voted on
separately so that the trustee has the opportunity to abstain from voting on
the purchase. Members of the board of trustees shall make every effort to avoid
situations where participation by the board member would create an appearance
of conflict.
(K) Ohio Ethics Code -
all members of the board of trustees shall comply with the provisions of the
Ohio Ethics Code, to include participating in annual instruction on Ohio's
ethics laws and filing annual individual financial disclosure
statements.
(L) Trustee emeritus -
the board may grant emeritus status upon a former trustee in exceptional cases
to recognize exemplary service. Trustee emeritus is an honorary title and
usually signifies an ongoing relationship with the trustee. The determination
to bestow this honor shall be the subject of a full board discussion and
majority vote. Trustees emeriti do not have fiduciary responsibilities and are
not a voting member of the board. They are not obligated to attend meetings, do
not count towards a quorum, and may be excluded from executive sessions of the
board. They can act as representatives of the institution when desired by the
board and can serve as a valuable source of wisdom and institutional memory.
Trustees emeriti serve at the pleasure of the board. The honorary title can be
removed by the board at any time and for any reason.