Questions, questions, questions are floating around about the proposed merger between Carlton Trail Regional College (CTRC) and St. Peter's College (SPC).
The Journal has received letters from individuals and one tribal council listing concerns and questions about board practices, funds transferred between the two institutions, and future programming at the merged institution.
So the Journal asked Glenn Kobussen, CEO of both CTRC and SPC, to respond to some of the questions.
Gail McMartin of Watrous, a former employee of CTRC who retired in 2005 after 27 years with the college, noted her concerns in a letter to the editor after researching documents on government and college websites.
McMartin said she and Watrous town council have been concerned about the merger "and what we'd have to lose, potentially."
She is not a member of town council, she noted, but "simply a citizen in a rural community... (where) any service you lose has a negative impact."
Chief among her concerns was that members of the SPC board have been attending CTRC board meetings on a regular basis since last January, which can be seen by the CTRC board meeting minutes, which are posted online. They were also, she notes, making and seconding motions at those meetings.
"Are those motions legal?" she wanted to know.
"I do not understand at all why the Carlton Trail board allowed an external entity to be running their business.... Why is it allowed?" she asked.
In answer to this question, Kobussen explained that when he and Rob Barber, then CEO of CTRC, first began talking about a merger of the two institutions years ago, they would meet alone, then take back information to their respective boards.
Then it got to a point, he said, where there were overlaps.
"We felt that the discussion of a number of items both parties talked about had over-arching implications," he stated.
"We decided from that time to form a transition board."
Three members from each board would attend these transition board meetings.
At the beginning, Kobussen noted, the items discussed were exploratory - does the merger make sense? Are there benefits? Are there negatives?
"As (a merger) made more sense and we moved along the curve, we began making decisions a bit more collectively," Kobussen said.
Then about 18 months ago, it was decided they would bring the two boards completely together so they could talk about issues regarding the merger, and if there were any other items specific to one board, they would meet independently and vote.
Financially and legally, the two entities are still separate - the provincial government has yet to give the merger final approval - but they are trying to plan collectively, he said.
Kobussen admitted that when they first started to meet this way, everyone present would vote. However, now, if a decision about something at CTRC is needed, only CTRC board members vote on it, though members of both boards may participate in the discussion of the issue. The vote, he said, is recorded and reported.
The two boards are governed by different acts - CTRC by The Regional Colleges Act and SPC by the St. Peter's College Act of 1968. Both are funded by the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour.
"Wherever possible, we've tried to abide by the rules and regulations prescribed to us by the respective acts," said Kobussen.
A lot of issues, he said, are not specific to either CTRC or SPC. And the majority of the time, on the majority of issues, the boards are pretty unanimous in their discussions, regardless of who is voting or not voting.
The members of each board are appointed - CTRC's by the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour, and SPC's by the Abbot of St. Peter's Abbey - Kobussen added.
He feels that both models could be improved. In the merger proposal they made to the government, it was suggested that the board be democratically elected.
In preparation for this, the two boards decided to create a senate of about 20 people from the area, to represent different factions, interests and regions. Ads were placed in newspapers, names collected, and a senate has now been created. That senate has voted members onto a board for the merged entity. For right now, everything sits in limbo.
Should the merger not be approved, the senate will be for SPC only.
"A senate makes sense, regardless of the merger," said Kobussen.
Another concern raised in a letter, this one from Lorne Johnson of Humboldt, was the increase of the annual contribution from CTRC to SPC, which went from $40,000 to $100,000 and why that was done.
This annual contribution pre-dates merger discussions, and was made to offset the cost of university classes at SPC. CTRC chose not to offer university classes like other regional colleges, in order to avoid competition with SPC.
Kobussen noted that the funds were cut from $60,000 to $40,000 a few years ago, because of low student numbers at SPC. Now, with an increase in student enrolment, especially in their business programming, it was felt CTRC's contribution should also increase. The CTRC board authorized the increase.
The funds from CTRC "help offset a small fraction of the costs of (university) programming (at SPC)," said Kobussen, as well as some of the costs of researching opportunities for different programs.
Concerns have also been noted about the $75,000 the CTRC board moved to pay SPC for a market survey that was recently done.
Kobussen stated that as talks of the merger have progressed, it was decided to research how the merged institution can better serve local learners and communities. A survey was conducted of 2,354 high school students, 900 adult learners and about 45 business, industry and focus groups.
The cost of this survey and research, which required hiring staff members and travel expenses, was split between the two institutions, he said, with about $70,000 coming from CTRC. It cost at least $140,000, he added.
McMartin also asked the question of who owns St. Peter's College. The college holds a lease on property owned by St. Peter's Abbey.
"Now the government will have Carlton Trail merge with a lessee? When the lease expires, is there a guarantee it will be renewed? And at what cost?" she asked. "I think the public should be very concerned about that."
According to Kobussen, St. Peter's College is a separate corporation, a legal entity apart from St. Peter's Abbey. They do have a partnership with the Abbey, to a degree, and lease property from them
"We're separate in terms of making decisions distinctly from the Abbey," he said. "They, quite frankly, support us financially in many ways," he added.
The lease, he noted, has been in place for 70 years. "I'm not sure there's a need to question it."
Education is the mandate of the monks at St. Peter's Abbey, he stated, and they've gone the extra mile and actually converted part of their guest wing into student residences for the college.
There is an agreement in place that the property will be sold to SPC if the abbey ever ceases to exist, Kobussen said, and he was sure there was also something else in writing guaranteeing the renewal of the lease.
Most of the money they pay as a lease is gifted back to SPC by the abbey as a grant, he added.
Another concern raised was that this new entity will affect access to programming in communities in the region. One Arrow First Nation has expressed worry that the amalgamation will risk Adult Basic Education programs and others.
In response to that, Kobussen stated that the merged college will continue to service the Carlton Trail region with programming "after what we determine makes sense."
He wants to convene groups of affected stakeholders and work with them to determine what programs are needed, and what this new entity can provide.
He called it a systems approach to programming.
CTRC will be dissolved in this merger, he added. The new merged college can then work under the St. Peter's College Act, which he says allows for more opportunities, as SPC can grant diplomas and certificates, and are better able to commit to long-term funding.
"Where we're going.. is necessary to secure jobs... and opportunities," he said.
McMartin was also concerned about what she called "the mixed messages" from the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour regarding the status of the proposed merger.
She said that the Ministry has repeatedly denied that any final decision regarding the merger has taken place, while an ad for new board members for the new entity was running in local newspapers, and money is being spent upgrading facilities.
"You don't just do that without having a plan," she believes.
McMartin also noted that Minister Rob Norris has referred to CTRC and SPC as just "a stone's throw" apart, not taking the other offices of CTRC in the region into account. The CTRC region includes Southey and Lumsden, as well as Wynyard and centres nearer to Humboldt.
McMartin fears that Norris has already written off these communities outside of Humboldt.
When contacted, the Ministry would only state the following: "Meyers Norris Penny is doing consultation work for the Ministry (on this merger). We expect a final report sometime this month."
