SHORELINE — The Shoreline Community College Board of Trustees supports President Holly Moore and will monitor the campus climate, said chair of the board Elsa Welch.

Faculty morale has been a growing issue at the college during the past year, and the dissatisfaction of faculty members in the administration’s performance culminated in a vote of no confidence in Moore by the Faculty Senate a week ago.

A report by a Faculty Senate subcommitee distributed in December cites examples of lack of fairness, lack of accountability, poor communication and an elitist attitude that separates faculty and administrators.

Moore is forming a task force to evaluate results of student and personnel surveys, which will be distributed soon. The task force will include around 20 people representing students, faculty, staff and mid-level administrators. The names of task-force members are to be submitted to Moore by March 9.

From the survey information, the task force will create a plan to improve the climate issues at SCC, Moore said.

“At this point, what we have to do is start healing,” Moore said. “In order to do that kind of healing, we’ve got to do a better job of diagnosing the illness.”

The Faculty Senate includes both full- and part-time faculty and about 41 percent of the members returned ballots. Of the full-time faculty members, almost 70 percent voted. A total of 156 ballots were cast, with 121, or 77.5 percent, showing no confidence in Moore. Ballots cast indicating confidence in Moore totaled 26, and nine voters abstained.

“The Faculty Senate’s concerns deserve a serious response from the board, and faculty understand it may take the board some time to make a decision that is in the best interest of the school,” said Faculty Senate chair Tim Payne.

The board acknowledges the concerns of faculty members and is taking the vote seriously, Welch said.

“We’re hearing different areas of the campus are dissatisfied,” Welch said.

Moore will keep the board updated of the task force’s plans. In addition, Welch said, the board would like to be more visible on campus and create its own way of listening to the campus’ feedback.

Welch said the board has complete confidence in Moore and has seen the college advance in a number of sectors.

This past fall, SCC received a grant of almost $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Labor and another grant supported by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington.

“With budget cuts and decline in state revenues, we’ve asked (Moore) to go out and seek other revenues,” Welch said. “She has done that.”

Moore also has increased the number of international students attending Shoreline and has collaborated with international institutions, Welch said.

While the Faculty Senate acknowledges that Moore has exhibited effective leadership qualities, it decided to form a subcommittee a year ago to compile information and observations documenting the faculty’s concerns.

“The vote of no confidence was not motivated by any particular incident or action,” Payne said. “It came from an accumulation of problems that stemmed from a decision-making style that seems closed to alternative points of view.”

One main concern addressed in the report is Moore’s salary increase of $25,000, granted in May, 2004.

“The president’s acceptance of a substantial raise and the raises granted to many administrators in the past year also seemed inappropriate in a time of tight budgets at community colleges in the state of Washington,” Payne said.

The raise was granted when her contract was up for renegotiation, Moore said. At that time, she was also a finalist for the presidency at the Community College of Southern Nevada, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper.

Moore has been at Shoreline Community College for 28 years in a number of positions. She was appointed interim president in 2000 and became permanent president after a search was completed by the board. The renegotiated contract, signed last spring, is good through 2007. Presidents’ salaries can only be adjusted while the contracts are in negotiations.

Moore said she recognizes the mistakes she’s made and said she hopes the college can work together to improve the current climate.

“I am committed to this college,” Moore said.

The trustees are hoping to see plans soon, Welch said, acknowledging that it will take time to see improvements. What is important, she said, is that everyone on campus work together.

“We all need to keep an open mind,” Welch said. “We all want the same thing.”