LUMBERTON — The Robeson Community College board of trustees made a communicable disease outbreak a reason for closing the campus during a special called meeting held via telephone on Wednesday.

The trustees revised its emergency closure policy to include “communicable disease” in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy now also includes “… and/or other serious public health threat that is declared by the State Public Health director or the governor to be a public health emergency, the President of the college has the discretion to alter the colleges operating schedule as needed.”

The trustees also changed the “Use of Leave” policy to specify that employees are not required to take leave during the first 30 days of closure as a result of adverse weather or emergency. The policy now says essential employees who work during emergency closings are granted an additional one-half comparable time off at a later date upon their supervisor’s approval.

“That rule is really not very specific, so the biggest difference is we’re following the state guidelines,” RCC President Melissa Singler said.

Also on Wednesday, the board members unanimously authorized leave-granting authority to the college’s president as it pertains to the State of Emergency Leave provision authorized by the State Human Resource director in response to COVID-19.

During a special meeting that took place on March 20, the trustees adopted a provision, made possible through the Office of State and Human Resources, allowing eligible employees to be granted 96 hours of emergency paid leave if negatively affected by COVID-19 through March 31. Singler said that has been extended through April 31.

“They will probably continue to renew that as long as businesses and state agencies are closed, so instead of having to approve that every month, you’re giving me the authority to continue that as president,” Singler said.

Employees who are eligible include mandatory or non-mandatory employees, which include temporary and permanent employees who cannot work because they have child care or elder-care needs because of COVID-19; non-mandatory employees, which are temporary or permanent employees who are unable to work remotely; or part-time employees with irregular schedules; or employees who have symptoms of COVID-19 or are caring for someone who has such symptoms.

“We do have employees that have taken advantage of it,” Singler said. “We have some part-time employees in Continuing Ed, particularly, whose contracts were basically cut short in the middle of the class because the class had to stop and could not convert to online instruction.”

Chairman Sammy Cox Jr. said the board of trustees will not meet during their regular scheduled time on March 13. The board will hold special meetings to conduct business until Gov. Roy Cooper’s order banning gatherings of 10 or more people is lifted.

Singler
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/web1_melissa-singler-RCC-1-.jpgSingler

Tomeka Sinclair

Staff writer

Tomeka Sinclair can be reached at [email protected].