International consortium may dissolve due to debt owed to Kirkwood

An international consortium hosted by Kirkwood Community College since 1998 may dissolve because of financial woes.

Kirkwood President Mick Starcevich, who serves as board treasurer for Community Colleges for International Development (CCID), said the non-profit's leader knew its revenue wasn't keeping up with expenses.

Carol Stax Brown, CCID's outgoing executive director, said Kirkwood officials waited until CCID was poised to move from Cedar Rapids to Miami, Fla., before saying CCID owed Kirkwood more than $400,000.

'We were relocating to get a new situation where we had more financial control and transparency,” Stax Brown said. 'Unless this financial situation is cleared up, I don't know what organization would want to take us on.”

CCID was founded in 1976 at Brevard Community College in Florida, with the goal of forming partnerships with community colleges in the United States and abroad to expand development of the community college model and support international exchange programs.

Although CCID has been based at Kirkwood since 1998, the non-profit is not well-known in the Corridor. In 1984, Kirkwood hosted two Surinamese educators learning to develop and use audiovisual training aids, according to a Gazette article. Kirkwood provided food technician workshops to international visitors through CCID in 1991, another story noted.

In recent years, CCID has worked with the U.S. State Department to help 1,500 international exchange students study at community colleges across the country, Stax Brown said.

CCID has more than 160 member institutions, including community colleges in 18 countries and five in Iowa.

'From my point of view, it has been a great program to be part of,” said Freddy Miranda, director of international affairs at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa.

CCID has helped Indian Hills obtain J-1 visas for exchange students, Miranda said. J-1 visas are for programs that promote cultural exchange, especially to obtain medical or business training.

Miranda knew CCID was having financial challenges but did not know it was in danger of disbanding.

'What?” he asked. 'I would be really sad and disappointed if CCID is dissolved.”

A Jan. 12 letter from CCID board President Jack Bermingham told members that CCID wouldn't be moving to Miami Dade College as scheduled and said Stax Brown had resigned, effective Feb. 1. Bermingham encouraged members to attend CCID's 39th annual conference Feb. 20-23 in Newport Beach, Calif., where the board will 'review organizational priorities and define strategies.”

Starcevich said the board will vote on one of three options:

l Ask Miami Dade to accept CCID

l Keep CCID at Kirkwood, while developing a plan to reimburse the school

l Disband CCID

CCID has been struggling financially for at least two years. The non-profit's fiscal 2013 tax form shows the group's revenue was $220,600 less than expenses. Grants and contributions fell $2.2 million from the previous year.

Stax Brown, who had led CCID since 2011 and was paid $119,600 in fiscal 2013, reduced her staff from nine to four in 2014. This was to save money and, in part, because the group planned to change focus after moving to Miami Dade, Stax Brown said. The CCID board approved the move last summer and Stax Brown relocated to Miami to guide the transition.

It's unclear when CCID staff learned of the debt to Kirkwood or whether they know how much was owed.

On Dec. 5, Starcevich informed Stax Brown that CCID owed Kirkwood between $400,000 and $500,000 and had up to three years to pay it back, she said.

'We received a communication from Mick about a projected liability,” Stax Brown said. 'Our new host wasn't interested in taking us in with that liability.”

The debt includes payroll, fringe benefits, and other 'ongoing expenses CCID incurs,” Starcevich said. He said he hopes dues and conference revenue will defray the debt.

Four employees remain at CCID, but only through the February conference. Shawn Woodin is interim executive director.