Mark Poth hired as Big Bend's interim athletic director

MOSES LAKE — Big Bend Community College men’s basketball coach Mark Poth has been hired as the college's interim athletic director. He took the job after the “sudden and unanticipated resignation” of former AD Preston Wilkes, said Bryce Humphreys, vice-president for learning and student success.

College officials are working on ways to put the college’s athletic programs on a sounder financial footing, Humphreys said. While that’s being addressed they decided to go with an interim AD. In addition, college officials are working to determine if the AD will be a full-time or part-time position.

Trustee Stephen McFadden asked about the financial concerns. Humphreys said the athletic program has had to use some of its reserves. Community colleges used to be able to use some of the state allocation for athletics, he said, but that’s not allowed any more.

Currently ASB funds are used to pay for the program, along with the reserves. “We could continue to limp along for a period of time,” Humphreys said, but in the long term the trajectory isn’t sustainable. College officials are looking at alternatives, he said.

In the meantime BBCC has three head coaching vacancies, Humphreys said, and recruitment of a head coach for another sport has stalled. That was another reason, he said, for deciding to go with an interim.

In other business, applications to fill an upcoming vacancy on the board of trustees will be accepted beginning in July.

Trustee Mike Villareal has accepted a job as superintendent of the Hoquiam School District, and said he will resign his position after BBCC commencement June 16. The college trustees don’t appoint a replacement – that’s done through the governor’s office.

Trustees also discussed funding for a new building that would house the college’s workforce education programs. (Previously it was called the professional-technical building.)

Big Bend received money for the design phase, and preliminary design plans have been delivered. The main classroom and lab building will be on Bolling Street, across from the existing ATEC center. The aviation maintenance program will have its own building, next to its existing structure bordering Grant County International Airport.

But that, and additional classroom space in the main building, made it about twice the size of the original proposal, said Linda Schoonmaker, vice-president of finance and administration. In answer to a question from trustee Jon Lane, Schoonmaker said the two buildings are about 152,000 square feet, up from the original proposal of about 76,000 square feet.

McFadden asked about funding. Schoonmaker said funding for the original building is included in Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposed 2017-19 budget, as well as the proposed budgets of the Washington Senate and Washington House of Representatives. For the rest, Schoonmaker said there are some options, including raising some money locally and other state and federal programs.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.