The OTS Board of Directors met on July 8, 2019 and approved a Fiscal Year 2020 Operating Plan and Budget designed to ensure the smooth operation of the Costa Rica field stations in the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020. The budget anticipates an operating deficit but also forecasts enough unrestricted cash to manage the operating loss. In FY20, OTS will pause its Costa Rica undergraduate program, continue to offer its African Ecology and Conservation program in South Africa, maintain full operations at all Costa Rica field stations and move its finance and accounting functions to Costa Rica. Miguel Mendez, formerly our Controller, has been named the OTS Chief Financial Officer based at CRO. Also at the board meeting on July 8, 2019, David Knell was elected a Stakeholder Director of OTS. Mr. Knell is a businessman and entrepreneur based in Breckenridge, Colorado.
On August 16, 2019, Jim Prager, the OTS Interim President and CEO held an Information Session for OTS Institutional Members presenting information on FY19 financial results and the FY20 budget, as well as information on the graduate course plans for calendar year 2020 and on recent staff changes. In response to the comments from the University of California, Santa Cruz, the schedules for the OTS 2020 graduate courses were adjusted to ensure graduate students from schools on the quarter system (such as the University of California) could attend.
The Board of Directors will meet next on November 1-2, 2019.