Letter to the Editor: Put ‘Community’ Back In Our Community College

By Rosanne Crawford | Published on 05.03.2012 2:53 p.m.

It is up to the SBCC Board of Trustees to put things in order before Dr. Lori Gaskin takes over as president on July 1.

The budget for the next year will be finalized weeks from now, by June 15.

Thanks to the urging of interim President Dr. Jack Friedlander, the summer session was not canceled. Eliminating next summer session, a 50 percent reduction of 12 vocational programs and other class reductions are possibilities. A grassroots group of nonpartisan students and community members hopes to keep cuts as far from these programs and core classes as possible.

The newer members of the Board of Trustees who ran on a platform of transparency have failed to improve relationships between the community it serves and the college.

The college was placed on accreditation probation due to numerous violations by several members. We want the politics off the board and the “community” put back in our community college.

The next trustee meetings are:

» May 10 at 4 p.m. in the MacDougall Administration Center (East Campus)

» May 24 at 4 p.m. in Administration Room 211

At the beginning of meetings under 1.4 Hearing of citizens, members of the public may speak on any subject under the board’s jurisdiction. The time is now to work together on this.

For more information, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or click here, then click on “Education.”

Rosanne Crawford
Santa Barbara

Comments

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» Verbsat on 05.26.12 @ 10:35 PM

I guess Ms. Crawford preferred the previous directors because 1) They averaged 30 to 40 years on the Board.
2) Never worked more than an hour per month for most of their vegetative years on the Board
3)Despite their longevity, no one even knew their names (except the College President…sometimes).

That is certainly her prerogative. Personally, I prefer a Trustee who can read and address problems long swept under the rug by his/her predecessors.

» Joan Livingston on 06.01.12 @ 06:58 PM

I would like to add some facts to the prior comment, having served as an SBCC trustee since 1993:

Time of service of former board members:

—-Kay Alexander - original trustee since beginning of district in 1965
—-Joe Dobbs - over 30 years
—-Des O’Neill - 16 years
—-Sally Green - 4 years

—-Luis Villegas - 19 years (current)
—-Joan Livingston - 18 years (current)
—-Morrie Jurkowitz - approx 10 years - (current)

Name recognition:

—-Luis Villegas ran for re-election and won 65% of the votes -name known to voters
—-Joan Livingston ran for re-election twice, last time won with 60% of votes - name known to voters
—-Desmond O’Neill unseated an incumbent - name known to voters
—-Sally Green - well known in her district of Carpinteria and won all Carpinteria precincts in last election, only to lose in the district-wide vote
—-Kay Alexander - legendary in California community colleges as one of the longest serving trustees in the state, highest vote getter when district was formed
—-Morrie Jurkowitz- prominent philanthropist who has made significant donations to SBCC - has run unopposed in two elections
—-Joe Dobbs - retired optometrist and civic leader widely known also ran several contested elections and won

Hours spent on behalf of the college by former trustees:

—-Dobbs served as officer and President of the state wide trustee organization
—-Villegas served as officer and President of statewide trustee organization
—-Livingston served as member and Chair of state wide Legislative and Finance Advisory group for community colleges.

Each trustee devoted hours to preparation for board meetings, study sessions, subcommittee meetings, and campus events each month as well as staying informed about state wide and educational matters and attending trustee education workshops and conferences.

2009 Accreditation Report found former board members to be highly commended and collegial. The over all rating of SBCC itself in 2009 under their leadership was found by the accreditation team to exemplary within the state. You can read the full 2009 report on the SBCC website.

The former board members who were defeated in the 2010 election have much to be proud for their many hours of service to SBCC. The 2009 Accreditation was in agreement with this assessment.

Accreditation after the 2010 election board majority change tells another story.

That too can be found on the SBCC website. Further information regarding SBCC’s current 2011 accreditation Warning status, the first in SBCC’s history, may be obtained on the ACCJC website.

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Letter to the Editor: Put ‘Community’ Back In Our Community College

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