Keep the Trustees
Don’t be misled by some of the statements of the new slate of candidates running for the SBCC Board. Their complaint that the present board is too long in office, out-of-touch, and non-responsive is a smoke screen for their own agenda. In these lean years, prioritizing spending at SBCC is a necessity, not an idle exercise.
The role set up for community colleges by the state is not an easy one. Transfer, remedial classes, job training, and adult education/enrichment for older adults are all part of it. The “students” at SBCC have vastly different goals while attending classes. Their educational levels, financial positions, and ages are all different.
Listening to the public is vital to managing the college. Understanding this, the present board has worked for years to set up a governance model that is lauded by the state and accreditation bodies. The board continually listens to faculty, staff, credit, and Adult Ed learners, and the community. The public is invited to all board meetings.
SBCC remains one of the most fiscally stable colleges in the state. SBCC keeps this enviable position by careful planning and prioritizing. Many community colleges have had to borrow to continue to operate as the state budget crisis escalates, by trying to do too much with too little.
To throw out proven performance by the present Board of Trustees in a time of fiscal chaos, in order to advance the short-term interests of the new slate of candidates, would be harmful to SBCC’s future. It takes years to learn how to do the job, and an unwavering commitment to public service.
I urge you to support the incumbent SBCC Trustees Joe Dobbs, Sally Green, Des O’Neill, and Kay Alexander.—Joyce H. Powell (Former Board of Trustees member, SBCC)
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As the mother of a SBCC graduate, I am writing in support of the incumbent Board of Trustees in the upcoming elections, and I would like to tell you why.
When my son enrolled in SBCC, he lacked direction and goals, and had no plan for the future. He had much to offer the world if he could only find direction, set a goal, and find the discipline to reach that goal. SBCC’s diverse curriculum allowed him to do just that. SBCC showed him how to turn his passion into a well-paying career.
I am a part of the SBCC family, a tax-paying citizen of California, and I love this excellent college. This experienced Board of Trustees built SBCC into the unique college it is today. It is that uniqueness that allows them to offer an incredibly diverse curriculum and student opportunities to become successful community members.
This board has always been fiscally responsible. SBCC is one of few colleges that has not added furloughs, or had to lay off instructors. I see community college as a bridge. A bridge to a university, and a bridge to skills needed to succeed in a complicated world. It would be a shame if SBCC lost that uniqueness because a less experienced board didn’t see what SBCC means to Santa Barbara, and to California as a whole.
Changing board members now is flat wrong. It’s like winning the Superbowl, then firing the coaching staff because they did not win by enough points.—Lisa Iversen, Morro Bay
