Sad Mistrust in SBCC

Your article about the results of the recent survey of employee satisfaction, or otherwise, at Santa Barbara City College was sad. While I no longer have any inside knowledge of the situation there, I am in touch with faculty members, serving and retired, and employees, and have followed events and developments there for the last decade.

One question which was apparently not asked, but should have been, is this: Why is the community itself so unhappy and mistrustful of the college? I think that there is linkage, which should be explored.

Remember when mention of SBCC would be along the lines of “Gee, what a great school”? Nowadays the response seems to be “What is wrong up there?” Number One ranking nationally? Not any more. Best Board of Trustees in California (California Community College Accreditation Commission 2009)? No way.

Des O’Neill served as an SBCC trustee 1994-2010.