Candidate for
Board of Trustees Member; Santa Monica Community College District

It is said that the best way to teach is by example. SMC is a fine college, and should function in the community at large as an example of good government. SMC has institutional problems that can only be solved by cooperating with overlapping and neighboring government agencies, such as the city governments of Santa Monica, Malibu and Los Angeles, and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, on issues of common concern. For example, 70-80 % of SMC's students live outside the college's district. Generally, the law requires community colleges to admit students on a first come, first served basis regardless of their city of residence. That means SMC is a regional center of learning, not an insular westside campus. That, in turn, has advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, SMC has become a diverse, cosmopolitan, three dimensional cultural and learning center that prepares its students to navigate successfully in the real world. SMC has reason to be proud of its high transfer rate [to universities]. On the other hand SMC has a high drop out rate [among its weaker prepared entering students]. I see that deficit as a challange and an opportunity to overcome [SMC's share of] the problems that have troubled the public school system in areas such as reading, writing and mathematics.

SMC has another difficulty it must solve, i.e., parking and bus shuttle problems, which plague both students and surrounding residential neighborhoods. SMC can only solve those problems by being a good neighbor and working together with the city governments of Santa Monica, Malibu and Los Angeles, together with the residents of impacted neighborhoods. Even though SMC is a three dimensional place of learning it cannot live in a bubble. SMC must reach out to the above groups. By doing that SMC can demonstrate to its students and the public how grass roots government can work well. And the students can be involved in the search for solutions.

The same is true of relations between the college administration and its faculty and classified employees. As of the end of August the faculty had been working without a contract for two years. Even if a contract is agreed to soon, such long term bargaining should be avoided in the future, to reduce a loss of morale among the faculty and employees, which, unfortunately spills over in unintended ways onto the students. Within the limits of the law confidence must be restored to the process of shared governance of SMC.

The community wants and deserves transparency and cooperation in the affairs of its government officials. Therefore the cities, the school district and the college should meet regularly on issues of common concern...not just the top professional administrators, but [subject to the Brown Act] the elected officials also. Community meetings to discuss issues vital to the college's neighbors should take place regularly. We have promising new administative leadership at City Hall, the school district and SMC. That should...must signal a new beginning of cooperation.

SMC students want to concentrate on many different specialties, including vocational training that will enhance their job marketability. In 2003 SMC suffered a drop in enrollment of 6,000 students, together with faculty layoffs, resulting in a reduction in course offerings, often in fields of vocational training, due to budget cuts. SMC has not recaptured most of those students or cancelled vocational courses. The financial stability of community colleges depends on state funding based on enrollment. Hence the college must expand its vocational training offerings to reflect the needs of both students and employers and to stabilize its financial base. Although one must always be leary of anecdotal information, it is curious that a recent preliminary consultant report prepared for SMC suggested that there was insufficient data to indicate whether a need exists for automotive vocational training in Santa Monica or a three mile radius surrounnding Santa Monica [27 zip code areas]. Yet last week a representative of the Chamber of Commerce claimed that some local automnotive dealers are forced to look out of state to find mechanics. Fortunately the faculty challenged the consultant's preliminary report and it is to be hoped that the issue will be reexamined. Only at a college with strong and influential input from the Faculty Senate regarding curricuum can that occur. The Board of Trustees should support that horizontal approach to establishing curriculum.