In order to maintain two comprehensive colleges, concerns such as the ones below need to be addressed.

Lack of communication:

Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College School Board of Trustees meets only once a month in a district that is renovating and expanding two campuses and has not completed collective bargaining contracts with the Administration, Faculty or Classified staff.   This is still the case.  Meetings last for hours and board issues cannot be dealt with for a month.  Many issues take at least two board meetings to resolve (information and then action) which leads to public frustration at the slow pace of decision making.  Not included in this frustration is the well-managed progress of Prop R building on the two campuses. 

There is a perception of many employees that GCCCD Board of Trustees serves as a "rubber stamp" for anything the chancellor wants.  This perception is still persistent.  Some staff complain that issues (like the Chancellor's contract affair) are not being dealt with in a timely fashion.

People who attend school board meetings report restricted audience input with strict rules and intimidation tactics.  There has been some movement here.  Board meetings still host angry speakers from the audience but the speakers now speak at the beginning of the meetings and their time has been extended from 3 to 4 minutes maximum.

There is evidence that trustees do not routinely communicate with or ask for information from various sources other than the GCCCD District Office.  I have personally sought out and spoken to faculty leadership, staff leadership and student leadership.  That process continues.  Rick Alexander took it upon himself to talk to 30 select staff members in just a few days.   He also spoke to and participated in a Q and A with the entire United Faculty.  My kudos to Rick!

A split between the two campuses and groups:

Many faculty and staff members report that factions on Grossmont College and Cuyamaca College have become suspicious of each other's motives and have stopped listening to each other.   This issue is still on the back burner, although there seems to be increased collaboration among staff at both colleges.

Equalization:

Collective bargaining with both faculty, classified and administrator unions has been fruitless.  Negotiators report that offers from the district do not reflect the income of the district.  While  the Chancellor's salary ranks among the top salaries of chancellors in the county, site administration, faculty and staff salaries are near the bottom.  Attracting new faculty, administrators and staff has been very difficult.    In my view, the problems with the national accredidation of the nursing program (because we could not find enough teachers) was the "canary in the coal mine" regarding the consequences of low pay scales.  Progress was made to correct the problems in the nursing program and ongoing negotiations are occurring as you read this.

Full-time faculty members have been dwarfed by the numbers of part-time faculty.  Many students are left with a transient faculty that cannot provide enough office hours or support.  The Board is very concerned with the low pay for part-time faculty and with the lack of office space.   Stay tuned for further details.

Barely 50% of all district funds reach the classroom.  Classroom funding percentages of other districts are higher.   This issue is not as alarming as first stated.  It turns out that all community colleges in California calculate a  percentage based on the 50% Law.  GCCCD is below the state average at about 52% but no district reports higher than 60% of funds are spent directly in the classroom.  Administrative, support and maintenance costs are a significant portion of any districts' budget.

 Note: At this time, the GCCCD and United Faculty have settled their collective bargaining contract after almost two years of negotiations.  In my opinion, this new political pressure from Mary Kay Rosinski, candidate for seat #1, Larry Octon, candidate for seat #2, Shannon O'Dunn, candidate for seat #3 and myself have in large measure put pressure on this board to shape up.  I now am hearing echoes of many of the issues stated on this website and elsewhere spoken at the latest board meetings.

Second Note:  The District has now cancelled collective bargaining meetings with the United Faculty and has scheduled no future meetings.  The GCCCD District has said, in effect, that the financial situation of the district is too difficult right now.  This is during the same budget year that James Austin, Business V-Chancellor, said was the best income year for GCCCD in years.  Notably, this budget includes a 220% increase in attorney and consultant fees over last year.  Last year's budget also saw a 200% increase over the previous year.  It seems legal issues are increasingly troubling this district.

Solutions?

After the November election the GCCCD School Board  must address these and other issues affecting the Grossmont-Cuyamaca colleges and their students.  All three areas of concern need addressing.  Trustees must actively listen to all factions and ask questions.  A new direction would include unifying the district and making sure there is transparency in decision-making.  Shared Governance  means  that groups like the Academic Senates, student and classified groups  actively make  recommendations which must be acted on by the Chancellor, his cabinet and the Trustees in an open forum.  Efforts to help individuals see others' viewpoints would be key to healing.

The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District serves an integral part of the fabric of East County.  Its wonderful programs and new upgraded campuses are something for all of us to be proud of.  We who live in East County all hope that a new era of peace and unity will thrive on both campuses.