yet trouble is brewing. 

In these difficult economic times, education has taken a huge hit when it comes to funding. The California state budget passed this week cut $7.2 billion dollars from education, on top of the $11 billion cut in February. Pink slips have become an annual ritual for the past four years, and school boards have had to wrestle with budget cuts while struggling to minimize the public outcry and maintain quality education.

 For school boards and superintendents, balancing a budget, meeting the teachers’ needs, addressing student and parent concerns, providing the core functions of the institution, and expanding services, is reminiscent of a juggler trying to keep five watermelons in the air hoping not to drop any, risking a really big mess.

 Southwestern Community College appears to have done this juggling act better than most, balancing their budget, minimizing the firing of school employees, and continuing to improve as an educational institution. The assumption being that the school board would be rightfully proud of their accomplishments. At Southwestern College though, there is an undercurrent of discontent that, while not fatal, is creating a chasm between board members and the Superintendent.

 For the fiscal year 2009-2010 Southwestern college passed a tentative balanced budget – tentative in that the college would have to make adjustments once the State passed its budget. The tentative balanced budget maintained the core function of the school to educate the students and prepare them to move on to higher education.

 Thanks to a bond passed last year, the college is preparing to expand through satellite facilities and it will make major improvements at the Chula Vista campus, in addition to the new college facility in San Ysidro.

 Despite economic woes, the college did not fire one contracted faculty member, and it limited the firings to five administrative positions. When taken in context with the City of Chula Vista which has had to release nearly 200 employees over the past two years, releasing only 5 employees is a remarkable feat in itself.

 How did Southwestern College accomplish this? The credit must go to the Superintendent, Raj Chopra, hired three years ago with a mandate to bring about change and stability at the college. Chopra was the fourth Superintendent hired in little more than two years. Chopra is credited with early foresight of the budget crisis, for reorganizing and restructuring departments and personnel. And for changing the good old boy system that had prevailed at the campus which generated a Grand Jury report chastising the cozy relationship between the Sweetwater High School District and the college, amongst other issues.

 Not surprising, the reorganization and restructuring created apprehension that manifested itself with the teachers and categorical employees, resulting in a vote of no confidence for Chopra. Among the few issues presented and the one issue that has resonated with the community has been the decision to eliminate the substitute teachers for contracted teachers who took teaching time off to be staff advisors to four extra curricular programs. The program that raised the most attention was the advisor position for the award winning school newspaper “The Sun.”

 Prior to restructuring, the advisors were paid a $3000 dollar stipend and were given time off from teaching courses to serve as advisors. Substitute teachers were then hired to teach the advisors’ classes. It was pointed out that the teacher was under contract and continued to be paid for the time off to be the advisor earning salary and a stipend. At the same time the substitute teacher, as it turned out, would be another school employee, who would then take time off from his job, receive his regular pay for his salaried job and at the same time was being paid for his substitute service. Chopra restructured this old system to eliminate the double dipping by the employees; the advisors’ positions were not eliminated, they still receive their stipend but now they must teach their courses and make extra time to serve in their role as an advisor.

 The teachers’ union found a champion for their cause in newly elected Trustee Nick Aguilar who by his actions has been pushing the teachers’ unions’ positions.

 It is not so much that Aguilar supports the teachers, as an elected representative of the community, he is free to choose whom and what he supports, it is the manner and way he has gone about his support that has created a rift with the board and Superintendent Chopra.

 Aguilar, who has only served seven months on the board, campaigned on a simple platform that the board was micromanaging the school and that if elected he would end this microman-agement style that was pervasive on the board and noted in a Grand Jury report.

 It is disappointing to see that Aguilar has not lived up to the promises made on the campaign trail, but instead has escalated the micromanagement to new heights.

 While it is the responsibility of board members to ask question of staff and the superintendent, the volume of questions provided at each board meeting is daunting to say the least. It has been noted that at one recent budget meeting Nick Aguilar spoke for 1½ hours. It has gotten to the point that a parliamentarian had to be hired in order to help facilitate the meetings and new rules have been created for board meetings to limit the time a board member can speak.

 Nick Aguilar has the right, and we support his right, to ask relevant questions, yet at the same time he has to function as a member of a board, a part of a team, work within certain constraints and civility, and build unity and support. To date Nick Aguilar has created animosity with at least some of his board members and has undermined his best intentions to create change.

 Nick Aguilar has only served 7 months, he still has 41 more months to go in his first term, is this going to be his style of governance for the next three plus years? If so, it appears it is going to be a long first term.