Editorial:

Southwestern Community College has had some tough issues to deal with and it would be naive of us not to recognize this. The number one issue is accreditation, but there has also been the issue of the budget and how the college has changed the way it does business. Perhaps the most volatile issue has been about the Superintendent/President of the college, Dr. Raj Chopra.

   While not ignoring the tough issues it also important to take notice of positive news, primarily that accreditation issues are being dealt with. Further, the college is still in good standing and operates on budget without having to borrow money during the record breaking budget stalemate in Sacramento.

   This election year has been particularly emotional. The teachers’ union has backed a slate of candidates to unseat the incumbents – Tim Nader, Norma Hernandez, and Jesseca Saenz-Gonzalez. Also running are William “Bud” McLeroy and Jaime Mercado who, along with Nader, are running to unseat Jorge Dominguez.

   Running for re-election are: Yolanda Salcido, Jorge Dominguez, and Terri Valladolid.

   While politicians often take way too much credit for the good things that happen as elected officials, in the case of the accreditation issue way too much blame is being heaped on this board. Some of the accreditation issues go as far back as 2003 – spanning several school boards and administrations. Consequences have come to a head this year. An over zealous accreditation board has notified 45 of the 110 community colleges in the state of accreditation issues, more than any other state by a wide margin. The accreditation board itself has come under scrutiny for their policies.

   Both Palomar College and Grossmont Community College are dealing with accreditation issues. Even one of the most respected and efficient colleges in the system, College of the Redwoods, has been put on notice. The point is that the accreditation issues are not the sole province of Southwestern Community College but are warnings being felt throughout the state.

   The good news is that the issues of accreditation are being dealt with in a responsive and effective manner.

   In regards to the handling of the budget, Southwestern College has dealt with delayed budget issues and more importantly with their budget getting slashed yearly as state government continues to try and balance their budget. Herein lays the main issue with Superintendent/President Dr. Chopra: in order to maintain a fiscally balanced budget Dr. Chopra has had to make cuts and reign in excessive spending, eliminating many of the perks previously enjoyed by the teachers.

   The tightening of the budget belt has created yet another rift between the unions and the administration. Let us be clear about this election: this year, this election is about the teachers’ union trying to regain lost control over the college by backing a slate of union friendly candidates.

   In our opinion an effective public organization functions best when there is shared power between the administration, the teachers and classified workers represented by the unions, and the community/taxpayers represented by their elected board members.

   The primary role of the elected representative is to be the voice for the community and to oversee the budget to ensure that taxpayers’ dollars are effectively and wisely spent. The other equally important role of the board is to hire a Superintendent/President.

   The incumbents hired a President who came in and reorganized the way the college had been doing business, which was akin to the good old boy system that revolved around political clicks within the college (as noted in a Grand Jury report). This meant a loss of favoritism for some, a loss of power and influence for others.

   In terms of managing the budget this school board and administration has done a commendable job in cutting excessive expenses and navigating the trouble waters of budget cuts during prolonged periods of receiving no money from the state. All of this while maintaining their core curriculum, salaries, or terminating fulltime teaching positions.

   For these reasons and more, and to ensure that there is an equal balance between the administration, unions, and community we endorse the re-election of Yolanda Salcido and Terri Valladolid. We do not endorse incumbent Jorge Dominguez, as we agree with the Grand Jury report and believe there is an unhealthy relationship when Sweetwater School Board members are employees of Southwestern College and vice versa (as in the case of Arlie Ricasa and Jorge Dominguez).