New Board, Same as the Old Board

Wednesday, January 25, 2012
By Mark Smith, Goleta

Last year the Santa Barbara City College Board proposed putting 20 Continuing Education classes on a temporary fee-paying basis to comply with state requirements. Roused to fury at this threat to their inalienable right to free classes, and screaming that the Board was “going to destroy Continuing Education,” a slate of four challengers ran against the four incumbent boardmembers up for re-election in November, and successfully ousted them.

So what resulted? Looking at the new Continuing Education schedule, about 90 classes are now on a fee-paying basis, with more to come in the next few years, and class offerings in Continuing Education have been cut, as have classses on the main campus, while tuition has increased on the main campus from $26 to $46 per unit.

For this the old board, generally recognized throughout the state as one of the best, was pretty well destroyed, a nationally recognized superintendent-president was terminated, at great expense, without any reasons being stated, and accreditation re-visit resulted (official report not due until spring) and the college was thrown into turmoil.

So, folks, how do you like what has happened? Satisfied with the result?

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