The upcoming Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees retreat on Wednesday, July 19, will be an important prelude to the regular board meeting on Thursday, July 20.
At Thursday’s meeting, the board is considering censuring Boardmember Veronica Gallardo, the only Latino on the board, who was elected to serve in 2012. Targeted since 2019, Gallardo was the sole voice to open the campus to in-person learning when the draconian COVID-19 closure was extended.
The current board’s accusations against Gallardo lack specificity as to the charges levied at her, and no details or proof are given to warrant censuring her, which they can do by a board majority vote even though she was elected by the public.
Let the public decide next election what boardmembers are doing their job!
Attachments for both public meetings with participation details are available at https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/sbcc/Board.nsf/Public
A board member’s primary duty is to keep the administration accountable. There would be no reason to have a board if it was a mutual admiration society. We may as well just surround the superintendent/president with cheerleaders.
In reviewing the Santa Barbara City College board’s survey for the upcoming board retreat, what was most obvious was they are trying to single out Boardmember Veronica Gallardo for doing her job as an elected trustee, often the sole vote against the rest of the board.
Having differing points of view on the board is healthy.
Their survey states, “The Board is an independent nonpartisan policy-making body that reflects the public interest in the institution and in the Board’s role, responsibility, and actions.”
This is precisely why there should be robust conversations and questioning. Balance is important so as not to have everything coming from one particular party or group. Diversity serves diversity best, yet we have only one Latino board member.
The board holds the superintendent/president and the college accountable for progress toward student goals and annual priorities.
Lots of double talk here, but where is the data?
Intentions are easy; however, results take work.
Setting clear goals, and obtaining data and evidence measuring how well the college is performing is what is needed to move things forward.
Trustee Gallardo was singled out here for stating that “all presidents need to be held accountable by this board, and all presidents should be held to the same standards.”
Having robust disagreements and working to achieve consensus when needed is important to come to the best decisions. It’s okay to respectfully agree to disagree with differing points of view.
The board creates a mutually supportive relationship with the superintendent/president, balanced with accountability and full transparency. Just because a boardmember questions or disagrees, they should not be labeled disrespectful. They in fact are upholding their duties as a publicly elected trustee of the board.
BP 2715 states that “it is the responsibility of every Board member to accept and support the decision that the Board as a whole has reached:
There may be times when it is appropriate to refer to something in the past that has not worked out as an example to improve future outcomes.
Freedom of speech is a constitutional right.
Please support Boardmember Gallardo by attending one of the meetings or emailing your remarks to pdkelly@pipeline.sbcc.edu with a cc to the SBCC Board of Trustees president, jabboud@pipeline.sbcc.edu, with your name and the subject of your comment by 3 p.m. the day of the July 20, 2023, meeting.