Campus News
Board of Trustees' Year-End Review
July 19, 2010
Dr. Joe Dobbs, President of the SBCC Board of Trustees, made the following statement at the July 15, 2010 Board of Trustees’ Meeting.
As we wind up our Centennial year, and embark on this first meeting of our new fiscal year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the successes and challenges of the past year.
First, many thanks to those involved in our successful accreditation. We scored excellent marks, and were recognized as one of the most fiscally sound Community College Districts in the state.
We have many to thank for that, including our former Presidents Peter MacDougall and John Romo, and our current President Andreea Serban.
Although we are one of the most fiscally sound Districts, we have suffered under the budget cuts from the State Legislature. We have had to reduce expenditures on both the credit and non-credit/Continuing Education side of the college.
It is never easy to make expenditure reductions, but the college worked to keep the cuts as far away from classroom programs as possible – in some instances combining class sections – so the class may not have been as easy to attend, but it was still available. And as you know, we are having a reduced summer session of continuing education, so that we can retain the vital programs as close to traditional capacity in the Fall, Winter and Spring terms and in 10-week formats for each term.
Some of this was done fairly quickly, and we sought input from the community, students, faculty and staff. We may not have always been the best communicators. We accept responsibility and will move forward with better and broader communication. We appreciate everyone’s support for our programs and I hope that those who may not agree with some of our decisions will work with us as we move forward.
One thing is very clear: our community is solidly behind SBCC’s programs and wants to see them remain strong. As we wrap up this centennial year, I want to thank and acknowledge the work and dedication of those who nurtured and grew the Continuing Education program into one of the finest in the State, including former Vice Presidents of Continuing Education John Romo, Lynda Fairly, and Pablo Buckelew, and our current Vice President of Continuing Education Ofelia Arellano.
We are committed to continuing the tradition of the Continuing Education program – and all of its aspects – from adult high school, programs for older adults, cooking and sewing, arts and crafts, physical activities, community enrichment and life-long learning, parenting skills classes, ESL, and short vocational education courses.
Recently, as many know, we have received word that some of the non-credit classes traditionally funded by the state are no longer eligible for state funding. The state expectations in terms of scrutiny and regulations have also changed. Our administration has worked hard, and continues to work to see what funding alternatives may be secured so we can offer them tuition free or low cost.
Last fall, instead of cutting these classes from our roster, we made the difficult decision to offer 20 of these classes as tuition based to recover direct costs only. We realized this created a hardship for some. I am excited to announce that we have instituted a new scholarship program, and through the generosity of the community, we will be able to fund the tuition for one course for several hundred continuing education students for Fiscal Year 2010-2011.
Please be assured that all of us at SBCC, the members of the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty and staff are dedicated to maintaining a strong program of lifelong learning that is affordable and accessible to the community.
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