Elvira Robinson has served on the Gavilan College Board of
Trustees for Area 3 for the past 12 years and is running for yet
another term.
Elvira Robinson has served on the Gavilan College Board of Trustees for Area 3 for the past 12 years and is running for yet another term.
Robinson, who helped establish the Latino Advisory Committee to the Gavilan president, said she is a voice for the Latinos who attend the college.
And if re-elected, Robinson would like to establish long-term goals for the Hollister-Gavilan campus since the facility is currently at capacity, she said.
“I’d like to see long-range planning here in Hollister because of the distance students have to drive (to Gilroy),” she said.
The largest obstacle the Board will face in the coming years is budget cuts, Robinson said.
“We’re not going to be receiving the money we have been receiving in recent years,” she said. “We’re going to have to look at cutting back programs and classes and sections. We’re going to have to do that with staff, administration and the Board. We need input from all staff and campus.”
She proposes that the Board can help find funding in other areas to lessen the impacts of budget shortfalls at Gavilan. Robinson also wants to help develop programs to help graduates rise above minimum wage jobs.
“I want to make sure we have programs that prepare students for jobs beyond minimum wage, to have them make a decent living when they leave our campus,” she said. “We have to examine different programs that meet those needs.”
Robinson says with her 12 years of experience, she has knowledge of the issues facing the community college.
“Several Board members are new and only two of us have been there 10 years or more,” she said. “You need historical experience to balance the new trustees on the Board. Our knowledge is good.”
With Gavilan expected to have a new president soon, Robinson wants to help.
“I’m looking forward to working with the administration and the new president,” Robinson said. “I think with the new president and continued leadership, we’ll continue to have an extraordinary community college at Gavilan.”
