With state budget crunches and community colleges statewide
taking financial hits, James De La Cruz feels that one of his most
valuable assets he can offer to Gavilan College is his skills and
experience in accounting.
With state budget crunches and community colleges statewide taking financial hits, James De La Cruz feels that one of his most valuable assets he can offer to Gavilan College is his skills and experience in accounting.
And that is why he is running for one of two open seats on the Gavilan College Board of Trustees for Area 3.
De La Cruz, who was vice president of finance for the student body when he attended the community college, said trustees took out $1 million in reserves last year to meet the budget for the fiscal year and will have to make more decisions about future cuts.
“For the next couple of years, the Gavilan College Board of Trustees is going to face some really tough decisions in terms of budget and academics,” De La Cruz said. “What I can bring is accounting expertise when the time comes for the budget process. I also bring experience as a student in 1991.”
De La Cruz said Gavilan should look for other sources of revenue so the college does not have to spend so much of its resources.
“When you take out $1 million you cannot do that the next couple of years,” he said. “We have to find other sources of revenue. We can bring in a Taco Bell or another food chain to raise more funds.”
De La Cruz supports a bypass on Highway 25 to Santa Teresa Boulevard because the left-turn lane on U.S. 101 that many students from San Benito County use to cross the highway is dangerous.
“To many of our students, when they come from Hollister from Highway 25 to 101, they cross Highway 101 at their own risk,” De La Cruz said. “One death is too many for the students who died.”
De La Cruz says he wants to lobby for Hollister to have its own junior college since many classes at the satellite facility are at capacity.
Plus, some classes that are required for some students to transfer to a four-year college are not available, he said.
Gavilan also needs more evening classes to cater to the older students in the workforce, De La Cruz said.
“There should be more evening or weekend classes,” he said. “There is an increase in the number of students who are no longer traditional 19 year olds, but more single mothers or family people.
“The people who have been out in the workforce for four to five years because they work full time, they need to be flexible to adjust to their lifestyle.”
