Hollister
– Five candidates, including the two incumbents, will be vying
for the two Hollister seats on the Gavilan College Board of
Trustees this fall.
Hollister – Five candidates, including the two incumbents, will be vying for the two Hollister seats on the Gavilan College Board of Trustees this fall.
The Gavilan College Board is made up of seven trustees – three from Gilroy, two from Morgan Hill and two from Hollister, as well as a student trustee. Board Clerk Kent Child, a Hollister resident who was appointed in 2005 and Trustee Elvira Robinson, who will be seeking a fifth term on the Gavilan Board, are both up for re-election this fall.
Three challengers have pulled papers to run this year – Hollister School District Trustee Dee Brown, Reba Jones and Angie De La Cruz.
All three challengers attribute their decision to run in part to Gavilan’s plans to establish a satellite campus in San Benito County that will one day expand into a full-service campus. In January, Trustees voted to purchase an 85-acre parcel of land off San Felipe Road and adjacent to the Hollister Airport, but the site was unpopular with many residents. Though the land may be flat and cheap, some fear that the location would induce sprawl, rule out the possibility of collaboration between the college and city and county agencies, and prove to have hidden costs should classrooms need to be sound-proofed against airplanes taking off and landing.
Brown, who mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the position of county superintendent of schools in June, announced that she would not seek another term with HSD and would instead pursue a seat on the Gavilan College Board of Trustees several weeks ago.
“I think Gavilan is a fabulous institution; I really can’t say enough good things about it,” she said. “I’ve worked and taught in a number of college settings, so this is definitely an arena I feel comfortable in.”
In addition to finding a good home for the local satellite campus, Brown said a few of her priorities as a trustee include ensuring college employees are compensated fairly and have a good relationship with the board and maintaining excellent vocational programs.
De La Cruz, wife of District 5 County Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz, is a local resident and parent looking to make a difference.
“This is something I want to get involved in and be a part of,” she said. “I’ve always stood behind James, but I want to give back to my community myself.”
De La Cruz says her top priority is safeguarding the future of the $108 million in Measure E Bond money available to the college, $12.7 million of which has been earmarked for Hollister.
Retired educator and longtime Hollister resident Reba Jones also announced her candidacy. Jones, who has taught college-level science at universities around the nation, says she is uniquely qualified to help shape the future of Gavilan College.
“I really feel this is an area where I can put my skills to good use and contribute,” she said.
Jones also stressed the importance of a suitable location for the Gavilan College Campus and said she hoped she would have an opportunity to participate in a forum with other college board contenders.
“I think I’ll be able to hold my own against them,” she said.
Incumbent Child, who has taught and served as an administrator at Gavilan College for nearly 40 years, said that serving as a trustee was the best way he could think of to continue that relationship while serving the community.
“Everyone on this board really cares about the college, either because they were students here or taught here and have come back to help,” he said. “And I enjoy the unique challenge and responsibility of being a board member.”
Child said his priorities if re-elected include ensuring the district’s continued financial stability and broadening options for senior citizens looking for personal enrichment, particularly as the baby boomer generation prepares to retire. Child himself has taken a number of yoga, art and language courses through Gavilan.
Trustee Robinson is seeking a fifth term on the Gavilan board. Over the past several years, she said, she is particularly proud of the board’s decision to hire Steve Kinsella as college president and the passage of Measure E.
“I’m also extremely proud that we’ve kept the Latino Advisory Committee alive on campus,” she said. “We’ve brought different Latino community groups on campus to express their views and concerns and the college is better off for that.”
In the future, said Robinson, keeping the college’s budget in the black and overseeing Gav’s many construction projects is a top priority.
“And we always want to provide the best education possible for our students,” she said.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
