Trustee apologizes for ‘culture of mistrust’

By Don ClydeThe Guardsman

A resolution to set budget  priorities presented at the City College Board of Trustees meeting on  March 25 led to an admission by one trustee of a “culture of mistrust”  between the board and the faculty, staff and students.

The  comment came after a lengthy discussion about the resolution in which  several board members said they had not seen the budget priority list  and faculty and staff members said there were glaring omissions. Faculty  and staff members said they were shut out of the budget decision-making  process.

“I want to apologize to everyone at this college and to  the chancellor to the extent that I have contributed in some ways to  this very clear culture of mistrust between the board and everyone else  here,” Trustee Steve Ngo said. “There is clearly something wrong in the  way that we are interacting with each other.”

Meeting attendees  applauded the admission that there appeared to be a disconnect between  the board and various constituent groups on campus.

“Given that  we have that shared interest, and we all acknowledge that shared  interest, let’s communicate to each other in a way that acknowledges  that we have those concerns and that deep devotion and care for the same  people at this college,” Ngo said.

The resolution, written by  Trustees Chris Jackson and Steve Ngo, determines that the budget for  fiscal year 2010-2011 should incorporate priorities like maintaining  fiscal solvency, retaining full-time faculty and resuming summer school  in 2011 at about 40 percent of the 2009 level.

Ed Murray, vice  president of American Federation of Teachers, Local 2121 said AFT hadn’t  seen a draft of the priorities and requested retention of part-time  faculty be added to the resolution.
Classified Senate President  Attila Gabor said the trustees needed to add retention of full- and  part-time classified staff.

“You all lock us out, we’re gonna  vote you all out,” said Doretha Evans, a Service Employees International  Union, Local 1021 member and community organizer.

Trustees  Natalie Berg and Lawrence Wong said they opposed the resolution because  they had not even seen it before the board meeting.

“The process  in the past has been far more full of sunshine,” Berg said.

However,  after it became known during the board meeting that Chancellor Don  Griffin sat in on a March 9 Budget and Planning Committee meeting to set  the budget priorities, the faculty, staff and opposed board members  began to express approval of the priorities. Griffin said most of them  were necessary.

Griffin ran down the list of priorities and  explained their importance.

“We must have a summer. It’s not  even an option about having a summer,” Griffin said about summer school  2011. “Without the summer we cannot generate enough enrollment in fall  and spring to maintain the solvency of the college.”

Trustee  Anita Grier said the chancellor’s comments gave life to the priorities  and Wong said he was more accepting of the budget priority list

“The  minute that the chancellor said openly that he had a role in this,  drafting of this document, people changed their minds,” Ngo said.  “That’s important, because you clearly trust him.  So do I. Let’s trust  him to do his job.”

Meeting attendees burst into applause.

After  many amendments to the budget priorities resolution, including the  retention of full- and part-time faculty and classified staff, a  restoration of 2011 summer classes to the highest extent possible and  the restoration of as many regular semester cut classes as possible, the  resolution passed a board vote with only Trustee Milton Marks III  objecting.

Marks said during the meeting the whole process had  been sloppy.

The next Board of Trustees meeting will be held on  April 29 at 33 Gough St. in San Francisco.