Candidate for
Trustee; Chabot- Las Positas Community College District; Trustee Area 5

Our Community Colleges are the gateway to higher education. We need to keep the door open as wide as possible.

1. The costs to attend college include:

Tuition
Books and supplies
Student parking, health and other fees
Transportation

and in many cases, child care and the loss of wages.

Costs that do not directly cover expenses at the Community College such as tuition need to be kept to a minimum or eliminated. I will work with the Association of Community College Trustees and Dr Drummond, our State Chancellor, to insure tuition is not a barrier to education.

2. Many of our students could receive financial aid if the forms were completed. I would add the financial aid package to the forms new students complete when applying for admittance so no student who is eligible is prevented from attending.

3. Neighboring Community Colleges will complement our colleges.

New colleges are planned for Newark, Mountain House near Tracy and in the Dougherty Valley in San Ramon. I believe it is in the best interest of our students to actively cooperate with other Community College Districts. The new campuses will offer general education classes that are currently overflowing at Las Positas. We have classes at Las Positas and Chabot not offered at other college districts and the other districts offer classes we do not. It is in the best interest of all of our students and the financial stability of the Community College system to provide classes where the demand is the greatest. We can succeed if we work together and not duplicate our efforts.

4. Attendance is UP at Chabot and Las Positas.

But, we can do more at Chabot to attract students who are returning to college or attending college for the first time and are not recent high school graduates. There are a number of private schools who advertise on TV, offering new careers and job placement. We need to connect with the community with information about:

Career training available at Chabot and LPC
How much time it takes to complete
Cost. We offer the finest education and
often at a lower cost

5. Our District Offices provide services to both colleges including:

Payroll and human resources for over 1000
employees
Maintenance and operations
Computer support and technology updates
Public information and marketing

The District office achieves all of the above with very lean staffing. Not willing to rest on their achievements, the District Offices have requested and received the help of a consultant who will work with them over the next year to determine if there are ways to be even MORE efficient. I applaud and support the District Office and the work they do for the colleges.