There are many questionable statements in the article about the current SBCC budget mess. Certainly the odd way the President’s salary was finagled is one.
But the overwhelming issue is the refusal of the Board and other college leadership to adhere to restraint and academic principles. This is particularly obvious in statements from the Board Chair, Jonathan Abboud.
Abboud cited the community’s 2024 support for Measure P, which provided $198 million in construction bonds for rebuilding an athletic complex the state had deemed unsafe. Other campus projects will follow, he said, including paving parking lots and the entrance to campus.
“I know everybody wants that, and I think people feel more optimistic when they see physical improvements to the campus,” Abboud said.
Equally important is the fact that faculty, staff, administrators and the board have worked together and “protected the core functions of the college,” he said.
We do know that the hidden purpose of Measure P, the gymnasium, was what Abboud acknowledges now, but the measure was pushed as restoration, repair and improvement of academic facilities. The community did not knowingly approve of spending this obscene amount of money on a gymnasium to attract more athletes. What the community wants from its college is a basic, competent educational alternative to more expensive institutions for locals and effective training and certification for people seeking other vocational training as well as a extension curriculum for curious local residents.
People make a living from nursing, plumbing and construction. Few make a go in life from professional athletic efforts.