San Mateo County Community College District still searching for new leader

New to this go-round, though, is a provision allowing trustees to consider candidates not put forward by an advisory committee, a body made up of classified staff, faculty, administrators and students. The change sparked concerns among faculty who spoke out about the matter during Wednesday’s meeting.

“While the board has the important responsibility of selecting a permanent chancellor, this approach dramatically undermines the participatory governance in which we have prided ourselves on developing in this district, in which the voices of all constituents are considered in an important process like this one,” Arielle Smith, president of the Academic Senate said. “Although the board may have only one employee, that employee oversees almost 1,700 other district employees, most of whom are also county residents and local voters. Every one of those employees has a stake in the selection of the next chancellor and a procedure that honors and trusts the work of a selection committee to do its job are essential to maintain.”

Some also asserted former Chancellor Ron Galatolo, currently facing 21 charges for allegedly participating in bribery schemes while in office, was appointed by trustees in 2001 without consulting an advisory committee.

Trustee Rich Holober, the only current trustee who served on the board at the time, said districts were forced to throw out their hiring practices after the passage of Proposition 209, which prohibited the use of race and gender-conscious decision-making for hiring and admissions, and a related court decision.

Trustees also pushed back on the assertion they’re looking to bypass community input, instead arguing they were looking to align with statewide standards. If the board does opt for a candidate not backed by the committee, trustees must explain their reasoning to the body, according to the procedure document.

“I do believe we take the participatory governance process seriously and give a lot of deference and a lot of weight to what reaches the board through the process but that process is not a governance process,” Holober said. “We’re an elected board. We answer to the people of this county, some 780,000 or so people in this county, so I do believe what we’re doing here is proper.”

Aside from the procedure change, trustees delayed making a decision on which firm it would select to help facilitate its chancellor search. They also delayed approving a process schedule until a firm was selected. Interim Chancellor Dr. Melissa Moreno, who took up the position after Mike Claire retired at the end of the recent academic year, will continue serving in the role until a permanent replacement is selected.