Written by Mountain House Press
Thursday, 15 January 2009
Mountain House's board sets up committee to watch Delta's doings.
MOUNTAIN HOUSE — Getting San Joaquin Delta College to Mountain House is a strong priority in this small, windswept community.
The Mountain House Community Services District board of directors Wednesday night voted to create a Delta College advisory committee to keep its citizens informed of what transpires during Delta’s board of trustees meetings in Stockton.
The committee will be chaired by board member Matt Balzarini and will include Bernice King-Tingle and three other Mountain House residents picked by the board.
New Delta Board trustees who campaigned on the promises of moving the proposed campus from Mountain House to Tracy prompted the urgent formation of the committee.
“We think this is a very important committee, and that’s why it showed up so quickly on your agenda,” MHCSD General Manager Paul Sensibaugh told the board. “The idea here is to have the community involved in a level of authority or at least recognition for some people who can go to the Delta board of trustees and express Mountain House’s concerns on certain items.”
The board will also ask Delta College trustees to keep them informed when an issue of importance to Mountain House comes up.
The board had some debate on the size of the committee, but decided to go with five members.
“I think that it would be good to have two people from the board and from the community at large, three people,” director King-Tingle said. “It shows that Mountain House as a board and a city are interested in that project.”
Mike Klinkner was one of many concerned citizens of Mountain House who voiced concerns about a Delta College campus in Mountain House.
“We have to stand up for this campus,” he said. “We have to keep the campus here.”
A safety advisory committee was also formed Wednesday night that will work jointly with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department to address the community’s law enforcement needs.
The board’s next meeting will be on Jan. 22 to discuss the 2009 Mountain House budget.
Source
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Delta trustees up to task of challenges ahead
Written by Steve Castellanos
Tuesday, 06 January 2009
The new president of the San Joaquin Delta College board of trustees say its time for the college administration and the board to mend the college's reputation.
On Nov. 4, [2008] voters of the San Joaquin Delta Community College District elected me along with C. Jennet Stebbins, Mary Ann Cox and Teresa Brown, to positions on the college’s board of trustees. On Dec. 10, we were sworn in, and on Dec. 16, my fellow board members appointed me as their president.
It is now time for the college administration and the board to roll up our sleeves and collectively begin the difficult work of mending the reputation of this college that is so vital to the economic and cultural strength of the region.
During the past several months, Delta has been the subject of intense public scrutiny and criticism. This is unfortunate, but with a new year upon us and a renewed spirit of cooperation in the air, it is now our challenge to replace the public’s suspicion and frustration with optimism and trust. We will do this by consistently making well-informed, student-centered decisions in the full light of public scrutiny.
As the president of the board, I commit to the public that we will move quickly while learning from the past to make sure that it is good policy and not political concerns that guide Delta College to a much brighter future.
As an architect, I am acutely aware of how important it is to build on a solid footing. While it is no secret that the college has some challenging issues it must immediately address, it does, however, have an unshakable foundation.
Simply put, the faculty, staff and administrators I’ve met in my short time at the college get up in the morning and go to work determined to change lives. They understand and hold sacred the extraordinary role they play in the well-being of the more than 20,000 students who place their dreams of a better future in the college’s hands each semester.
Also, Measure L controversies notwithstanding, Delta has a long tradition of making responsible financial decisions dating back to its first days as a public institution. Accordingly, the college has prudent reserves, has very little long-term debt and, in relation to its peers, is well prepared to navigate the difficult financial issues we all know lay ahead.
But perhaps the greatest reason for my optimism about Delta’s future is the fact that members of the public have demonstrated time and time again that they place enormous value on the work of the college and are unwilling to accept anything less than excellence from those of us who have the privilege of serving such a fine school. Seldom does one get to build on a stronger foundation than that.
I understand that when the public trust is strained, sentiment means little, and words mean even less.
Action is what counts, and I think it is important to state publicly that the board and the administration are fully aware that we have a great deal of work to do if we want to restore the college to its rightful place in public opinion — and we intend to do just that.
• Steve Castellanos, a resident of Valley Springs, is the new president of the San Joaquin Delta College board of trustees.
Source
Tuesday, 06 January 2009
The new president of the San Joaquin Delta College board of trustees say its time for the college administration and the board to mend the college's reputation.
On Nov. 4, [2008] voters of the San Joaquin Delta Community College District elected me along with C. Jennet Stebbins, Mary Ann Cox and Teresa Brown, to positions on the college’s board of trustees. On Dec. 10, we were sworn in, and on Dec. 16, my fellow board members appointed me as their president.
It is now time for the college administration and the board to roll up our sleeves and collectively begin the difficult work of mending the reputation of this college that is so vital to the economic and cultural strength of the region.
During the past several months, Delta has been the subject of intense public scrutiny and criticism. This is unfortunate, but with a new year upon us and a renewed spirit of cooperation in the air, it is now our challenge to replace the public’s suspicion and frustration with optimism and trust. We will do this by consistently making well-informed, student-centered decisions in the full light of public scrutiny.
As the president of the board, I commit to the public that we will move quickly while learning from the past to make sure that it is good policy and not political concerns that guide Delta College to a much brighter future.
As an architect, I am acutely aware of how important it is to build on a solid footing. While it is no secret that the college has some challenging issues it must immediately address, it does, however, have an unshakable foundation.
Simply put, the faculty, staff and administrators I’ve met in my short time at the college get up in the morning and go to work determined to change lives. They understand and hold sacred the extraordinary role they play in the well-being of the more than 20,000 students who place their dreams of a better future in the college’s hands each semester.
Also, Measure L controversies notwithstanding, Delta has a long tradition of making responsible financial decisions dating back to its first days as a public institution. Accordingly, the college has prudent reserves, has very little long-term debt and, in relation to its peers, is well prepared to navigate the difficult financial issues we all know lay ahead.
But perhaps the greatest reason for my optimism about Delta’s future is the fact that members of the public have demonstrated time and time again that they place enormous value on the work of the college and are unwilling to accept anything less than excellence from those of us who have the privilege of serving such a fine school. Seldom does one get to build on a stronger foundation than that.
I understand that when the public trust is strained, sentiment means little, and words mean even less.
Action is what counts, and I think it is important to state publicly that the board and the administration are fully aware that we have a great deal of work to do if we want to restore the college to its rightful place in public opinion — and we intend to do just that.
• Steve Castellanos, a resident of Valley Springs, is the new president of the San Joaquin Delta College board of trustees.
Source
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