By CONNIE KORBEL Staff Writer -
Updated: 10/15/2010 06:56:29 PM PDT
When the chairman of a board, such as College of the Redwoods, feels compelled to say, "Thank you for the civility in which you have expressed yourselves," one has to wonder what Chairman Bruce Emad expected at Saturday's meeting.
But then Emad is the same member who also said, "If you put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig," regarding the decently disputed discussion about the accreditation report draft.
College of the Redwoods hosted a public forum last Friday at Cotton Auditorium to present the draft Mendocino Coast Education Master Plan, then the board of trustees met on-campus all day Saturday.
It was a long day that tested the mettle of most. By all counts, it was a more conventional gathering of the trustees, CR President Jeff Marsee, campus
Dean Geisce Ly, students and community members than last year's spirited coast exchange, which likely prompted Emad's observations.
One reason for Saturday's marathon meeting was that eight of the 13 "routine" consent calendar items were pulled for discussion. Trustees questioned subjects ranging from previous meeting minutes to specific purchase orders, curriculum changes, approval of a consultant, the financial report and appointment of a Mendocino Coast representative to the citizens' bond oversight committee.
One highlight of the day was a presentation by Maria Munoz. Norma Watkins introduced Munoz, an ESL (English as a Second Language) student.
Watkins has previously addressed CR management and trustees about the need for and the importance of ESL at the community college level. She serves on the Community College Advocacy Group where she took on the issue of ESL "when I realized CR did not offer it, mainly because I come from a community college where half the students don't speak English and are the first in their family to attend college."
On Saturday, Watkins emphasized that since one-third of area children are Latino, they should be made welcome.
"They are our future students," she said.
This statistic is significant because CR Eureka is pushing the Mendocino fulltime equivalent student population (FTE ) level to 500 as a fiscally essential goal to reach.
Munoz, a mother and ESL community education student, said nervously, "We [Latinos] need opportunities. We work really hard. We want to be good citizens. I'm trying to be better. Family is really important to us, but community is too."
President Marsee encouraged Munoz through her statement and then responded in Spanish. He then commented to all that CR must "respond to the changing demographics of this community."
To re-emphasize his commitment, Marsee said Dean Ly would work to develop a formal outreach program.
"This is not an empty gesture," said Marsee.
Another highlight was a City of Fort Bragg PowerPoint presentation about the future Noyo Center for Science and Education at Fort Bragg project.
The $20,000 million facility on 11.5 acres of the former Georgia Pacific mill site is scheduled to be complete by the summer 2013. Completion is contingent on multiple sources of grant funding and $12 million from Sonoma State University for the G-P site.
Several questions followed Community Development Director Marie Jones' presentation. President Emad concluded, saying it was "exciting" and asking staff to keep them informed on its progress.
Throughout agenda discussions, community concerns mirrored those made at last month's "listening session" with Marsee, Ly and Trustee Barbara Rice:
Inadequate student support services for students with disabilities, the shift from all brick-and-mortar classroom classes to increased online options, the lack of adequate student representation and the future of the Marine Science Technology Program.
Students and faculty addressed persistent problems — from discordant communication with administration to a failure to notify them of meetings and decisions — which, they said, sustain chronic distrust throughout the organization.
Gabriel Maroni, a Mendocino Coast student, referenced last week's newspaper editorial; he said that even the local media was on a "rant" about the lack of communication with the community, which earned him enthusiastic applause.
"We're being informed way too late. Please work with the media and stop trying to limit public input," said Maroni.

Other subjects, including the Education Master Plan and the required "Follow-up Report" to address recommendations made in January by the
Accreditation Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, were reviewed and disputed in detail. These are specific subjects for separate newspaper articles.
Items that trustees directed the administration to place on the next board agenda include a "bigger picture" on the funding stream for ESL curriculum, a report on the $2.3-and-counting million year-to-date self-borrowing to cover expenses until California passed its budget, and a review on the potential for streamlining meetings districtwide.
As a closing statement on how some feel about their status as students, here is a portion of the speech given by student representative Matt Graves:
"I've heard a lot about trust here today. There's an absence of student representation [from the Mendocino Coast Center]. I've been rudely cutoff [in the past] — I don't believe students should be cut off. This facility depends on us. You need to draw from us, meet with us, hear what others have to say.
"Please excuse me if this offends you, but you guys are all old. You're not a reflection of who we [students] are. We think differently than you and you need to hear from us.
"I was told that student representation is off-topic, but that is the topic. Our students want local students to vote for a representative [on the board].
"We're the blood of education. I feel you think you don't answer to students. If you don't include the students, you have no trust."