Del Norte Education Center

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Published on 5/24/2016.

On Monday, May 16th, members of College of the Redwoods Faculty Organization (CRFO) and the Associated Students of College of the Redwoods (ASCR) held meetings in the Capitol with Assemblyman Jim Wood and Senator Mike McGuire to advocate for state funding to be fairly distributed.

Currently, the College is owed $5.9 million to be reimbursed for mandated costs that had been deferred during the state’s recent economic collapse and budget crisis.

Math professor Todd Olsen organized the trip with the assistance of Faculty Association of California Community Colleges (FACCC) Executive Director Jonathan Lightman, who also participated in the meetings. The advocacy group included three other faculty members—math professor Mike Haley (CRFO President), psychology professor Michelle Haggerty (CRFO Vice-President), and English and environmental studies professor Pete Blakemore (CRFO Grievance Officer)—and two ASCR officers, Quang-Minh Pham (ASCR President) and Lhiam Howard (2015-16 ASCR Student Trustee), who traveled with the faculty and attended the meetings to offer the student perspective.

Along with FACCC Legislative Advocate Matt Canty, the large group held thorough and substantive meetings with both Assemblyman Wood and Senator McGuire, and with Elias Regalado, the Director of Fiscal Standards and Accountability in the California Community College Chancellor’s Office.

At each of the meetings, the group also pointed to College of the Redwoods’ need for stability funding of the kind recently legislated for City College of San Francisco. Though staff and faculty pulled together to give College of the Redwoods a clean bill of health and excellent status with the accrediting agency, sanctions from the past 7 or 8 years have come at a cost in enrollment and expenses.

Members of this advocacy group are currently consulting with the President and other administrators to join with other California community colleges working through similar issues and challenges.