Last night’s board meeting: eyes have been opened

.    I couldn't attend last night’s meeting of the SOCCCD board of trustees 'cause I was at the Greek Theater enjoying the performances of country/bluegrass star Alison Krauss, Led Zep singer Robert Plant, and super-duper producer T Bone Burnett (plus four other musicians, including the great Buddy Miller!). If you get a chance to see the "Raising Sand" show, don’t miss it. (See Times' review.)
.....Monday night, Krauss and Co. will be warblin' in San Diego.

.    Still, I did get a brief report from someone who was there—at the board meeting I mean. (As usual, we await Tracy Daly’s fluffy “Board Meeting Highlights,” which will likely materialize soon. [UPDATE: the "highlights" are now available.] And, don’t forget, the district regularly archives video of board meetings. The video, when available, can be viewed here.)

.    Naturally, the BIG NEWS last night was the appointment of Saddleback College’s new President (see posts below). The announcement was made, I’m told, by death-defying board Clerk Tom Fuentes, who, despite recent liver transplant surgery, was back on the job, scowling (I'm only guessin' about that) and making the world safer for right-wing nutjobs everywhere. (According to Fuentes, the accreditation process is fixed and controlled by, um, faculty. [That's seriously paranoid.] Plus the fellow wants to name Irvine's "great park" Nixon Park. [Nixon was a corrupt bastard, kids.])
.    We’re glad he's recuperating. Fuentes, I mean.

.    Math professor Karla Westphal was on hand to put Board President Don Wagner’s feet to the fire for his allegedly inappropriate speechifying (re trustee prayers) at Saddleback College’s scholarship event. Trustee Nancy Padberg was supportive—of Westphal.

.    During his report, Trustee Wagner, who, for several months, has been working with faculty (and administrators and classified—and even a student) on Irvine Valley College’s accreditation problem, went out of his way to praise these faculty. Working with this crowd, he said, has “opened my eyes.”
.    I’ve followed this saga carefully—early on, I was a detractor of the "focus group" idea—and, in my view, there is zero reason to suspect that Don’s remarks were anything but sincere. Later in the evening, an appreciative IVC Senate Prez Wendy G had an opportunity to return the compliment, which she did, or so I’m told.
.    Again, I do hope that members of the IVC community are keeping tabs on the doings of the IVC Accreditation focus group, for they have worked very hard and intelligently and seem to have generally hovered about consensus on some difficult issues (trustee micromanagement, roles and responsibilities of officers & groups, the climate of “despair,” etc.). Their biweekly (i.e., twice a month) meetings will continue for a month or two.
.    If our college manages to avoid accreditation disaster early in 2009, it will be largely because of the efforts of the focus group.
.    Be not oblivious.
.    Not sure what's going on with Saddleback College's more laid-back focus group, which includes trustee Dave Lang and whose motto appears to be, "What, me worry?" Or, again, so I'm told.

.    There was some discussion of the board's curious decision, a few months ago, to adopt a high level of "reserve" funds. Efforts last night to reconsider the matter were obliterated, I believe, by Trustee Fuentes, who made clear his firm opposition to lowering the percentage.
.    (Ten years ago, our district was placed on the state chancellor's "watch" list when our reserves dipped below the required percentage. Nowadays, however, our district is swimming in extra moola, owing to our "basic aid" funding plus high local property values, to which this funding is keyed.)

.    The ATEP thing passed. (Submittal of long range plan to the city [of Tustin].)

.    (Did you know that the city of Tustin, aka the "City of Trees," has peskified this whole ATEP business in part because certain Tustinites embrace a view of county history according to which Irvine Valley College was supposed to be Tustin's community college [to be located where the Tustin Marketplace now sprawls], but then that dastardly Irvine Co. showed up with "free land" along Jeffrey? [According to this yarn, the Irvine Co was in dutch over some seriously hinky deal, but they made that problem go away with this highly opportune giftage.] So, despite ultra-clear state rules to the contrary [proximity issues], Tustin wants its own friggin' community college [at long last!] there along Redhill, and, so, there you are: inveterate stink-eyed Tustinary peevitude!)

.    That’s all I’ve got. --CW


And here, for no particular reason, is one of my favorite semi-obscure tunes, "Here Comes My Baby," done by the Tremeloes in 1967. (The song was composed by Cat Stevens.)

I don't know why I like this version so much. The band is obviously a bunch of idiots. --Still....

Marla's Q & A with Burnett

As you know, last night, at the monthly SOCCCD board meeting, the trustees announced that Tod Burnett has been named as the President of Saddleback College, succeeding Richard McCullough, who retires at the end of this month. (See A New President.)

I had heard from reliable sources that the Presidential search committee recommended three candidates to Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur, but, upon interviewing those three, Mathur exercised his option to go back to the candidate pool to interview candidates not forwarded to him. The word on the street is that Burnett, who admittedly looks good on paper (although he lacks experience running colleges; he's essentially a politician/bureaucrat), was a beneficiary of that late process. I have no confirmation of this however.

The Register’s Marla Jo Fisher has just posted a Q & A with Burnett:

Q: What’s your family status?
A: I’m unmarried, no kids. I have a dog, though, a fawn pug named Rudy. Yes, he’s named after Rudy Guiliani, whom I had just seen that week and thought it was a good name. He’s the cutest pug in the world.

Q: What’s your favorite music?
A: I love all music but especially 80’s music. My favorite band is Tears for Fears.

Q: What’s in your car CD player right now?
A: Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve

Q: What kind of car do you drive?
A: A gray 2007 Acura RDX. I wish I had a hybrid, though.

Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I like all athletics, tennis, hiking, biking, whitewater rafting. I’m a big college football fan, especially the USC Trojans. I’m excited about the Gaucho football team and all the athletics there. I also like movies, theatre and all the arts, weekend trips to wine country and the mountains. I used to have a cabin in Lake Arrowhead for many years.

Q: Do you have a place to live in Orange County?
A: I’m looking for a place, probably in Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo or Laguna Woods. It’s a 24/7 job so I want to be near campus.

Q: What are you looking forward to, and what makes you nervous about your new job?
A: I’m looking forward most to working directly with the faculty and staff and the community on campus, after working on a statewide level. We all miss that. The traffic makes me anxious.

Q: What one thing would you like students to know about you?
A: That they can come to me for any reason, with anything they want. I’m accessible.

Q: The South Orange County Community College District has been under fire from a variety of sources over the years. Did you have any trepidation about coming here?
A: No, not at all. I think one reason I was selected is because I’m an outside fresh face. I believe everybody is there for the students, hopefully I will be helpful.

Q: What will you be wearing on campus? A suit and tie?
A: Good question. I have to figure out what’s appropriate to the culture of Saddleback College.

Q: What kind of movies do you like?
A: I like a lot of action adventure. My favorite is Indiana Jones. I also like heavy dramas.

Q: What did you think about the new Indiana Jones movie?
A: It was pretty good but not as good as Raiders of the Lost Ark. That was my favorite.

Q: What are you reading right now.
A: I’m reading a business book, “The Long Tail” about Internet and advertising marketing and sales; also, don’t laugh, but “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” I love all those fantasy-adventure type books.

Q: What do you think about Orange County TV shows like the OC or Real Housewives of Orange County?
A: I have to say I have never seen them.

(I asked Rebel Girl if she'd read the above Q&A, and all she could say was, "80s music?! Tears for freakin' Fears!?"—something like that. I couldn't get her to move beyond it. Classic Rebel Girl.)

A big victory for Education Alliance

The attempted recall of two school board trustees of the Capo Unified School District (CUSD) was at long last successful last night (see articles below). But the group that achieved this change in CUSD leadership got a substantial portion of its political funding from Education Alliance, a right-wing “back to basics” group with ties to several trustees of the SOCCCD board. (See Education Alliance.) Be on the lookout for hubris.

• LA Times: Capistrano Unifed school board members are recalled:

With the recall Tuesday night of two school trustees in South Orange County, a group of parents, politicians and gadflies claimed their greatest in a series of recent victories: control of the embattled 50,000-student Capistrano Unified School District.

With relatively low turnout, about 70% of voters approved recalling Marlene Draper and Sheila Benecke, who between them have 36 years of experience on the board, and replacing them with substitute teacher Sue Palazzo and termed-out Assemblyman Ken Maddox….

• OC Register: New Capo trustees pledge openness:

Capistrano Unified's new trustees-elect, Sue Palazzo and Ken Maddox, on Tuesday pledged an era of open communication and redoubled examination of school affairs. 
“The days of trying to gloss over things are over,” Palazzo said. “At the beginning of my term, it's just going to be truth. People will feel they can talk, raise questions that will be answered truthfully. ”

Maddox and Palazzo will join trustees Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson and Larry Christensen in creating a five-person bloc on Capistrano's seven-member school board, once election results are certified….
…
Parents skeptical of the new five-person majority will be carefully watching the board's every move.
Anti-recall leaders have cited a link between the CUSD Recall Committee and the Tustin-based Education Alliance, a political action committee that opposes health clinics and bilingual education in schools, advocates for school vouchers, and wants to curb the power and influence of teacher unions. The recall committee received almost half of its political donations in 2006 from the Education Alliance. Maddox, a former state assemblyman who knows Education Alliance co-founder Mark Bucher through Republican circles, said Tuesday he had not received any donations from the alliance, but would not turn down money from the group.
“There are some things Mark and I agree on, and other things we don't,” Maddox said, citing school vouchers as an area of disagreement. 
“What is for sure is that voters can expect to see five unique individuals who bring their talents to the school board. We're not sitting around as a collective trying to formulate one goal. We are just five people wanting to see a change in the district. ”
Palazzo said the widespread rumors that she and the four other trustees were plotting to take over the school board and enact drastic changes at the district level were unfounded and untrue.
"I have been a public school teacher for almost 40 years, and I follow the California state law,” she said….

WHO IS MARK BUCHER?

• According to the OC Republican Party,

Mark has been actively involved in politics since the 1993 Proposition 174 [174 was a "voucher" initiative] school choice campaign, when he acted as the volunteer coordinator for Orange County . His observations during that campaign of the power and influence of the unions in our state led him to found the Education Alliance, a group dedicated to assisting school board candidates who are independent of education unions, as well as authoring, qualifying, and chairing Proposition 226, which would have required unions to receive permission to use their members’ dues for political purposes.

Mark also oversaw the qualification of Proposition 22, the Defense of Marriage Initiative, as well as Proposition 38, a school choice initiative.

Mark obtained his undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Biola University , and his Juris Doctorate from Western State University , where he graduated Summa Cum Laude first in his class, and with the additional honor of Valedictorian. Mark lives in Tustin with his wife, Hanne and their 3 children.

• MARK BUCHER's role in "Fuentes-world" (from Fuentes-world, Part 1):

Back in 1993, Bucher, then a businessman, and two pals—James Righeimer and Frank Ury—fought for passage of the “school voucher” initiative (Prop 174). Apparently, when that measure failed, the three amigos founded “Education Alliance,” in Tustin, an organization dedicated to placing “conservatives, particularly Christian conservatives, on local school boards” (Cosmo Garvin).

At the time, Frank Ury was a trustee on the Saddleback Valley Unified School District board—having been elected as part of a slate that took out trustee Raghu Mathur in ‘92!—but, owing to Ury’s support of the voucher initiative, he lost in 1996 to an opponent who was heavily financed by the California Teachers Association (CTA), of which, incidentally, Raghu was a member. (CTA is the parent organization of our own Faculty Association.)

A New President for Saddleback College

Marla Jo Fisher’s College Life Blog reports the following:

.....It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but trustees have appointed Tod Burnett, statewide vice chancellor for California community colleges, as the new president of Saddleback College.
.....Burnett will replace Rich McCullough, who’s retiring. In New York City this week at a conference, Burnett, 45, said this morning he plans to start his new job August 1, after finding a place to live and taking a short vacation in Hawaii.
.....An alumnus of Pepperdine, USC and UC Riverside, Burnett said he’s a sports fan who’s looking forward to rooting for the Gauchos. He pledged to keep his door open to students and said he’s excited to be on campus working directly with faculty and students, rather than in Sacramento.
.....Born in West Covina, Burnett said he has family and friends throughout Orange County, and will likely look for a place to live near the campus.
.....While at the system office in Sacramento, Burnett has been responsible for the systemwide strategic plan and overseeing policy initiatives.
.....Burnett, who formerly was deputy appointments secretary to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said he wasn’t scared off by bad press over the years about the South Orange County Community College District, which operates Saddleback.
.....“I think one reason I was selected is that I’m a fresh face coming from the outside,” he said. “I believe everybody is there for the students and that’s what matters.”

At the State Chancellor's office website, one finds the following description of Burnett:

.....Dr. Tod A. Burnett was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as Vice Chancellor on January 1, 2006. In this capacity, he coordinates implementation of the California Community Colleges System Strategic Plan and is responsible for the development, formulation, coordination and communication of complex and highly sensitive policy initiatives for the System Office. He is also an Associate Faculty at the University of Phoenix. Prior to joining the Community Colleges System Office, Tod served as Deputy Appointments Secretary for Governor Schwarzenegger where he advised the Governor on making political appointments to hundreds of full and part-time positions in State government.
.....Previously, Tod was Director of State and Local Government Relations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Administrator Christie Todd Whitman and Commissioner on the City of Los Angeles Board of Public Works appointed by Mayor Richard Riordan. His private sector experience includes Chief Financial & Operating Officer of the law firm of Gascou, Gemmill & Thornton; Vice President of Eva Gabor International, Ltd.; Assistant Vice President for Union Bank's Merchant Banking Department; and Financial Analyst for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company's Capital Markets Group.
.....Tod is a strong proponent of youth leadership education. He served as President of the Board of Directors of California Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership, Inc. (HOBY), a non-profit organization that seeks out, recognizes and develops leadership potential of high school students. In 1999, he was selected among over 5,000 volunteers worldwide as HOBY’s National Volunteer of the Year.
.....Tod holds an Education Doctorate Degree in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Administrative Studies from the University of California, Riverside. Tod was born and has lived in the Los Angeles metropolitan area most of his life, except for two years both in Chicago and Washington, D.C. He has resided in the Sacramento area since 2003.

FURTHER INFO, FACTOIDS:

• Evidently, Burnett is not averse to participating in politics, and, for once, they don’t seem to be right-leaning. See his recent endorsement of Democrat Laurette Healey for Assembly.