Sunday, July 8, 2007 | I am writing to express my support of trustees Gloria Carranza, Jackie Simon, and Judy Stratton for their efforts to bring to light the concerns expressed by faculty and staff over the past year and a half of turmoil at MiraCosta College.
In the face of constant pressure and public rebuke by ex-President Victoria Munoz Richart and the board majority members, these three members spoke with integrity and conviction in their defense of due process and collegiality, while protesting the administration’s autocratic decision-making process. Richart’s unwarranted and expensive buy-out came at the end of almost 15 hours of closed-door deliberations. Given the acrimony apparent in recent board meetings, it is not difficult to imagine the hostile environment in which the minority trustees were pressured to sign the buy-out agreement. Expressing their concerns publicly demonstrated their continued commitment to transparency in the governance process.
Any effort to reconcile the errors of the past will require the removal of the board majority. Throughout these difficult times, Carranza, Stratton, and Simons are the only Trustees who have expressed awareness, reasonableness, and concern about the college and have upheld their responsibilities to the public.