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By Alexa Lima
Southwestern College has new buildings, new facilities, more administrators, more students … but fewer classified employees.
That has to change said Silvia Nogales, president of SWC’s California School Employees Association unit, the union for classified workers. Understaffing causes overwork and exhaustion for the employees who are struggling to pick up the slack.
“There are a lot (of vacancies), that is why we are voicing our concerns to the governing board,” she said. “We want the board to ask questions to the president and shift their priorities. (They need) to (fill) these job (vacancies). These (empty positions) are the back bones (of the college). These are the people (required) to open (and operate) our campuses.”
SWC has record numbers of unfilled vacancies. Last summer former Vice President of Financial Affairs Daniel Villanueva reported 72 vacant classified positions. There are even more now.
Nogales said the failure to replace essential employees has left the campus dirty, unsanitary and unkempt. Students and faculty suffer from slow or absent basic services. There are only two gardeners responsible for five campuses, she said, along with a single plumber, one electrician and no pool technicians.
“We simply don’t have enough custodians, maintenance staff or groundskeepers,” she said. “It’s a critical mass issue. There just aren’t enough people to maintain the facilities.”
Insufficient staffing has fueled complaints from the community about cleanliness and maintenance, Nogales said.
“We have only four or five custodians on duty during the day for the entire campus and just 35 working the graveyard shift,” she said. “Twenty-five years ago it was manageable. We had fewer buildings, fewer bathrooms. That’s no longer the case.”
Some help may be on the way, she said. SWC plans to hire 12 custodians—six for daytime shifts, six for nights.
Nogales said she is very concerned about staffing in the Food Services Department, especially with the pending opening of a ponderous new cafeteria that will include two kitchens and serve conference facilities. The entire food services team is currently working out of the tiny Time Out Café managing catering events, filling to-go orders and supporting large district functions.
“There is no way that they will be able to keep up with the demand from the new buildings and all the increased level of activities with only five full-time employees,” she said.
Nogales said she supports the idea of having a Conference Center on the Chula Vista campus but said there are not enough employees to maintain such a large and labor-intensive facility.
“We are down to the bare bones,” she said. “We are missing bones at this point.”
Nogales said SCEA’s priority right now is the decimated Business and Financial Affairs Department, which has more than 40 vacancies. Slow service in Business Affairs directly impacts students and faculty, she said.
“(Our) employees are doing double duty by filling in the work left behind from vacancies,” she said. “They are still responsible for their current job and then they have to pick up this extra work and they are only here eight hours.”
Nogales said classified employees are feeling discouraged and frustrated because the district has left critical vacancies unfilled for months, even years. The district has neglected to update job descriptions for years, which is holding up hiring.
Instead, she said, college leaders have outsourced work, spending more than $200,000 on external agencies—money that could have hired at least four full-time staff. The college has been without a Director of Facilities since last year, leaving no one to properly oversee maintenance jobs or ensure they are filled with competent replacements.
Full-time classified staff are good for the college and community in so many often unseen ways, said Nogales. Permanent employees tend to be more committed to the college’s mission and values, she said, creating a stronger sense of belonging. A dedicated, full-time team helps build consistency and trust across campus.
“Maintenance, grounds and custodial are areas the community, students and employees actually see and feel the effects of not having enough personal,” Nogales said. “If trash isn’t picked up or restrooms aren’t clean or restocked everyone notices. If trees are overgrown and cracking the cement, we notice.”
SWC has one plumber for the whole district, Nogales said. He takes care of 50 water heaters, 467 toilets, 874 sinks, 151 urinals, 85 drinking fountains and 195 showers – not including new construction. The college needs at least two plumbers to have a “full functioning” crew. Nogales said one plumber position has gone unfilled for 10 years.
There is only one staff electrician, Nogales said. He was injured last year and out for two months, leaving the college with no electrical specialist.
Grounds and irrigation technician Enrique Gonzalez spoke at the last governing board meeting and told trustees that his area is understaffed. Grounds employees are essential for student safety, he said, something most people probably do not consider.
“We need more people in the grounds department. We are five people only,” he said. “This campus keeps growing and growing. It (does) not have enough staff. We are thin.”
Gonzalez said maintaining trees is a safety issue, as well as cactus and other plants that require trimming.
College president Dr. Mark blamed Shared Governance and a slow hiring system for the backlog. He has rejected the notion that the college is top heavy with administrators.
“It’s not that the district is never committed to hiring those positions, we had those positions in place and because people are getting other jobs—getting better jobs—they move on. So when you do that it creates vacancies that you then have to go back and back fill,” he said. “We are in an environment of participatory governance, so we have to put committees together and screen applications. (This is) where in the process of filling those positions we consider vital for the district. It just takes time.”
