Rocking a board super majority

Humberto Peraza was philosophical before his recent election to the Southwestern College Governing Board.

“Yes, I’m running hard to get elected,” he said. “But whoever wins is going to have to deal with a big crap sandwich.”

Newly-elected Peraza and William Stewart are now in line at the sandwich counter. Even with the passing of Proposition 30, we are in for stormy weather.

We need people who are going to stand by the students in these hard times. We need people who understand the value of getting a degree, but know how hard it is to come up with the money to become educated.

California is reforming its once-amazing higher education systems because of shrinking budgets. California has had to make difficult decisions that affect students pursuing an education and so has SWC.

Southwestern had the added burden of repairing massive damage done to it by the incompetent fugitive superintendent Raj Chopra and his cowardly chorus of crooks. Since 2010 we have been cleaning house. Nearly a score of dishonest and incompetent board members and administrators are gone. Reformers Norma Hernandez, Tim Nader and Peraza are augmented by newcomer Stewart, to form a solid 4-1 majority. Chopra-loving Terri Valladolid is outnumbered and should not be able to do too much more damage until the community can turn her out in 2014. Feels like we have our very own SWC Justice League.

In August 2011 Peraza came to SWC to help clean up the college’s mess and that is just what he did. In a little more than a year Peraza, Hernandez and Nader hired a bright and energetic superintendent, Dr. Melinda Nish.

They ended the pay-for-play culture of corruption, locked in improvements made during the accreditation push and cut loose a few more low-performing administrators.

Peraza has said the biggest challenge facing SWC is the budget and getting Proposition 30 to pass. Now students and faculty can wonder what Peraza’s plans are for the few funds we do have. We hope the board and administration will make classes and access their top priority.

Cutting is one way to balance a budget, Peraza says, generating income is another. He has been insisting that SWC do a better job generating its own revenue. Instead of waiting for money to trickle down from Sacramento, he wants to help students by using the stadium to host local and international events.

“We cannot cut our way out of this situation,” he said. “By the time we balance the budget with cuts, their will be nothing left of Southwestern College.”

Peraza has also said he wants to roll-out a local hiring process to help companies owned by veterans and disabled-citizens which would create jobs for students and community members instead of shoveling more money to companies that do not reinvest in this community. Chopra and Co. sent tens of millions of SWC district taxpayer funds to companies that did little more than suck us dry. Peraza says, “ya basta!”

Like Peraza, Stewart also wants to create a plan for students that works. As a San Diego City College faculty member he is the right guy for the job because he knows how much the budget cuts hurt. In his 27 years in community colleges Stewart has seen our state put education on a pedestal then drag it down and cart if off like the Saddam Hussein monuments of Iraq.

Stewart said he wants to keep education a priority and encourage young people to earn degrees.

He said he wants to make an impact and help keep the fire burning for students who think achieving their dreams and aspirations are no longer possible in the Golden State.

Stewart said he is not afraid to make tough decisions in the face of more budget cuts. He said he would rather say no to class cuts and find other ways to save money. Cuts, he said, should be made as far from the classroom as possible.

SWC has people with heart and our leaders seem to believe they can get our college back on track. We need to continue raising our voices in the community because the community fueled this revolution. Our voters chose well with people like Stewart, Peraza, Hernandez and Nader. Our voters are watching and they expect Southwestern College to continue its rise from the ashes.