It is undeniable that the MCCCD Governing Board has needed to do a massive overhaul on its governance techniques for quite some time now, and it looks like board members are finally moving in the right direction.
In fact, the last governing board meeting I attended on Jan. 26 almost put me to sleep!
There wasn’t even any name-calling (however, I did catch one member roll her eyes at comments made by the chancellor).
While this is an improvement, the board members have a long way to go and are currently beginning to implement some of the suggestions made by an external consulting team put together by Chancellor Rufus Glasper to evaluate their performance.
Last year was filled with disappointments ranging from President Colleen Clark’s DUI, an overall immaturity in the board's internal relations, efforts to suppress the First Amendment and accusations of micro-management, ultimately leading to an investigation conducted by a committee requested by the Higher Learning Commission.
This year the board is tackling issues like respectful communication, a review of the code of conduct, civility among board members, and learning exactly what the board’s governance limits are.
I do not doubt that the above topics are necessary in order for the board to function properly, but I had assumed that these elected officials would have these skills down pat by now. After all, MCCCD is the largest community college district in the world and we cannot afford to let underdeveloped social skills be the fall of this district.
As a student, I have high expectations for the board.
I want to be able to trust that the critical decisions the board makes are in my best interest.
I want our district to be known for its best practices, not the national attention the board members have attracted through embarrassing and immature governing tactics.
I want board members who take responsibility for their decisions, but currently I have only seen them point fingers at one another.
Although the track record of the board is dismal, they deserve kudos for finally admitting that they have problems and that they are beginning to move into action (even if it was forced) with planned retreats designed to teach them how to work more effectively together.
One thing I know about the board members is that they are all human, and all humans are inevitably going to make mistakes and have conflicts.
It is how the board members choose to respond to these mistakes that will define their character and hopefully restore the dignity that the board has lost in the eyes of many of the students.
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