Santa Rosa Junior College board election taking shape

Candidates for public office can't formally declare their intention to run in the November election until Monday, but the contest for four seats on the Santa Rosa Junior College Board of Trustees already is taking shape.

Despite what's been a particularly challenging year for campus leadership, all four of the affected incumbents are poised to seek re-election Nov. 6 to the board, which is made up of seven members and a student representative.

There's at least one challenger, as well.

Whoever wins will confront looming funding and enrollment declines that could reshape the century-old institution, as school officials adapt to new budget constraints linked largely to falling student registration.

There also are ongoing, though reportedly successful efforts to resolve discord between college President Frank Chong and several campus groups.

Tensions boiled over last spring, when both faculty and student organizations passed votes of “no confidence” in Chong after his administration unexpectedly canceled up to three-quarters of the school's summer class offerings mere days before registration was to begin in an effort to save money. The cancellations were later rescinded.

In the months since, discussions have been underway among top officials about “right-sizing” the school to account for Sonoma County's changing demographics, declining full-time student numbers and a long-term drop in state contributions.

Incumbent trustees say they're committed to seeing the transition through and to do what they can to maintain the course selection and academic excellence for which the school is known while finding ways to tailor operations and reduce spending as painlessly as possible.

The incumbents seeking to retain their seats include former educators Maggie Fishman and Dorothy Battenfeld, who were elected for the first time four years ago amid a wave of fresh faces voted onto the board.

First-term incumbent Jordan Burns, who was out of the country and unavailable for comment this week, has formed a re- election committee and is reportedly intent on running, too.

Twelve-year veteran Jeff Kunde also has confirmed his plans to seek another four-year term, though he faces opposition in Sonoma attorney John Kelly, a member of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District Board who has entered the race in Kunde's district.

The board has recently made moves to plug a $6.5 million spending gap in the $159 million 2018-19 school budget, in part by eliminating several vacant management posts and restructuring in select personnel areas.

The task is much less daunting than was anticipated in spring, when the budget deficit was estimated to be larger. Additional funding for community colleges since included in the state budget, as well as fire recovery relief from the state chancellor, have provided trustees some breathing room as they adjust to the reduced budget.

“We have a year or two to really look at where we're going and where we need to be,” Battenfeld, of Santa Rosa, said. “We have time to really be more thoughtful about it.”

But Kelly, a father of three young children, said the state of urgency that inspired him to get involved remains.

“The college has been an amazing resource for the county for the last hundred years,” said Kelly, 42. “We want to make sure that it is there for the next hundred years, and the crisis that has occurred at the college has, I think, drawn our attention to make sure that happens.”

Others interested in serving in the unpaid post have until Aug. 10 to file the proper paperwork with the Sonoma County elections office in order to get their names on the ballot.

The junior college, which just graduated its largest class ever in June, remains a key county institution, educating tens of thousands of associate-degree and transfer students each year.

But enrollment has fallen by about a quarter since peaking in the early 2000s - and with it, state funding. The county's rising cost of living, an aging population and shifting economics are among the major factors, officials say.

The makeup of the Board of Trustees was largely static for years, with members serving a decade or even two before retiring. Former member B. Robert Burdo served 29 years.

Then in 2014, voters elected Fishman, a retired high school teacher, to represent the south county area; Battenfeld, 63, who was still finishing her final years at Montgomery High School; and Burns, then just 30.

Two year later, Mariana Martinez, a professor of Chicano studies at Sonoma State University still in her 30s, defeated a 24-year veteran, another surprising upset.

Current incumbents said the resulting board membership works well together while better reflecting the diversity of the county and student population.

“They're all very good individuals,” said Kunde, the 62-year-old chairman of Kunde Family Winery.

Fishman, the current board president and south county representative, said it's premature to assume she'll be running unopposed. But if someone else decides to run, she said she'll work harder to ensure she can “be part of the solution” at the college. She said she wants to reduce barriers to student attendance, tackling topics like housing, transportation and financial assistance.

“The community colleges really are almost the last bastion of providing an equitable access for people in our democracy,” said Fishman, 66, a Penngrove resident. “It's such an important piece of not just the educational process, but also our democracy, to have an educated electorate.”

Said Kunde, “Our family's been here for over 100 years. I went to the school. My kids went to the school. I'm doing this, not as any special agenda. I do this to give back to the community, and I believe in Santa Rosa Junior College.”

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Santa Rosa Junior College has a $6.5 million budget shortfall. An earlier version of this story misstated the size of the shortfall.