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Five Southwestern College employees were laid off at the April governing board meeting as part of a structural reorganization announced by Superintendent Dr. Raj K. Chopra. Chopra eliminated positions, reassigned several employees and combined two schools among other changes. SWC's governing board voted 4-1 to approve the plan.
Members of the campus community addressed the board for 45 minutes to speak against the reorganization. Faculty, staff and students defended the jobs of laid off employees and questioned the wisdom of the plan. Issues of shared governance, harassment and retaliation were raised during public oral communication. Faculty and staff members asked who would do the work of the eliminated personnel. And some people questioned the merging of two schools.
Chopra told the board the reorganization cut expenses at the college by $1.5 million, which was necessary in order to balance the 2009-10 budget and prepare the college for a possible cut in state education funding. Chopra refused to speak to reporters from the Sun, but gave a written statement to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
"Difficult decisions need to be made considering the entire college's needs during fiscally challenging times," said the statement. "It is noteworthy that no programs have been cut and no faculty members have been laid off."
Campus takes sides
Faculty representatives questioned the impact of Chopra's cuts. Two weeks after the meeting, the Academic Senate voted No Confidence in Chopra and wrote a resolution accusing him of having "a total lack of regard" for SWC's shared governance guidelines. Some speakers in the Academic Senate said although Chopra had cut non-faculty employees, the elimination of the personnel would put more weight on faculty.
"Chances are we might have to cancel a lot of our performances here on campus because Silvia Lugo, our performing arts coordinator's position, has been eliminated," said SWC Director of Mariachi Activities Dr. Jeff Nevin. "Imagine if we have a swimming team, but they fired the person who takes care of the pool."
The classified employees union and Classified Senate, which represent the service and maintenance workers on campus, were in line to follow in the faculty's footsteps and vote on a No Confidence resolution, but their votes were cancelled at the last minute for unknown reasons. Classified senators and employees had spoken of fear and retaliation when they had originally decided to put the secret ballot vote on the agenda.
Mike Selby, classified union president, told the governing board at the April meeting that he was "disgusted."
"My observation is that shared governance at this institution doesn't exist," Selby said.
SWC's Council of Chairs, which represents 25 departments on campus, voted No Confidence in Chopra at its April 30 special meeting. Its resolution said SWC no longer had the capability to pursue outside funding, including grants. It also accused Chopra of misrepresenting the SWC budget and not allowing for transparency in its creation.
The chairs' resolution said the body took "great exception to the process by which the Superintendent/President makes decisions without adhering to the tenets of shared governance." The chairs called for the governing board to provide a written response by June 15.
Art department students marched around SWC carrying a coffin to represent "the death of shared governance," said one protester. They marched on three different days, once culminating at a billboard with Chopra's face on a game of pin the tail on the donkey.
SWC's Associated Student Organization has not commented on the reorganization.
"The ASO has not taken a stance on Dr. Chopra's No Confidence vote or any issue," said ASO Vice President Nestor Espinoza at a recent meeting, "because it has not reached the table."
Chopra refused multiple interview requests over a period of three weeks. He referred questions to Vice President for Human Resources Michael Kerns, who said the reorganization would allow SWC to meet its contractual obligations and place the college in a position to be prepared for future financial stress. Chopra and the cabinet spent four to five months preparing the reorganization and met with every area of the campus to take input, Kerns said.
"Input is so valuable," he said. "Each group did an outstanding job giving input. The concern was that once the plan was finalized they didn't have an opportunity to approve that final plan. That would not, from my perspective, be appropriate. That is our responsibility."
School Merger
The reorganization also merged two of SWC's eight schools. The School of Business and Information Systems and the School of Applied Technology and Learning Assistance were combined to form the School of Career/Technical Education and Learning Assistance. This resulted in the reassignment of business school dean Irma Alvarez, who will now oversee SWC's Higher Education Centers in San Ysidro and Otay Mesa.
Faculty members said the loss of Alvarez would adversely impact the school's programs because she had intimate ties with the community. Students and faculty also said the loss of the word "business" in the school's title would weaken the credibility of an SWC business major.
Kerns responded to both concerns.
"These two schools have a strong correlation as far as having a variety of technical programs," he said.
Kerns said the new name is more reflective of the programs offered within these schools.
"The title is much more comprehensive," said Kerns. "This school truly is a variety of different career and technical programs."
Due to the merger, a single dean will be responsible for what were once two separate schools. Although this may mean an increase in workload, Kerns said, he expressed confidence in Dean Trish Axsom.
"She is an outstanding administrator and the transition will work very well," said Kerns.
The most controversial aspect of the reorganization was the elimination of five positions, which caused layoffs. Kerns said layoffs were an unfortunate but necessary last resort.
"There was no other way to accomplish that kind of savings," he said.
The administration's primary goal was to achieve financial stability without cutting programs or services that directly affect students, Kerns said. Layoffs are never welcome, he said, but temporary decreases in salaries and furloughs were seen as temporary fixes.
"It's a tough decision, but the decision that I truly believe is in the best interest of the college," said Kerns.
Grants
A single grant writer position replaced a three-person grant office in the reorganization. Some faculty are asking how the elimination of a money-raising department would help SWC's financial crisis. The grant office had been in operation at SWC for 25 years, the last 13 under the leadership of Director of Grants and Development Linda Gilstrap. The department had raised $70 million for SWC during her tenure, said Gilstrap.
SWC Outreach
During the April governing board meeting Director of Outreach Fernando Poveda, whose position is being eliminated, told the board he had registered whistleblower status. He then laid out a point-by-point case of alleged retaliation and harassment towards himself and the outreach department.
About a year earlier he had brought forward reports of a hostile work environment in the SWC student service area. Poveda said Chopra's reorganization plan would "dismantle" the Outreach Office.
Besides Gilstrap and Poveda, the reorganization eliminated the positions of Performing Arts Coordinator Silvia Lugo, Web Technologist Elisandra Singh and Director of Community and Media Relations Nevada Smith.
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