Four candidates are running for two seats on the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District's governing board in races that lack the drama of the hard-fought 2006 election but still have plenty at stake.
The board will select a new chancellor to lead the 27,000-student district and a new president for Cuyamaca College, which, like Grossmont College, is growing and expanding its facilities. The board will also preside over a district with a recent history of labor unrest and financial challenges. Community college districts across the state are worried about state funding reductions.
Incumbent Timothy Caruthers, a chiropractor, and Mary Kay Rosinski, a special education teacher, are running for Seat 4. Both voice concerns about ethical behavior in the El Cajon-based district. The United Faculty, the district's faculty union, has endorsed Rosinski.
Incumbent Bill Garrett, retired El Cajon city manager, and Moe Bakeer, a security officer, are running for Seat 3. Bakeer could not be reached for comment. He did not file a candidate statement with the county Registrar of Voters and did not return a candidate questionnaire to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
In 2006, 13 candidates ran for four seats and control of the five-member board. About $260,000 poured into the campaigns.
Three incumbents were opposed by a slate of union and faculty-backed candidates, including Rosinski. Garrett, Deanna Weeks and Rick Alexander kept their seats. Greg Barr, who was backed by the union and a political action committee, won the other seat.
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Seat 3
BILL GARRETT
Age: 64
Residence: El Cajon
Community involvement: Past president, El Cajon Rotary Club; member, El Cajon Historical Society; past member, San Diego East County Development Council.
Occupation: Retired El Cajon city manager
Education: Master's, California State University Fullerton; bachelor's, University of Washington.
MOE BAKEER
(Did not return questionnaire)
Residence: El Cajon
Occupation: Security officer
TIMOTHY CARUTHERS
Age: 50
Residence: Alpine
Community involvement: Soccer coach, AYSO; martial arts instructor; has provided job training for high school students with special needs
Occupation: Chiropractor
Education: Bachelor's, San Diego State University; chiropractic degree, Palmer University.
MARY KAY ROSINSKI
Age: 52
Residence: El Cajon
Community involvement: Awarded three proposals to have AmeriCorps teams provide support to students; involved in California Teachers Association; American Speech Language Hearing Association.
Occupation: Teacher
Education: Master's, San Diego State University.
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Garrett, 64, is the current board president. He is seeking his first four-year term. He was appointed in 2004 and won a two-year term in 2006.
Garrett said he is running on his experience as a leader who understands funding issues and student needs.
“It's important to have someone who understands finance as it relates to the statewide budget issue and making sure the college district spends its money prudently and wisely,” Garrett said.
Garrett is also leading a district task force that is looking for ways to reduce the cost of student textbooks.
Caruthers, a trustee since 1996, is also emphasizing his experience.
“There's significant issues that need to be addressed, state, federal funding budget (issues), lot of new buildings, growth,” he said.
Caruthers said he was involved in the selection of Chancellor Omero Suarez a decade ago and Grossmont College President Sunita Cooke last year.
Caruthers and Suarez had a falling-out in recent years.
In 2006, Caruthers publicly disclosed that Suarez had deleted the buyout clause on his contract without board approval. The clause called for up to 12 months of severance pay if Suarez was released from his contract.
State law now allows up to 18 months of severance, fueling speculation that Suarez wanted to ensure an additional six months of pay in case a new board was elected and decided to let him go. Suarez said he ordered the clause reinserted after he realized he hadn't followed proper procedures.
Suarez was not disciplined, but his relationship with the board became strained. In March, he announced he would retire next year.
The contract controversy became an issue during the 2006 elections, and the county grand jury made specific reference to it in a report this year about ethical issues in the region's five community college districts.
Rosinski, a special-education teacher, said she would push to implement all the grand jury's recommendations to increase oversight of community colleges, including establishing an ethics commission.
She said she's concerned about students questioning the integrity of the district.
“My motivation is to make the board a better group of trustees,” she said.
Caruthers said he liked the idea of an ethics commission but is concerned about the cost to districts of establishing one.
He said he's not concerned that the United Faculty has endorsed his opponent. “A union-backed candidate is going to polarize the board more,” he said.
Rosinski said her experience as a labor leader in the National School District, where she teaches, would be an asset. “I have lots of experience with negotiations,” she said.
She's also concerned the district spends too much money on legal fees, including defending the firing of a science teacher at Grossmont College. A Superior Court judge recently reversed the firing.
She said she would push to cut administration costs and hire more full-time teachers.
Leonel Sanchez: (619) 542-4568; leonel.sanchez@uniontrib.com
