The challengers for seats on the governing board overseeing College of the Canyons spent their time at the candidate forum hosted by The Signal explaining how COC can be the backbone of the Santa Clarita Valley and agreeing that the search for a new president of the college is paramount.  Four candidates for the Santa Clarita Community College District board of trustees spoke at Grace Baptist Church on Friday evening about what they would do if elected to the board. The forum was moderated by Signal Editor Tim Whyte.   There was one candidate in attendance for each seat up for election: Darlene Trevino, running for Trustee Area No. 1; Scott Schauer, running for Trustee Area No. 2; Fred Arnold, running for Trustee Area No. 3; and Sharlene Johnson, running for Trustee Area No. 4.  Arnold is currently the chair of the COC Foundation, while Johnson sits on the foundation’s board of directors and Schauer was previously a member of it. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for the college.  The incumbents — board President Edel Alonso and Jerry Danielsen — were not in attendance, and neither were Andrew Taban and Tasha Hoggatt, running for Trustee Area No. 3, nor Michelle Kampbell, running for Trustee Area No. 1.  Fred Arnold, a candidate for the College of the Canyons governing board, participates in a candidate forum hosted by The Signal on Friday evening at Grace Baptist Church. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. All of the candidates in attendance said that the selection of a permanent head of the college is the most important job that the board has in the near future. Former Chancellor Dianne Van Hook was placed on leave by the current board in July before she eventually announced her retirement.  “The college is the backbone of the community,” Arnold said. “If you think of how much the college has affected your family, affected your employees, affected your children — it drives education, it drives values, it drives socio-economic development, it drives the community … I think now more than ever, the college needs to go back and reach out to the community and see what the jobs of tomorrow are and see how we move forward in such a strategic, visionary way, very much like Dr. Van Hook did for the last 35 years.”  Johnson, a local real estate agent, also said she looks at the college as a way to build the workforce in the Santa Clarita Valley. She said she lives by the mantra of, “The meaning of life is finding your gift; the purpose of life is giving it away.”  “I have revisited the college a couple of different times to continue my own development,” Johnson said. “And that is something that College of the Canyons not only does for those new-entry students, but also they do it for students that are constantly revisiting and augmenting their skill set. We have an amazing department that also provides other certifications for those in the business community.”  Trevino, owner of the Trevino Law Firm in Palmdale, said her platform is based on student success, career-ready graduates and an affordable education.  “We need to focus on the workforce. We need to focus on our aligning our curriculum with local jobs to feed that market,” Trevino said. “That’s what kids are going, or adults coming back to education — they’re going there to learn a skill, a trade, to feed our community, so that we can have those local jobs, so that we can have the tax dollars stay within our community.”  Scott Schauer, president for the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Foundation and candidate for the College of the Canyons governing board, participates in a candidate forum hosted by The Signal on Friday evening at Grace Baptist Church. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. Schauer, a local business owner, concurred with the other candidates in attendance, saying that if the college is transparent and accountable, then it will thrive along with the SCV. He referenced Van Hook’s departure, along with a few other high-ranking administrators leaving over the past couple months, as reasons for a strong leader to be brought in to replace the former chancellor.  The college is currently being led by David Andrus, a former political science professor at COC, on an interim basis.  “We have lost 125 years of experienced administration in the last few months, and we need a leader that’s going to build that back up,” Schauer said. “We need to build this community college. And I think the biggest thing that I’d like to see happen in when we serve for the four years is we put that word ‘trust’ back in the word ‘trustee,’ and that we are accountable and that we are transparent. There’s an issue with transparency at the college right now, as many of you know, and we need to straighten that issue out.”  While transparency was a big talking point for the candidates in attendance, accountability, they said, should be left to the head of the college when it comes to district staff. But holding the leader accountable, and being accountable as a board, were all ideas that each of the four candidates spoke on.  Attorney Darlene Trevino participates in a debate forum for the College of the Canyons governing board hosted by The Signal on Friday evening at Grace Baptist Church. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. “We enforce policy. That’s what the board of directors does,” Trevino said. “But, and again, with the president there, that’s the day-to-day operation. But I would circle back on transparency. I would circle back on being able to listen to what’s going on, engaging in the community, engaging with the faculty and with the students, so that we can work together for the better interest of everybody.”  Arnold said his biggest focus would be on hiring the right person to lead the college so that accountability isn’t something that needs to be worried about. He said someone who will reach out to the community and listen to what it wants from the local college is critical.  “What is our vision for 2030? What is our vision for 2035, 2042 when my granddaughter is potentially going to be going there?” Arnold asked. “What is the vision of the college and how does it fit into the community, is probably the No. 1 thing. Building trust, as Scott had mentioned back with the community, that is critical that we do that. We need to reach out to the community. They need to have a say in the community college. It is a community college. It is a college that has been our gem for so long, and we need to restore that trust more than ever.”  Arnold also touched on how the remaining $100 million or so left in the Measure E bond fund will be used as one of the key actions that the board will take during this next term.  Schauer said a leader who is experienced is necessary and recommended a national search to find someone who fits the community.  Sharlene Johnson, a candidate for the College of the Canyons governing board, participates in a candidate forum hosted by The Signal on Friday evening at Grace Baptist Church. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. “We have one of the best colleges in the state,” Schauer said, “and we need the best leader to run that college.”  Johnson said the partnership with the William S. Hart Union High School District when it comes to career technical education needs to continue, and possibly expanded as more workforce jobs become needed.  “I think being able to focus on collaborations in the community to build up transitions into the workforce are going to be really vital. It’s going to be vital that’s going to affect us fiscally and then also provide us, not only students, but individuals that become workforce ready,” Johnson said.  All four of the candidates present, as well as all of the candidates not in attendance, will be on the Nov. 5 ballot in the general election.  The COC candidates’ forum was the second of a two-part forum held Friday night. Coverage of the first part, featuring candidates for the William S. Hart Union High School District, was featured in Tuesday’s edition of The Signal.   On Tuesday, Oct. 10, The Signal will host another evening of candidate forums, starting at 6 p.m. at Grace Baptist Church, 22833 Copper Hill Drive, Santa Clarita. That event is planned to feature a debate for Santa Clarita City Council candidates and a meet-and-greet for candidates seeking state and federal legislative seats.   As with the COC and Hart district forums, the Oct. 10 will be livestreamed on The Signal’s Facebook page, facebook.com/signalscv.  The post COC board candidates make their cases  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.