Kristine “Kris” Galicia Brown, who owns a small home-goods business and is an appointed board member, is running for the Area 2 seat on the Southwestern Community College District board of trustees. The San Diego Union-Tribune asked all the candidates running in community college districts around San Diego County about their policies, plans and priorities. Here’s what Brown told us about hers. Kristine “Kris” Galicia Brown (Edgar Ontiveros Medina) Why are you running for school board? What makes you a good candidate? I currently serve on the governing board, taking very mindful and actionable steps to bolster student excellence and student success; (I was) appointed in August 2023. I am an immigrant, a micro-business owner and a resident in the Southwester College Area 2 community for over 30 years. I’m a mom of two teens and a longtime community advocate, serving on nonprofit boards dedicated to providing access for well-being. I’m a direct reflection of the community I serve and an example of the types of doors that can open when opportunity presents itself. I speak with students and adults as part of professional panels to talk about my atypical path through higher education and landing as an entrepreneur. I’m aware of the excitement, concerns, stigma and challenges of students going into higher education institutions. I’m well immersed in the community, education, nonprofit and local government spaces. What is the most important issue currently facing your community college district? State funding and admin retention. Our state funding environment has made it very challenging to meet the mandates the state gives, the evolving needs of our students and the ability to retain employees in an environment that asks more of them without necessarily providing the resources and support due to the budget constraints of the state and district. We are also a true binational region-serving institution; with our geographical proximity to the border, we have a growing binational student population. We need to be able to serve ALL students and continually ensure we are able to provide the workforce our region and greater San Diego region needs. How can we do this at the very base level tier of providing higher education to our community without increased support through state funding? What are the top three specific things you would seek to accomplish on the school board? Innovative policies for better, more equitable and affordable access to higher education for all, from high school students to seniors and continuing education (our students include teens to seniors). Increasing connectedness to the communities we serve and leveraging our binational region to foster, educate and grow local talent and increase the local talent pool. This includes making it a point that higher education is for all. Southwestern College is here to help with your personal goals and increased knowledge for increased pay and paths to jobs. Bolstering dual enrollment with Sweetwater Union High School District high schools, removing barriers to help create that pathway to higher education, beginning partnerships with four-year colleges/universities and partnerships with local trade-specific/specialty programing/apprenticeships, for long-term planning for the future of the region in workforce demand and providing pathways to varying industries. What would your approach be to budget planning and spending? What would you do if your district had a budget shortfall? As a fiduciary, I approach budgets with fiscal prudence, though there is a huge human element that’s attached to that. There is a balance between math and morals. When there are shortfalls, we all lose, and that’s the unfortunate part of being beholden to state funding. This past year was challenging, and I made it clear that I could not be supportive of cutting human capital. Our faculty and employees are our programs and without them, we would not be able to serve our students and our community. These conversations have been very tough, and I look forward to taking an innovative approach to exploring creative funding mechanisms for these next years. What would you do to make community college more affordable and accessible? Bolster dual enrollment where high school students can receive college credit for classes they are currently taking. Math, for example, is a barrier to many students in both high school and college. Let’s get that requirement done and out of the way which satisfies high school graduation and general education requirements. We have staff that assist with financial aid and grants. Continued partnerships with local industries, businesses and nonprofits to support providing scholarships and grants to our students. Our SWC Foundation leads this work and just this past school year, provided $922,673 in scholarships to students. On the binational front, SWC helped to spearhead AB91 with Assemblymember David Alvarez. This is the innovative legislation that has allowed students residing in Mexico to attend community college for in-state tuition. I embrace that we are so uniquely positioned to serve students here as well as our SWC programs housed at CETYS University in Tijuana. How should your community college district raise student academic achievement, and what would you do as a school board member to accomplish that? With so many varying diversities in our communities, it’s super important that we continue to be a community partner and for our communities to view us as their trusted partner, a safe space and a hub for success (however that’s defined by each student) as well. Access and varying kinds of support is the forefront of achievement and moving onward. The more we can have synergy with our local school district, SUHSD, the better positioned and informed our younger students will be. Continued partnerships with the workforce in various industries, partnerships with local businesses and partnerships with four-year institutions are absolutely necessary to make those student goals attainable. I’m an innovative and strategic thinker especially as it relates to policy and also excel in creating and mobilizing connections. These two characteristics are essential to accomplishing anything — building trust, strong relationships plus analyzing information that informs better decisions. Why do you think more students are not transferring to four-year colleges or completing a degree/program? What, if anything, do you think should be done to address that issue? Working and making money is often prioritized with an increased cost of living in San Diego. Students have to address the ability to afford housing, transportation, materials, etc. At SWC, we continue to provide, develop and put in place better support systems in place so our students can complete their program, graduate or transfer. I’m supportive of establishing innovative programs to support student success. SWC has increased our Learning Community cohorts. Learning Communities are heritage/identity-based groups (all are welcome in any!) with a built-in support system, activities and linked classes that help to uphold and foster belonging. Our Learning Communities include UMOJA, BAYAN, PUENTE, CHEL and First-Year Experience. We also launched a Men of Color Success and Excellence department because data shows that men of color are the group that have been least likely to complete or transfer. This program has already shown very impressive results! Do you think anything currently offered in community college district curricula, libraries or programming should be removed? If yes, what, and why? If no, why not? No. The more we can expose students to catalogs of programs, studies and information, the better we all are. One goal for education is to broaden views, possibilities, capabilities and continuously strengthen critical thinking — including having dialogue in differences of opinions. Another goal is for self-discovery and self-fulfillment. I want students to really step in to who they are, their core values and their motivations. We don’t know what we don’t know until we’re exposed to it, and that discovery makes all the difference.