Exactly three weeks before Election Day, all of the candidates seeking seats on the governing board overseeing College of the Canyons debated for the first time at a forum that, at times, saw some heated exchanges.  At the center of those exchanges were Edel Alonso, current president of the Santa Clarita Community College District board of trustees, which oversees COC, and representative for Trustee Area No. 2, and Fred Arnold, current president of the COC Foundation and challenger for the seat representing Trustee Area No. 3.  While not running for the same seat, the two differed on some of the recent decisions made by the board. Also taking part in some of those back-and-forth exchanges were Scott Schauer, the challenger looking to unseat Alonso, and Jerry Danielsen, current vice president of the board and seeking to keep his Trustee Area No. 4 seat after being appointed last year.  College of the Canyons Board of Trustees member Edel Alonso (L) speaks at a candidate forum during an “Engage the Vote” event on Tuesday afternoon next to board candidate Fred Arnold at the Intercultural Center. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. The forum, held Tuesday at the College of the Canyons Intercultural Center at the Valencia campus, was moderated by Jesse McClure, a former COC student and an employee of the college’s Center for Civic and Community Engagement, and Nicole Brooks, a former COC student who is planning to attend Cambridge University next year.  Also participating were: Michelle Kampbell and Darlene Trevino, running against each other for Trustee Area No. 1; Andrew Taban, running against Arnold for Trustee Area No. 3; and Sharlene Johnson, running against Danielsen for Trustee Area No. 4.  One of the main points of contention was the recent decision to return nearly $62 million in state funding for a low-income student housing project. Arnold said it was the “biggest missed opportunity” to help students in need, while Alonso rebutted that she is “proud of being fiscally conservative” and looks forward to seeing a report on how else the college can support some of the reported 500 homeless students it serves.  Scott Schauer, a candidate for the College of the Canyons Board of Trustees, speaks at a forum during an “Engage the Vote” event on Tuesday afternoon at the Intercultural Center on the campus. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. District staff had told the board of trustees that it would cost at least $5 million on top of the state funding to build out the project, and there were no guarantees that revenues would offset the costs of maintaining the building.   The other 12 colleges that were selected to be part of the state-funded project have either yet to make a decision on continuing, or have already begun construction on their housing projects. Other colleges are currently having the same conversations about feasibility, according to district staff.  Danielsen said there were other issues with the project, such as the college suddenly being thrust into the role of landlord and other associated costs that could further drain from the college’s general fund.  “We are not landlords,” Danielsen said, “so therefore doing things like eviction … How do we deal with that? Maintenance issues like plumbing and electricity, all that kind of stuff plays into it. It was going to be way more money than you saw on paper.”  Andrew Taban, a candidate for the Santa Clarita Community College District Board of Trustees, speaks at a forum during an “Engage the Vote” event at the College of the Canyons Intercultural Center on Tuesday afternoon. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. Alonso expanded on the decision, saying that when the board originally agreed to work with the state, the administration in charge of COC at the time — namely former Chancellor Dianne Van Hook, who was put on leave by the board in July before she eventually announced her retirement, though Alonso did not use her name — was not entirely truthful and the board never got all of the needed or requested information.  “I want you to know that if we have ever made a bad decision, it was a bad decision because we were not given the information that we needed to know,” Alonso said, adding that the new administration, led by interim President David Andrus, a former political science professor at the college, seems to be working more transparently.  Both Alonso and Danielsen said students are their top priority, as did the rest of the candidates. But Arnold said the foundation wasn’t consulted to see if some of the costs could be offset. The foundation’s role is to support the college with philanthropic efforts.  “How do you tell a student who’s homeless that we need to be conservative, and we need to not make the hard decisions and figure out how we would bridge that gap,” Arnold said. “That’s one of the most important things we do … The students’ lives are at stake, because if they get that education, and they got a place to sleep at night, then they’re able to better themselves in life. And we need to start with our community.”  Attendees listen to candidates for the Santa Clarita Community College Board of Trustees speak at a forum for their “Engage the Vote” event on Tuesday afternoon at College of the Canyons’ Intercultural Center. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. Community partnerships were a big talking point for Arnold and Schauer, along with Johnson and Trevino.  Johnson cited her work with the William S. Hart Union High School District Education Foundation as one of the avenues through which she has learned of some of the needs of the community.  “You start to see where the needs are. You start to integrate that,” Johnson said. “I’ve heard a lot about goals and integrating those goals, but when you’re not involved on a regular basis, it’s really hard to discern what the needs are.”  Trevino, owner of the Trevino Law Firm in Palmdale, said she didn’t have all of the information to make a hypothetical decision, but that all of her decision-making would be guided by evidence and asking the tough questions.  Standing in unison with Danielsen and Alonso were Kampbell and Taban. All four have been endorsed by the COC Faculty Association, with much of their campaign funding from the union’s political action committee, and many answers from that half of the table on Tuesday were followed by rounds of applause from faculty in attendance.  Michelle Kampbell, a candidate for the Santa Clarita Community College District Board of Trustees, speaks at a forum for an “Engage the Vote” event at the College of the Canyons Intercultural Center on Tuesday afternoon. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. Both Johnson and Trevino said they never got the opportunity to interview with the union for a chance to get that endorsement.  Kampbell said the issue of student housing is something that is “deeply personal” for her after she spent some time being unhoused while attending George Washington University in Washington, D.C.  “I couch-surfed for several weeks until I was able to work and get a job,” said Kampbell, currently the director of a statewide nonprofit and a former COC student.  She added that she would make it a priority to advocate for more funds from Sacramento so that COC can help more students.  A couple of the questions on Tuesday revolved around faculty, both full-time and adjunct.  When asked how the campus can be healed following a climate survey conducted in the spring that showed some employees were fearful of speaking up about issues under the previous administration, Taban said it has to start with compassion and empathy, and everything begins with how the board of trustees acts.  “We are the top of the chain, and we must lead by example, and I think we do that by being on campus, talking to individuals and seeing how we can make this a better climate,” Taban said. “It doesn’t go and happen overnight … At the end of the day, it’s always about the student, and when the top-down is doing better, so are our students.”  Sharlene Johnson, a candidate for the College of the Canyons Board of Trustees, speaks at a forum during an “Engage the Vote” event on Tuesday afternoon at the Intercultural Center on the campus. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. Alonso added that some actions have already been taken to address some of the concerns brought up in the survey.  Schauer took things in a slightly different direction, saying the survey also showed that effectiveness of the leadership was at 44%, while the board’s leadership effectiveness was at 48%.  “So, they’re virtually the same,” Schauer said. “And I can appreciate one of the board members stood up at the board meeting and said, ‘Hey, we didn’t get a good mark either. We need to be accountable.’ So, I think that this board of trustees needs to stand up and be accountable for that part of the survey also. I don’t think you can pick and choose portions of surveys that weren’t just for you, but I think we need to look at it as a whole, and we need to take responsibility.”  Somewhat related was a question about helping adjunct faculty who are unable to make ends meet, including full health care coverage, and if the candidates were aware of some of the hardships that those part-time professors face.  Danielsen said he was aware, but that negotiations with the unions are conducted by district staff, not the board of trustees. Alonso added that she knows of many professors who work at multiple community colleges to find enough hours, and that they received “the highest increase that they have ever received” in their latest contract with COC, but she hopes “we can continue to make strides in that regard.”  Kampbell said it’s important that adjunct faculty are fully represented in negotiations and that it isn’t fair that they have to find multiple places to work to make up for lower pay, and hours, at both places.  College of the Canyons Board of Trustees member Edel Alonso (L) speaks at a candidate forum during an “Engage the Vote” event on Tuesday afternoon next to board candidate Fred Arnold at the Intercultural Center. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. Taban added that the unions have backed the four candidates due to knowing that those chosen will fight for both adjunct and full-time faculty.  “They chose to support us because they know what we’re going to bring to the table,” Taban said. “That is about putting them first, making sure students are first at the table. And I’m proud to have their support.”  Schauer continued to attack the current members of the board for their lack of transparency in recent decisions, saying faculty and staff need to be taken care of, but transparency is the bigger problem. He referred to the many closed sessions during Van Hook’s evaluation before the decision to place her on leave, with three of them lasting more than three hours.  Both Alonso and Danielsen defended those sessions, saying closed sessions are needed, and required by law, to protect employees of the college, not to protect the board, and that personnel decisions are kept private for legal reasons.  Fred Arnold, a candidate for the College of the Canyons Board of Trustees, speaks at a forum during an “Engage the Vote” event on Tuesday afternoon at the Intercultural Center on the campus. Trisha Anas/ The Signal. Johnson, going back to the original question, said she has a sister who teaches in COC’s nursing program, and knows firsthand how restricted adjunct faculty are.  Arnold said he would work to break down some of the regulations to allow for adjunct faculty to earn more and work more, while Trevino said she would push for more transparency and have an open-door policy for anyone to talk about an issue so that it can be included in negotiations.  Vote-by-mail ballots have been sent out and must be returned by mail with a postmark by Election Day on Nov. 5 to be counted. They must be received by the county’s election office no later than seven days after the election to be counted. Ballots can also be returned to an election center on Election Day by 8 p.m.  The last day to register to vote is Monday, though unregistered voters can “conditionally” register and vote on Election Day. Those ballots would be counted once the voter registration process is completed.  The post COC board candidates square off ahead of election  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.