7 vying for college district board

Tuesday, 01 April 2008

7 vying for college district board

7 vying for college district board
DAVID JAMES HEISS
Staff Writer
Friday, October 31, 2003 -
REDLANDS Four incumbents and three challengers are vying for four seats on the San Bernardino Community College District board.
Carleton Lockwood Jr., Charles H. Beeman, Mary Sampson and Allen Gresham are all looking forward to another four years on the board, while two students and a businessman are looking for an opporunity to make a difference.
The board guides policy-making at San Bernardino Valley College and Crafton Hills College.
Dawn Crawford, of San Bernardino, a student currently enrolled at Valley Callege, hopes to continue her campaign for justice and equality.
She has lawsuits pending against various administrators at the college alleging racial bias at the school.
Crawford says her concerns have gone unrecognized on the campus and feels that minorities both students and employees have had a difficult time adjusting to life at Valley.
"The college has a practice of terminating and demoting minorities," she claims. "I want to ensure that what happened to me and others doesn't happen again."
When asked if people should be concerned about her litigious past, she declared: "I feel people should be honored to have someone on the board who stands up for what's right. I'm the type of person who will fight against anything that isn't right."
Arthur Anderson, past student body president at Valley College, where he attended for two years until enrolling at Riverside Community College this fall, is running to make a difference. He says he was not empowered enough as a student.
"I've seen a lot of policy problems and curriculum problems at San Bernardino Valley College, and I just want to make some simple changes," Anderson said. "I decided to run after seeing all the problems students run into and decided to get involved at the community level," citing that in the past student concerns were not given much notice when addressed to college administrators.
For instance, he notes that Crafton and Valley are two of the few remaining schools running on an 18-week semester, whereas most other colleges Anderson has looked into have a 13- or 15-week semester.
"It saves money and it provides more flexibility in class scheduling," according to Anderson.
Mark Sheppard, of Redlands, vice president of the Building Industry Association out of Rancho Cucamonga, wants community colleges to do more for students who aren't geared to continue on to four-year schools, which he says is what the community college district is designed to foster.
"I went through community colleges up north, and I find them to be underappreciated but critical to the educational system," said Sheppard, who eventually received his bachelor's degree in political science from Humbolt State University.
"I hope to use my position to help others get more bang for their buck," he said. "While continuing to provide quality education for those going on to a four-year university, we should do more to help those not cut out for that by working with more partnerships in the private sector.
"I'm a strong believer in accountability," said Sheppard, "and with the state budget being the way it is, we need people with experience working with the Legislature, which I have: I worked for Sen. Jim Brulte in the past; and I would fight for the district's fair share of state money."
The budget is one of the top priorities for the incumbents, as well.
"We're in a critical financial situation," said Allen Gresham, of San Bernardino, who has served on the board for nearly 32 years.
Gresham is an attorney for Gresham, Savage, Nolan and Tilden a firm with offices in San Bernardino and Riverside.
"I think my experience will be of help in seeing us through the situation with the least adverse impact on our overall programs," Gresham said. "We have an outstanding board right now. I enjoy and admire my fellow members and their commitment to education and the board."
Chuck Beeman, of Highland, a pharmacist who has served 20 years with the board, stressed the importance of stability.
"We want to be able to continue working with teachers and employees and keeping everyone happy," he said, stating that the San Bernardino Community College District is one of the largest employers in the area.
"We're one of the few districts financially sound because the board are mostly business people who know how to manage things wisely, which is why it's important to keep incumbents on this board so we can continue to operate on a constant basis," Beeman said.
Board member Mary Sampson, of Colton, is a 1988 graduate of Crafton Hills College.
She is currently the director of human resources for the Riverside Transit Authority. In the past, she has worked as a classified employee and an adjunct faculty member teaching human resource marketing at Valley College.
"The state budget is what we're constantly being apprised of," Sampson said. "We're heavily involved with construction projects at Valley due to a seismic fault, and we're addressing growth at Crafton. We need continuity on the board in order to address these critical issues."
Board member Carleton Lockwood Jr., of Redlands, owner of Lockwood Engineering in Rialto, has served since 1991, and also served a year as a student representative in 1985 while he was attending Valley College.
"My civil engineering and land surveying experience has been invaluable to the board during construction projects at Crafton, Valley and the San Bernardino International Airport where our professional development facility and district office is located," Lockwood said. "I would like to see the major imporvements through to fruition while serving for another four years."