At Mission, Community Involvement Is Crucial

After more than a year of searches, interviews and controversy, Mission College has selected a new president. A former president of El Paso Community College in Texas, Adriana Barrera seems highly qualified for the job. Now that this process is finally complete, we need to move forward.

Less than a year ago, Mission was embroiled in controversy over the presidential selection process. When the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees created a presidential selection committee, then rejected all of the committee’s recommendations, it damaged the already shaky relationships among Mission, the board and the community.

The trustees held community meetings during Barrera’s selection process, but they have not been consistent when choosing campus presidents, which is why I have called for an audit of the district. The audit will examine how the district selects presidents for each of its nine colleges; it should be completed later this year.

In the meantime, Barrera has an opportunity to succeed where others have failed. Although she won’t take over until July 1, she has already made an effort to meet with community leaders and activists and plans to continue these meetings through June.

This is a good sign. Most of the problems surrounding Mission have stemmed from the failure of the district and past college administrators to involve the community when major decisions were made. Only if the community is involved will Barrera succeed.

Two important issues facing Barrera are campus growth and a lack of athletic programs. The community has discussed the expansion needs for years, but a lack of consensus and of a good-faith effort by the district have stalled real progress.

However, things are slowly changing for the better. Architects were recently hired to make recommendations to the district on how best to expand the campus and design a new classroom building Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) and I obtained funding for in last year’s budget. The architects have already met with community leaders and are continuing a dialogue with residents. This outreach reflects a positive shift from previous practices by Mission and the board.

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In conjunction with expansion efforts, Barrera has an excellent opportunity to involve the community in building the school’s athletic program. Mission could enter into joint ventures with surrounding facilities such as El Cariso Golf Course and El Cariso Regional Park so students could take physical education classes at these sites. It might be more cost effective to enter into an agreement with the county to use these properties instead of building new facilities. Such a joint venture could be a win-win situation for students, the community and school. It would enable students and businesses to interact with and learn from one another.

El Cariso Golf Course is easily accessible to students and would provide adequate facilities for those wanting to learn the sport. El Cariso Regional Park, which borders Mission, has tennis courts, baseball fields and a pool. The local hang gliders club, which is always looking for new recruits, could be included in Mission’s curriculum to teach the sport to students. A partnership between the college and the Sylmar Independent Baseball League could also be developed. The college could provide community service credits to students who coached others or worked at the park or golf course.

Another opportunity exists with either the park or golf course to create a joint-use parking area, which would help alleviate parking problems at the school. Peak parking for the college is weekdays, and traffic is heaviest at the golf course and park on weekends. A joint-use arrangement would ease congestion in surrounding residential neighborhoods and not have a major impact on use of the park and golf course.

All of these ideas should be considered when planning a future for Mission. Residents and local leaders are ready and willing to help make these and other plans a reality.

Barrera has a unique opportunity. With a community anticipating her arrival and filled with energy, there is real hope that we can look beyond past differences to achieve Mission’s full potential. I welcome Barrera to our community and to Mission. Now let’s get to work and make Mission College a real community college for all.