Two candidates are running to fill a vacant position on the LBCC board – Press Telegram

Two candidates are running for the lone vacant seat on the Long Beach Community College Board of Trustees in the Nov. 5 general election.

Businessman and educator Richard Gaylord and college faculty administrator Ennette Morton are vying for the Trustee District 4 seat currently represented by Trustee Herlinda Chico — who is running against incumbent Daryl Supernaw for the District 4 seat on the Long Beach City Council.

The board areas of the Community College District, which oversees Long Beach City College, are divided geographically. Area 4 includes East Long Beach and Catalina Island.

According to the university, LBCC consists of two campuses with more than 25,000 students enrolled each semester. It serves the cities of Avalon, Lakewood, Long Beach and Signal Hill.

Both candidates, Gaylord and Morton, said they have a passion for education and want to be part of the board’s efforts to make LBCC accessible to students and serve its diverse campus community. But each candidate has different priorities that they would focus on if elected.

Gaylord is a Long Beach business owner well-known in the real estate world and a longtime resident of the Belmont Shore neighborhood who has experience as an educator, faculty member and college administrator. He was also a member and past president of the Long Beach City College Human Resources Commission for 24 years and served on Long Beach boards such as the Civil Service Commission and the Planning Commission.

“I love college,” Gaylord said in an interview. “With my educational and community background, I truly believe I can make a difference at Long Beach City College.”

Morton has more than a decade of experience as a higher education administrator. She currently works at Cal State Long Beach as director of faculty affairs – collaborating with faculty and staff and collaborating with other groups on student success initiatives – and has worked at other universities such as Pepperdine and UC Berkeley. She is also currently a member of the Long Beach Youth and Family Commission.

She served on the LBCC advisory board for the $30 million donation the college received in 2021 from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Morton’s daughter also attended the college, she said, which also gave her perspective as the mother of a student.

“I understand the impact and transformative nature that education can have on people in the community,” Morton said. “Based on my experience as a college administrator and my educational experience, I felt that I had what the college needed at this time to have a positive impact on the college and on the board and to truly help the college’s students achieve their goals to achieve their degrees.”

As for her goals if elected, Gaylord wants to ensure LBCC remains fiscally responsible as Long Beach Unified School District’s enrollment continues to decline – potentially impacting the college – and state funding due to the ongoing deficit may become more limited. he said.

“We have to be very careful how we spend money,” Gaylord said. “We need to raise more money so students have the tools they need to get through their two years of education at Long Beach City College. That means helping with housing, basic needs and books.”

Another priority for Gaylord is to ensure transparency in all board actions and to include faculty in key board decisions.

“Transparency is paramount,” he said, “to members of the university family, particularly faculty, staff and the public.”

Gaylord noted that there have been several conflicts within the current board, such as board members being reprimanded. He said that if elected, he would join the board with the goal of making the college the best in the state and helping the board focus on providing students with the best education and training for their future .

“If we continue to focus on the vision of the college, the board can get by,” he said. “We don’t all have to be best friends, but we have to work for the good of the university, for the growth of the university, for the success of the university. And I want to be the adult in the room.”

Morton, meanwhile, wants to revive the Long Beach College Promise, a partnership between LBUSD and the college — and Cal State Long Beach — that allows students to enroll at LBCC immediately after graduation and be eligible for two years of free tuition.

“It’s an essential program for student success, and I would really like to see it revived and brought back to the forefront,” she said. “It’s a clear path for students to get their degree, so I’d really like to work on that.”

Among her other priorities, Morton said, is expanding support services for students, such as career preparation, mental health counseling and food justice.

“I look forward to being a strong advocate for affordable housing for our students, faculty and staff,” she added. “You really can’t focus on your education if you’re worried about home safety or homelessness.”

If elected, Morton said she will work to increase enrollment and help LBCC maintain its “large college” status, which it recently regained after declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She would also advocate for dual enrollment at LBUSD and expanding the career and apprenticeship program with local community partners, she said.

LBCC has a diverse student body, with more than 60% of enrolled students being of Hispanic descent, according to college officials.

The diversity on campus is one of LBCC’s greatest strengths, Morton said.

“It’s a campus that accepts everyone,” she said. “That’s another reason I was really excited to compete in this race and be part of representing this community. That makes it an enriching experience and it’s better for the community when there is diversity and the campus looks like the citizens of the community.”

Gaylord also emphasized the importance of representation on a diverse campus like LBCC.

“Our student body must reflect the community we serve,” he said. “I want the faculty and classified staff to represent the community we serve, which is a very diverse community.”

Justice and equality are important at the university, Gaylord said. The board’s job is to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed despite obstacles, he said. Gaylord said he believes the college should expand the provision of programs and tools to students in the various areas in which it operates, such as the newly opened North Long Beach Higher Education Center.

At Catalina Island, Gaylord said the college can make courses more accessible to students by, for example, offering dual enrollment and more online courses or providing financial and housing support for taking courses on-site.

“I want us to be able to get more grants out there and do more to help our population that needs help,” he said.

Morton said she would encourage the campus community to attend board meetings because “that’s where the business happens.” If elected as a trustee, she would encourage board members to work together and encourage students and faculty to join the conversation.

“I want to encourage our union partners to have a seat at the table when we make decisions that would impact their membership,” she said.