Decision-Making Behind the Curtain: Board Defends Closed Sessions

By Casey Michie

cmichie1@mail.ccsf.edu

 

As the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees navigate decisive matters, the use of closed sessions play an essential role in the advancement of key issues.

From March 2020 to the writing of this article, the board has engaged in 52 public meetings, 25 of which have included closed sessions. This number of closed sessions is on par with the previous year of a similar timeframe where 16 of the 33 meetings included closed sessions.

Of the past year’s 25 closed sessions, six included reports of actionable items, including declaring a state of emergency for the school due to the pandemic, the release of Chancellor Mark Rocha, an access easement agreement between the city and college, and actions taken in regard to the appointment of interim chancellors.

Alan Wong, a newly elected member of the board, said the closed sessions “are used to discuss confidential matters that require [the board] to work together to find solutions.” According to Wong, recent closed sessions in 2021 have been used to address topics of hiring new personnel, lawsuits, and collective bargaining.

Asked about transparency regarding closed sessions, Wong said, “If people have questions, [the Board of Trustees has] a duty to uphold trust with the public. We encourage [the public] to bring any concern they may have to us, so we can address the issues on a case-by-case basis publicly.

1 Comment

  1. Yes, Alan Wong, the board has a duty to protect the college, and to work together with faculty and students to do what’s actually best for the immediate and long-term well-being of the college. But they are not DOING their duty. The “trustees” are not trusted, because it doesn’t matter what “issues” we bring to them, we are completely ignored. Even the Academic Senate is ignored. I was in Academic Senate for 2 years, and saw resolution after resolution, that the senate toiled over for hours/days/weeks/months, completely ignored by the board. Look what the board has gotten us into time and again. Choosing Rocha, then choosing Vurdien, closing Ft Mason, closing most of the OLAD program, cutting the hell out of the schedule, and being generally dismissive and opaque as a rule. It’s painfully obvious that at least the majority of the board are getting some kind of kickbacks for following this wretched, INEQUITABLE agenda to destroy what’s been built. And it’s also obvious they care not one iota that they are wreaking destruction on thousands of lives for years to come.

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