CLEARLAKE— Two candidates for the Area 7 Yuba Community District Board of Trustees spoke Thursday at the Judge’s Breakfast in Clearlake. With election day less than two weeks away, incumbent candidate Douglas Harris and challenger Jeffery Dryden discussed their goals for the Woodland Community College Lake County Campus and how they would achieve change to provide the best education for its students.
Harris has been on the Board of Trustees since April and has taught at the LCC for 22 years, and has lived in Lake County for 48 years. Harris shared that he “Will provide critical continuity among Trustees during recruitment of LCC Dean and YCCD Chancellor.” Further sharing, “I know the value of the campus to the community.”
Dryden is a Lake County native who served in the Air Force and has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and business administration. Currently attending the LCC Dryden has noted much needed changes stating, “Things you should have in your toolbox are punctuality, loyalty, effort, things like that. So (we need) technical education that would allow people to develop skills and interact and interface with people who are out there swinging hammers and welding.”
Host Dr. Mark Cooper asked a short set of questions including “What do you see as the role of a board member of a community college district?” Harris was first to respond detailing the importance of communication and appropriate relations with staff. “The role of trustees is to work collaboratively to promote the vision of the district,” he said. “These principles can be summarized as a commitment to the community need for quality teaching and learning based on equity and inclusion and empowering students and communities.”
Dryden answered with a video of an exceptionally leaky faucet on campus. “They put in a work order in September and it still hasn’t been fixed,” he said, adding that the problem is that it was September of last year, and it is yet to be fixed. “And there’s so much more. A Trustee owes the community a duty of care, a duty of loyalty and a duty of obedience, primarily to the Chancellor but also to the district at large,” he said. “They need to be in touch with the faculty, staff, administration and students so that they understand what’s going on on campus.”
Cooper also asked, “If you could make on major change as a member of the board that would promote student outcomes what would that change be?” Dryden first responded stating “The one thing I would want to change and it’s difficult to say this, is to empower our faculty with campus books, new technologies, I have read about a variety of teaching methodologies… I would like to see some way to generate enough funding to empower the faculty here and at each of the other five campuses.” Harris responded with four strategic points which included “Restore sufficient staff that would first aggressively conduct outreach to K-12 districts, healthcare providers, private businesses, volunteer and private organizations local press and other places. Second provide full time staffing to the library, registration and financial aid, also provide students in need with tutors and other academic supports.”
The candidates also fielded some questions from the public including what help can be provided to the over 20 percent of students who face housing insecurity. Dryden responded with his vision to create dormitories across the street in the Sears building while Harris wishes to expand student resources to include rentable rooms and affordable housing throughout the community.
The Judge’s Breakfast is held every Thursday at 7 a.m. in the Clearlake Senior Center and is open to the public with all funds generated going to the senior center meal program. More information on the Judge’s Breakfast can be found on their Facebook page the Thursday Morning Judge’s Breakfast.
