Politics & Government

Rebecca Garcia Isn't Done At Cabrillo

The now-retired trustee will stay involved; Cabrillo needs a new Watsonville-area representative.

The search for a new Cabrillo College trustee for the Watsonville area has begun but the trustee who stepped down will not be gone from campus life.

Longtime Cabrillo board member Rebecca Garcia retired earlier this month, a resignation that surprised many. She represented Area V of the Board of Trustees of the Cabrillo Community College District for two decades.

The board hopes to make a provisional appointment to the position, which represents most of South County, by Feb. 21.

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Garcia told Watsonville Patch she is "passionate about community college" and will remain involved at Cabrillo, where she had access to higher education while raising her two children.

Starting next semester, Garcia will be a volunteer tutor in the STARS program at Cabrillo, which focuses on first-generation students, several of whom are English language learners.

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"I am a 28-year teacher and administrator in K-12 and look forward to working with students, but now at the college level," Garcia said in an email to Patch. "I will also still be involved with the community college system at the state level and hopefully, national level."

Next week, she plans to volunteer at the Community College League Legislative Summit in Sacramento, where she will be a table facilitator for new community college trustees. In October, she intends on volunteering for the national Association of Community College Trustees annual Congress.

Garcia also said she has been meeting with people interested in following her onto the Cabrillo board. The district is 82 percent Latino and she said she believes a Latino or Latina trustee would serve the area well.

The remaining six board members will select Garcia's successor within a month and the appointment will last until the next trustee election, in November.

Anyone interested in serving on the Board during this interim period is can do so by submitting a brief statement of interest and qualifications. Statements must be received in the President’s Office at Cabrillo College by Friday, Feb. 10, 2012 at 12 p.m. Statements may be submitted via email (dohansen@cabrillo.edu), via fax (831/479-6153), or in person (Cabrillo College, Room 806, Building 800, 6500 Soquel Dr., Aptos).

Eligible candidates for the seat must reside and be registered to vote in Trustee Area V, which includes a portion of the Watsonville and the southern portion of Freedom, southeast of South Green Valley Road. Contact the Santa Cruz County Office of Elections at 454-2060 to verify whether you reside and are registered to vote in Trustee Area V. Also, contact the Cabrillo College President’s Office at 479-6302 if you have any questions about the position.


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