As a COS union president representing our full-time faculty, I agree that COS has much to be proud of. I disagree that these accomplishments tell the whole story.
COS has 3 unions representing employees, all of which have endorsed the three challengers: Louis Lyons, Kristina Roper and Susie Nava. The voters deserve to hear the perspective of the employees that currently work with our students every day.
A recent letter cites a 95% employee satisfaction rate in arguing for the re-election of the incumbents. That statistic deserves context.
The figure comes from a COS survey. The total number of employees that year was reported to be 1,032, but only 297 completed the survey. This is only a 28.7% response rate. 95% of employees did not respond.
The district rejected multiple proposals from the part-time faculty union to participate in the fully state-funded part-time faculty health insurance program.
None of this means COS is unsuccessful. COS is financially strong, and there are many accomplishments worth celebrating. Financial success should lead us to another question: Are we using those resources to ensure that students throughout our district have equitable access to an education?
For some students, paying for childcare and/or finding reliable, timely transportation can determine whether they can take classes at all. A financially healthy district should be asking how we can: expand course offerings at Hanford and Tulare, provide reliable transportation between campuses, and offer childcare.
These are the kinds of issues that don’t show up when the health of a college is measured primarily through reserves, buildings and select satisfaction statistics.
The question before our community is not whether COS has accomplished good things, it has. It is whether financial strength and institutional success are translating into opportunity for all of our students and whether the voices of the people currently teaching, supporting and serving those students are being heard.
When all three employee unions reach the conclusion that change is needed on the Board, their perspective deserves to be heard alongside that of long retired administrators.
Tracy Redden
President, College of the Sequoias Teachers Association