There’s no equity and inclusion for Republicans or any Non-Democrat in South County, and few care because most live in their protective bubble. Representative Gallardo’s major contributions over the last 12 years — including as President of the Board — were never recognized because every local media source, including SBCC’s The Channels, refused to report on her significant remarks and accomplishments. Rather, the current Board majority of progressive selected militants plus former SBCC employee complicit weak Ellen Stoddard chose to unlawfully censure Trustee Gallardo forbidding her from representing her District plus the greater Santa Barbara Hispanic community for which SBCC receives supplemental tax funding as a Hispanic Serving Institution.
Any local Board that is 6 Democrats to 1 Republican seems to do everything it can to remove the non-Democrat. Motions by the sole non-Dem are not seconded; closed Board sessions focus on bullying the conservative to resign (as succeeded at Santa Ynez High School District), last minute special meetings are called with only the conservative NOT given advanced heads up, … the list is long of the abuses Trustee Gallardo has been subjected to over the years. During her tenure she has proven to be the only known Trustee who reads the Agenda and its lengthy attachments, is the only Trustee with advanced degrees and successful career experience in both education and K-14 school fiscal management, and the only Trustee asking the tough questions taxpayers need answered.
In return, she was censured: forced to speak during public comment as a member of the public rather from the Dias as the duly elected representative of her District, and the Santa Barbara Community College District. She has not been duly protected from lawsuits or from other Trustee actions despite the millions SBCC spends on Attorney Craig Price at Griffith and Thornburgh who knows what’s required to keep the millions rolling in from SBCC and SBUSD property taxpayers.
Republicans and No Party Preference (NPP) registered voters, whose combined numbers equal progressive Democrats, need to unite to identify INFORMED highly qualified career executive candidates, finance them, and work to ensure each is elected to become the majority on school boards. The time is NOW for 2026! Otherwise militants , progressives, those who are employed by government or NGOs, or are retired or newcomers will be DCC and NWPC of SB selected to fill every elected seat on every Board and Council in South County. Sadly, the status quo will continue because life in a protective bubble is cozy and safe until the collapse of South County or there’s a change in the weather.
Since SBCC has been running its recent budgets in the red, this looks like one area of self-inflicted financial abuse that requires more investigation. SBCC is an educational institution; and should not serve as a possible litigation rain-making operation.
. .........93108 writes: "She has not been duly protected from lawsuits or from other Trustee actions despite the millions SBCC spends on Attorney Craig Price at Griffith and Thornburgh who knows what’s required to keep the millions rolling in from SBCC and SBUSD property taxpayers"..............
It’s interesting how in “lefty world” race is everything. That’s right, one’s self worth, integrity, intentions, righteousness, even good vs. evil is based on race. That is until minorities are of the conservative persuasion, then achievements are downplayed, or as in this in this case, ignored all together.
Yes, minorities that dare to go against the liberal agenda and ideology are often subjugated to harassment and routinely regarded as “sell outs.”
Well, these times they are a changing. Conservatives of all colors and backgrounds are coming out of the woodwork in droves. Spiritually, it is uplifting and self liberating to come out of the darkness and finally be heard. Even black citizens in Chicago are fed up, standing up to the lawlessness and incompetence of the once almighty Democratic machine.
Finally, the adults are back in the room and in charge. Enough is enough and we as conservatives of all races and backgrounds, are not going back!
But not at City College. I suspect the only adult is leaving the room, but I would love to be proven wrong. On some issues, I know Marsha Croninger does try to stand up for responsible management, but she is also caught up in the fads that are shallow and unprincipled such as the effort to hire 10 new "diversity" faculty during COVID instead of using that time to look carefully at the larger trends and protect the school going into the future.
What a wonderful tribute by Celeste Barber! Veronica Gallardo has served honorably and has made huge personal sacrifices in order to advance the cause of higher education for all regardless of background. God bless both of these great ladies now and always.
I read this article title "A Portrait of Courage" and I quote from same
"A week and a half ago, I sent an email to the board president inquiring to how she would be honored. She is the second-longest-serving trustee on the Board, with only Trustee [Marsha] Croninger ahead of her in seniority. Ms. Gallardo was also the only Hispanic on the Board who is also Spanish-speaking."
Not to detract from Ms. Gallardo contributions, I would suggest a new title as follows>
"Portraits of Courage by Women Never Heard" and I provide this news-link below for all of
"Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician Shannon M. Kent was killed in action earlier this month during a suicide bombing in the Syrian city of Manbij. At the time of her death, she was 35 years of age and a married mother of two."
As Christmas fast approaches you all may want to ask, are there women who silently risk their lives for us and just maybe right here in Santa Barbara?
Thank you, Mr. Walther, for your thoughtful response on behalf of courageous women whose heroism is unsung, forgotten in history. Coincidentally, I'm currently reading a novel that details the heroism of the nurses who bravely flew in military transport during WWII's Pacific Theater, braving enemy fire as they tended wounded men evacuated from combat and flown to another island's makeshift hospital. Although Fiction, the story brings to life those unsung heroes who endured hardship, deprivation, and risked their own lives to save our men and return them home safely. Now when I think of my own Dad's evacuation after being wounded in Belgium, Dec 1944, I will imagine a nurse comforting him. "The Lies We Leave Behind" by Noelle Salazar
Shannon Kent was a member of the US military killed in 2019 by ISIS, the same organization the US is now supporting to rape and ravage and dismember Syria for its NATO partner in crime Turkey and its boss Israel. The US has been stealing the oil in Northern Syria. This is called theft and is immoral and illegal. The US has been sanctioning Syria because as former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton said, "Assad must go." Now that Syria is broken, all bets are off for the people of that land including some of the oldest Christian communities in the world. The loss of the life of Shannon Kent is wrong on so many levels. Why are women in the military? Should anyone have to sacrifice their mother to war? As Tucker Carlson said recently, the military is supposed to protect women and children. Further, why was the US in Syria? As Jeffrey Sachs said, also on Tucker's show recently, the US military has been used with the cooperation of both democrat and republican administrations to remake the middle east for Netanyahu's grand plan of a greater Israel. I encourage everyone to review that discussion with Sachs and consider why we are sending US service personnel, including moms with cancer, to go against our values to plunder, murder, devastate and facilitate land theft to remake a region for a foreign country that persecutes Christians and other religious minorities. https://tuckercarlson.com/tucker-show-jeffrey-sachs I certainly do not want to take away from recognizing Shannon Kent giving her life for what many (and I hope including her) believed was a worthy effort for our country, but I merely hope to encourage us all to recognize that the media censorship and bias around foreign policy issues is as bad or worse than local media about points of views that democrats do not share. We cannot function rationally without informing ourselves and holding our political positions up to moral scrutiny. We cannot MAGA without being grounded in truth and morality.
Hello Aimee, I am completely aware of your above information. What you may not know is our Intelligence tracked Ms. Kent's killers, to Aleppo Syria, where many of the
Terrorists had been basing in Syria. Participating in the Middle East with the Islamic Groups places one in the conflict of "Your Terrorist is My Terrorist" and with the obvious dangerous consequences. I could use your same argument " to go against our values to plunder, murder, devastate and facilitate land theft to remake a region for a foreign country that persecutes Christians and other religious minorities ..." to EXACTLY describe the So-Called-Leaders and their Sheep right here in Santa Barbara that ain't no "Foreign Country." Do not through Stones in a Glass House.
Is my house glass? Maybe, but not based on your argument. I think we are talking past each other. I am saying the US should not be in the middle east. If the US was not there, Ms. Kent, tens of thousands of other US military personnel and *millions* of people in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan and Lebanon would still be alive. The US shouldn't be in Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands have been needlessly killed there due to US provocations and proxy war there. The US shouldn't have drawn the USSR into an "Afghan trap" (Brzezinski) and the US should not have gone there in the wake of 9/11. The US govt should not have promoted radical Islam among the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan with Operation Cyclone, taking a page out of the Zionist playbook with their psyop Scofield Reference Bible that pushed heretical Christian Zionism, the US helped the Saudis promote a heretical form of Sunni Islam to divide the Muslim world and make it easier for Israel to it over. If you are from a military family, I hope you are aware of how the US government has played a double game standing up terrorists to target other governments, to carry out false flag attacks, and to justify things like the PATRIOT Act here at home. John Adams correctly said "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." This level of manipulation and criminality since WWII is not compatible with our system of government. It needs to end. We need to go back to being a constitutional republic instead of a rapacious, "might is right" global empire.
"Beware of foreign entanglements" -George Washington- Also, do we dare discuss the C.I.A.-led overthrow of the democratically-elected President of Iran in 1953? I know as someone who is 50% Assyrian that some of my family members were too busy loving the Shah to even discuss this, but nonetheless (as by definition Christian) Assyrians and other Christians or anyone else who doesn't fit into the grand scheme over there are not safe. While I support Israel's right to exist, our involvement with the Middle East is absurd, and never-ending.
To put it another way: I am so grateful to my grand/great-grand parents for getting out of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, and by the way, once they came to the U.S. and proudly became citizens, they never returned.
Hi Celeste: A couple of things I would like to comment on. Firstly, although a native Santa Barbarian, my knowledge of SBCC's workings is slim to none and until I started reading The Current about the mess it is in, I really had little interest in it. I do, however, find it a little troubling that a special program is set up entirely for an ethnic group that, anymore in California and a good portion of the country, is not a minority. What is astonishing is that by the time college arrives for these kids, they are not fluent enough in English to get the benefits of upper learning without translation. What a sad state of affairs our education system has become. Thank you for the article. It seems to be an uphill battle with the entire school system as it now exists but hopefully that will change in the future.
Yes Monica sad, very sad, that non-Hispanic whites in So County Santa Barbara don’t care whether Hispanics receive necessary, prerequisite instruction in grades K-6 to be able to do secondary high school work. The Local Majority are content if the majority can read instructions, are polite, are clean, are hard working and obedient to serve their needs. Locally there’s an unending “need” for housekeepers, gardeners, hotel & restaurant workers, construction workers, etc. SBUSD elementary meets local expectations for Hispanics. The local Hispanic majority population deserves some instructional parity from SBUSD with the other 4 “white non-Hispanic” elementary districts to help prepare SBUSD elementary students for secondary.
CHILDREN are innocent; don’t they deserve fair play from their adult controlled elementary school district?
Literacy is power, but leftists don't want Hispanics learning English. (Sort of like the was slave owners didn't teach their slaves to read and write).
Thank you, Ms. Barber, for your Portrait In Courage in support of the fabulous young lady who is so inspiring & important to SBCC! Doug Rudholm, Teacher for 62 years of my young 88 years
I would like to join others in thanking Veronica for her 12 yrs of service and dedication to public education in Santa Barbara. My New Year's wish is that other like-minded people will come forward and give their time and energy to fix the many problems we have with our schools in this community. It won't happen magically unless other people step up and continue in the footsteps of Veronica and the path she has blazed to give all kids in Santa Barbara a chance at a good and rewarding life.
Veronica seems to have met with a downright case of bullyism ... I can't think of another word to describe the level of antagonism she must have felt. I say, "One, two, three ... ASSHOLES!
Thank you, Celeste. Readers have commented so intelligently on your piece that my only comment is a question about Great Books. How did you get involved with it? Did you know Robert Hutchins? My parents belonged to Great Books when I was a child. We lived in Altadena (they moved to Santa Barbara when I was a teen). Hallock and Jean Hoffman ran the Great Books group in Altadena. They were liberals at a time when it meant something. They fought the loyalty oath in Pasadena, for example. I believe Hallock was Hutchins' student at Chicago, Hutchins was old enough to be Hallock's father. They both were part of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions here in Santa Barbara. I always like what Hutchins said about what Great Books meant to him.
Thank you, Polly, for asking about my involvement with the Great Books. A little over 20 years ago, I attended an academic conference in DC. One speaker grabbed my attention. Professor Bruce Gans gave a talk about the Great Books Curriculum, a program he developed at Wilbur Wright Community College, Chicago. Based on U of Chicago's famous program, GBC was designed specifically for community college students -- many among them who had never been introduced to the classics, enduring and deeply profound. I returned to City College and met with my dean and English Dept chair. I was given permission to develop the GBC here, the first in a community college. However, the college would not give me a budget. Somehow, I did it and with no budget, piggybacking on other entities (college library; Santa Barbara Library), and a lot of "sweat equity." About 5 years before I retired, I applied for and received a wonderful private foundation grant: the Apgar Foundation. With the grant, we did so much! A fall semester Great Read. Outreach to Santa Barbara High. Speakers, Free books for students. Essay contests. Actors to perform scenes from the selected Great Book. Sadly, still the college never financially supported the GBC, even when the Foundation wanted to contribute. Administration would not permit. When I retired in 2015, the College Vice President of Educational Programs and my then dean shut it down -- over my protest. The Great Books was a wonderful program.
Polly, "Britify" reminds me of my college Italian instructor who would ask us to translate written sentences, except he wrote in British English and we could not even translate him. At that time the term "straight away" meant nothing to our uncosmopolitan California ears. (Subito - immediately, was the correct answer)
That's hilarious. My husband finally got Calified when we moved here. He used to make fun of me for saying “Exactly” all the time and now he says it more Cali than me “Eggs Zach Lee.” Which could be a fusion Asian/Jewish deli breakfast dish in the Funk Zone if Santa Barbarans were more ironic.
The Brits, when they get Trump, really get him. Piers Morgan was interviewed by a young CNN pundit we know (his mom is an old friend of my husband's from NYC punk rock going days). Piers really laid waste to this kid's ideas about Trump.
Even on Hoopla now - the free online library access website- I see plenty of synopses of books instead of the real books. But I must confess "Cliff Notes" got me through many an inaccessible reading assignment way back when. It took a lot more age and experience to finally "get" great literature. Now the spare writing of the Iliad can take my breath away.
Another spare prose writer Herman Hesse, was my real coming of age reading his works of fiction. But that was not until I was in my 30s when I started reading him in chronological order, but have yet to tackle his final work - The Glass Bead Game. It sits at my night stand, still staring at me.
Polly, A Pepperdine professor addressed the local GOP club a while back explaining how he teaches critical thinking to his students today. Two elements are required: (1) they must join a debate club; and (2) they must read The Great Books.
Here is another side to the story that is worth considering. Not saying it is entirely correct, but it does give a differing context to the author’s assertions.
All part of the progressive bullying at SBCC. A censure is a way for the political majority to silence a voice they don’t like. The SBCC trustee majority count on the fact that few people follow them, so they do as the cabal pleases.
Mr Scott: Special meetings were intentially called, posted with 24 hours notice to ensure Trustee Gallardo could NOT attend. Don’t trust what you read in Noozhawk. It’s biased Dem controlled, dependent on donors and advertisers for survival! Reporting truth is not a priority or of interest: money is its priority. Look at its biased non-coverage of SBCC’s fiscal crisis and poor management; then Noozhawk’s coverup reporting of lies by SBCC “Taxpayer Association” duo Ebenstein and Widroe. There is no reputable, reliable MSM in South County. They each are gazettes that must sell paradise to tourists and residents.
Unlike the other SBCC trustees who are retired or work remotely in cushy government jobs, as a public elementary school principal Trustee Gallardo could not simply vacate her responsibilities to the school children or her school campus/ District staff whenever Abboud chose to call a Special Meeting. She zoomed in often when at her paid school principal job. Records show she did NOT miss regular scheduled meetings.
Despite being censured her participation was active and relevant. Abboud unrelenting in his discriminatory attacks. Her strength and dignity under attack was remarkable. Former superintendents Goswami and Beebe have confirmed in writing their high professional opinions of Trustee Gallardo.
Point of order here. To Montecito93108, I've submitted quite a number of letters to the editor on Noozhawk, all with my real name and all published. Don't tell me it's Dem controlled. Who are you? I'm Dan Seibert.
PS. There are regularly scheduled formal board meetings once a month. Additional board or subcommittee meetings are called on a more informal basis. I believe there was no issue over her attendance at regularly scheduled board meetings. As noted, she came fully prepared and had studied the entire board packet in depth.
The issue of missed meetings I believe came during SBCC's rather chaotic change of CEO leadership times, when there was a need to call multiple short-notice special meetings. Since she had a full time job, she was not able to attend a number of these short-notice meetings. Plus several were called when she was on jury duty, according to an answer she provided in public in response to this very question.
Best if she answers this herself. But it appeared when this charge came up, it did require further context.
Don't believe everything you read in the local press. Like most news outlets for the past 15-20 years, objective investigative reporting has been replaced by apologists for the far left agenda. I am myself a moderate liberal. I also like and respect our local journalists, as they are aware, but I do call them to task. With the exception of Marsha Croninger, the other veteran trustees are all progressives who vote Party, not for the students and community they profess to serve. We hope that the newly sworn in trustees will do better. I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
I do not know Veronica Gallardo personally or socially, only through her work as someone who served as an SBCC Trustee. I am grateful to Celeste Barber for writing this well deserved tribute to Gallardo, a dedicated, principled and honorable public servant.
I started speaking to the board after the COVID policies began to be rolled out. As a homeschooling parent, SBCC dual enrollment for high schoolers and Promise for high school graduates are a wonderful support. As a Catholic, I would not recommend any of the history or literature classes for a high school student due to their bias and degenerate content, but the math and science courses were well run and rigorous. I am grateful to everyone who made those classes possible for my child, (including all of you tax payers and Promise donors!)
Unfortunately, during COVID, the board policies created a lot of hardship for my child and many others. Jonathan Abboud couldn't conceal his glee at passing a vaccine mandate. I believe he took credit for delivering the first community college mandate for his oligarch overlords. While he was using his power in our city college, he did not seem at all concerned about the risks or the ethical problems with coercing students, staff and faculty to take an untested novel technology dishonestly labeled a "vaccine". To this day, he is not interested in understanding what the impact of this technology has been on the students, staff and faculty. Adverse events? Turbo cancer risk? Fertility issues? He doesn't care. The SBCC community members getting mRNA jabs was just a means to an end for Abboud. They do not seem to be people to him. Their particular vulnerabilities, health and future fertility did not seem to be on his mind. His big win for the big guys and what it means for his political career are what seems to matter to Abboud. And while not as gleeful in the endeavor, his trustee colleagues, save for Gallardo, were all behind him with the same uncritical, arrogant, self-righteous and flippant attitude that demonstrated a deep disregard for the students, staff and faculty they were willing to impose these risks on.
Trustee Gallardo was the one trustee who recognized that many in the community had strong concerns about this policy. She is the only trustee that treated concerned parents, students, staff and faculty as human beings on this issue. I suspect as more information comes out of the lack of safety testing, liability protection and media censorship around the COVID jabs as well as more on the problems with our vaccine program more generally, the ethical among those who forced this on people will come to see the flaws in the information that they based their decisions on and they will come to appreciate the wisdom and foresight of brave officials like Veronica Gallardo who stood for us as human beings instead of pawns to be managed in a scramble to use a crisis to get more power for themselves.
Veronica Gallardo choosing to no longer work with an organization as flawed and corrupt as the SBCC Board of Trustees is understandable, but a great loss to the college. But whatever efforts are lucky enough to win her time, attention, intelligence, grace, diligence and humanity are very lucky. May God protect her in all her endeavors and may each one of us think, how can I be more like Veronica Gallardo?
Aimee, I am retired from SBCC 9 years. During the 20 years I taught English there, I was privileged to have two homeschooled students. Both were exceptional, especially in their preparedness for the classroom. Attendance. Always early to class. Always prepared. Regularly meeting me in office hours. Great contributions to class discussions. Academically at the top. During my time there, only one time did a parent ever thank me. That was the father of a homeschooler who waited outside the classroom on finals day to shake my hand and thank me. I would have been honored to be entrusted with your children. (And no worries about my syllabus!) Thank you for your comments above. All the comments cheer our dear Veronica, a model for the public servant our Founders envisioned.
Aimee, The "covid" data continues to come in. Hope you can watch the Tucker Carlson Network documentary (pay wall) featuring an investigative journalist's recent production: "Thank You Dr Fauci"
Many of us recognized everything about "covid" was a fast moving front, especially during the height of the hysteria. However, Ms Gallardo was censured because she wanted to board to re-visit their previous "covid" policy mandates in light of this continually emerging new information.
Ms Gallardo's requests to revisit prior board "covid" policy was considered a violation under the board code of conduct which requires a board member cease any further independent opinions, once the full board has taken action. This very narrow interpretation is obviously flawed, when faced with something as material and fluid as the rapidly evolving as "covid".
In turn, the SBCC Board chose to became acolytes for what has now been exposed as the massive "covid" disinformation machine. A teaching moment for the SBCC Board who needs to reconsider this part of the board's code of conduct. And to please rescind their censure of Ms Gallardo, who answered to her constituents at large, and not just internal college political dogma.
They lost the vote the first time they tried to impose a COVID jab mandate. They then pressured the new Superintendent/President out for not pushing it.[1] Then it was just fine to re-litigate that decision and pass it. These people who had that double standard that they would push out the Superintendent/President and revisit, but then smear Gallardo for asking for a revisit as conditions changed and the evidence of non-efficacy and adverse events grew are so dishonest, I don't know how they can look themselves in the mirror.
And notice that most of what they claimed about Gallardo was that she was not satisfactorily deferential to the new Superintendent/President Murillo who was brought in to carry out this political mandate agenda for big pharma. But in my albeit limited experience, Murillo does not appear to consider anyone who thinks differently than her easy to work with. Gallardo was seen as an impediment to the agenda to use COVID as a power grab and then the, apparently related, DEI operation and she likely was targeted for not rolling over. Murillo and the rest of the board were willing to ignore the fundamental rights of community members, alienate and disparage those who had concerns and break civil rights law when they went on a spending spree for DEI with their expressly declared campaign to hire 10 new "diversity" faculty when enrollment had dropped significantly! Their political agenda is more important than long term financial management and prudence. This is part of the reason for the short falls necessitating the bond measure. Gallardo would not have been a rubber stamp cheerleader for the bond measure P. The censure removed her from committees. This is likely a big part of the reason for the censure since the the rest of the board were voting lockstep for the COVID mandates and DEI agenda and could easily outvote her with no trouble.
I can't help but add, if I thought I was being hired because I was a woman and not because I could do a good job, I would feel undermined, not respected. The DEI tyranny is corrupt and dishonest and anyone who pushes it is either a con artist or a fool.
Grateful to those willing to be Daniel in the lions den. Being a oconservative Christian voice in a progressive and mostly agnostic or atheistic environment takes courage and conviction. Veronica has both and we would be well served if more on the board of SBCC were like her.
More SB Bureaucrat Malfeasance; it is rife. Board Pres. Jonathan Abboud, your behaviour is vile and unprofessional with regards to Veronica Gallardo. Scandalous ineptitude and vast economic folly; your crowd doubles down on control at any cost; educational standards and common courtesy be damned. You are, of course are not alone, so many other parts of Santa Barbara government fail to even consider what citizens/students need and ask for; just grow the staff army and budget; steam roll along. Guess what? Radical change is long overdue there is no hoping you'll change. Piscis primum a capite foetet
Let us not forget the Vaccine Policy that leaves blood on your hands. Your budgets are disgusting. Unbalanced budgets and a $200 M bond issue because of siphoned off maintenance fees – unfit to serve. Just hazarding a guess: comparing SBCC to others in CA and the US, that CC educational effectiveness and costs per pupil put the school at or near the bottom (please toss out the DEI malarkey). You and your hench-staff deftly forget for whom you work and the true educational mission. Time for a full restructuring of the entire school management, you first along with all those that fail to serve in the people's interest right behind you.
This exposed ill-treatment of an honest trustee and a sterling representative of the largest ethnic group of students is an appalling demonstration ethical corruption.
As a well connected member of Trump’s team observed about the new British ambassador to the USA, the leader of the of the Trustees must be “an absolute moron”.
We need hundreds more of this exceptional lady in SBCC and the rest of the Santa Barbara school system.
It is only important in how it exposes the hypocrisy of the rest of the board. They are leftists who are constantly pushing shallow identity politics and constantly talk about inclusion while they silence, harass and marginalize and thereby EXCLUDE the only Latina member of their board. Because for them, a Latina is by definition a leftist, so one that is not a leftist is not really a Latina in their warped way of viewing the world. These board members are shallow, petty, arrogant, unkind and feel they are above the law when it comes to what they consider to be unquestionably good agendas such as following the fads our oligarchs have prepared for us such as DEI and COVID tyranny. These people do not know how to self-reflect and they only listen to people who agree with them, so the college continues to be in incapable hands, imo.
Your opinion Aimee is correct. Since the 2010 Marty Blum organized 2010 takeover of SBCC, there have been nine college Superintendents. The actions of 6 revolving Trustees since then have proven them to be controlled by the SB DCC with their individual political aspirations. Newcomer to Goleta and now departed SBCC Trustee Attorney Robert Miller is one of the worse offenders besides current Board Pres on Isla Vista Community Service District payroll Jonathan Abboud. His state funded job created by Das Williams to help Abboud afford to ascend the Democrat political hierarchy. Abboud has posted he “needs to make them [referring to whites] politically irrelevant.” Too bad self-identified Arabs were counted as whites in the 2020 Census, which has him counted as “white”. He has continually attacked Trustee Gallardo in writing and verbally.
Montecito District 1 Rep Charlotte Gullop-Moore is another offender to watch. Watch the 12/19/24 meeting video to see for yourself her low character. She’s a leader of the Santa Barbara Chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC). To Gallup-Moore, women must be progressive Democrats or they betray their female gender. She claims to represent D1 constituents — but not me.
I read here, in comments, expectations for change locally. IMO, don’t count on it unless many work together starting now to change tacks and fund change; and/or Feds withhold funding from CA. Good luck Vivek & Elon, Russ Voight, and Team Trump DOGE.
You should watch the July 20, 2023, meeting to see her [Moore] direct the Superintendent to racist hiring practices, and watch the August meeting to see the Superintendent proudly comply. 🤯
Chas, In response; SBCC receives supplemental taxpaid funding as a Hispanic Serving Institution. Trustee Gallardo is the only Hispanic, only bilingual Trustee, and the only Tristee speaking out for the needs of Hispanics needing faculty onsite teaching (rather than remote), more vocational course offerings for career attainment and advancement, and remedial academic courses to enable them to succeed if they attended low performing SBUSD elementary schools like McKinley, Cleveland, Franklin, Harding, Monroe… The majority of students from SBUSD elementary schools are not prepared for high school or college work. They aren’t instructed comparable to the other elementary district schools that are not-Hispanic majority. Unprepared to be competitive academically — through no fault of theirs — many students seek vocational training plus specialty course work at SBCC. Trustee Gallardo has been their only voice. SBCC is paid extra to be responsive not to neglect.
"... Ms. Gallardo was also the only Hispanic on the Board who is also Spanish-speaking. Given that this is a Hispanic-serving community college, that is extremely significant..."
Celeste. Thank you for honoring the the time, courage and dedication of Veronica Gallardo. Her values represent everything great about our nation, which is why the Marxists hate her. They value diversity above all, except diversity of thought. If Veronica chooses, I would love to see her run for higher offices (once the swamp is drained) because it is rare to see someone as caring, articulate, knowledgeable and diplomatic in these positions and it is exactly these traits that will be needed to Make America Great Again. ❤️🇺🇸
Thank you Veronica, and thank you to your family who graciously shared you for the greater good of our community.
Chas, in answer to your question: California Voting Rights Act requires local districts to create "protected class" voting districts, based upon specific race origins and Hispanic language speakers.
Ms Gallardo represented one of these newly created "protected class" race and language-denominated SBCC trustee districts, with the presumption these current protected class citizens were systemically under-represented in elected office. Hence it became Ms Gallardo's duty to represent the protected minority residents of her SBCC trustee district.
Better to ask our local state legislators - Senator Monique Limon and Assemblyman Gregg Hart -- why "ethnicity" became so important and what was the intent when these protected ethnicity election districts were created, under California law.
Or are the CVRA protected classes now archaic under the rapidly changing state demographics? Plus the need to respond to the recent SCOTUS decisions asserting in order eliminate discrimination, one needs to eliminate discrimination wherever it presents itself under the law.
California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) is just one example of government discriminatory legislation due for modernization and revision. Meanwhile, under law Ms Gallardo was the officially elected representative of a required protected CVRA minority class district.
BTW: Ms Gallardo was a superb choice regardless of this CRVA requirement. She participated in student government when she was a SBCC student, and went on to a very accomplished career in K-12 education. She was the right combination of skills any board would be happy to have, and proved it throughout her long service on the board.
There’s no equity and inclusion for Republicans or any Non-Democrat in South County, and few care because most live in their protective bubble. Representative Gallardo’s major contributions over the last 12 years — including as President of the Board — were never recognized because every local media source, including SBCC’s The Channels, refused to report on her significant remarks and accomplishments. Rather, the current Board majority of progressive selected militants plus former SBCC employee complicit weak Ellen Stoddard chose to unlawfully censure Trustee Gallardo forbidding her from representing her District plus the greater Santa Barbara Hispanic community for which SBCC receives supplemental tax funding as a Hispanic Serving Institution.
Any local Board that is 6 Democrats to 1 Republican seems to do everything it can to remove the non-Democrat. Motions by the sole non-Dem are not seconded; closed Board sessions focus on bullying the conservative to resign (as succeeded at Santa Ynez High School District), last minute special meetings are called with only the conservative NOT given advanced heads up, … the list is long of the abuses Trustee Gallardo has been subjected to over the years. During her tenure she has proven to be the only known Trustee who reads the Agenda and its lengthy attachments, is the only Trustee with advanced degrees and successful career experience in both education and K-14 school fiscal management, and the only Trustee asking the tough questions taxpayers need answered.
In return, she was censured: forced to speak during public comment as a member of the public rather from the Dias as the duly elected representative of her District, and the Santa Barbara Community College District. She has not been duly protected from lawsuits or from other Trustee actions despite the millions SBCC spends on Attorney Craig Price at Griffith and Thornburgh who knows what’s required to keep the millions rolling in from SBCC and SBUSD property taxpayers.
Republicans and No Party Preference (NPP) registered voters, whose combined numbers equal progressive Democrats, need to unite to identify INFORMED highly qualified career executive candidates, finance them, and work to ensure each is elected to become the majority on school boards. The time is NOW for 2026! Otherwise militants , progressives, those who are employed by government or NGOs, or are retired or newcomers will be DCC and NWPC of SB selected to fill every elected seat on every Board and Council in South County. Sadly, the status quo will continue because life in a protective bubble is cozy and safe until the collapse of South County or there’s a change in the weather.
Since SBCC has been running its recent budgets in the red, this looks like one area of self-inflicted financial abuse that requires more investigation. SBCC is an educational institution; and should not serve as a possible litigation rain-making operation.
. .........93108 writes: "She has not been duly protected from lawsuits or from other Trustee actions despite the millions SBCC spends on Attorney Craig Price at Griffith and Thornburgh who knows what’s required to keep the millions rolling in from SBCC and SBUSD property taxpayers"..............
They continually promote unnecessary litigation. Most of it is absurd.
No point for board members sniping among themselves, to inflict unnecessary legal expenses. More prudence, please.
It’s interesting how in “lefty world” race is everything. That’s right, one’s self worth, integrity, intentions, righteousness, even good vs. evil is based on race. That is until minorities are of the conservative persuasion, then achievements are downplayed, or as in this in this case, ignored all together.
Yes, minorities that dare to go against the liberal agenda and ideology are often subjugated to harassment and routinely regarded as “sell outs.”
Well, these times they are a changing. Conservatives of all colors and backgrounds are coming out of the woodwork in droves. Spiritually, it is uplifting and self liberating to come out of the darkness and finally be heard. Even black citizens in Chicago are fed up, standing up to the lawlessness and incompetence of the once almighty Democratic machine.
Finally, the adults are back in the room and in charge. Enough is enough and we as conservatives of all races and backgrounds, are not going back!
But not at City College. I suspect the only adult is leaving the room, but I would love to be proven wrong. On some issues, I know Marsha Croninger does try to stand up for responsible management, but she is also caught up in the fads that are shallow and unprincipled such as the effort to hire 10 new "diversity" faculty during COVID instead of using that time to look carefully at the larger trends and protect the school going into the future.
Very well-said.
What a wonderful tribute by Celeste Barber! Veronica Gallardo has served honorably and has made huge personal sacrifices in order to advance the cause of higher education for all regardless of background. God bless both of these great ladies now and always.
I read this article title "A Portrait of Courage" and I quote from same
"A week and a half ago, I sent an email to the board president inquiring to how she would be honored. She is the second-longest-serving trustee on the Board, with only Trustee [Marsha] Croninger ahead of her in seniority. Ms. Gallardo was also the only Hispanic on the Board who is also Spanish-speaking."
Not to detract from Ms. Gallardo contributions, I would suggest a new title as follows>
"Portraits of Courage by Women Never Heard" and I provide this news-link below for all of
SB Currentors review and I quote from same >
https://popularmilitary.com/husband-of-sailor-killed-in-syria-says-she-was-forced-on-deployment-despite-bout-with-cancer/
"Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician Shannon M. Kent was killed in action earlier this month during a suicide bombing in the Syrian city of Manbij. At the time of her death, she was 35 years of age and a married mother of two."
As Christmas fast approaches you all may want to ask, are there women who silently risk their lives for us and just maybe right here in Santa Barbara?
Howard Walther, member of a Military Family
Thank you, Mr. Walther, for your thoughtful response on behalf of courageous women whose heroism is unsung, forgotten in history. Coincidentally, I'm currently reading a novel that details the heroism of the nurses who bravely flew in military transport during WWII's Pacific Theater, braving enemy fire as they tended wounded men evacuated from combat and flown to another island's makeshift hospital. Although Fiction, the story brings to life those unsung heroes who endured hardship, deprivation, and risked their own lives to save our men and return them home safely. Now when I think of my own Dad's evacuation after being wounded in Belgium, Dec 1944, I will imagine a nurse comforting him. "The Lies We Leave Behind" by Noelle Salazar
Shannon Kent was a member of the US military killed in 2019 by ISIS, the same organization the US is now supporting to rape and ravage and dismember Syria for its NATO partner in crime Turkey and its boss Israel. The US has been stealing the oil in Northern Syria. This is called theft and is immoral and illegal. The US has been sanctioning Syria because as former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton said, "Assad must go." Now that Syria is broken, all bets are off for the people of that land including some of the oldest Christian communities in the world. The loss of the life of Shannon Kent is wrong on so many levels. Why are women in the military? Should anyone have to sacrifice their mother to war? As Tucker Carlson said recently, the military is supposed to protect women and children. Further, why was the US in Syria? As Jeffrey Sachs said, also on Tucker's show recently, the US military has been used with the cooperation of both democrat and republican administrations to remake the middle east for Netanyahu's grand plan of a greater Israel. I encourage everyone to review that discussion with Sachs and consider why we are sending US service personnel, including moms with cancer, to go against our values to plunder, murder, devastate and facilitate land theft to remake a region for a foreign country that persecutes Christians and other religious minorities. https://tuckercarlson.com/tucker-show-jeffrey-sachs I certainly do not want to take away from recognizing Shannon Kent giving her life for what many (and I hope including her) believed was a worthy effort for our country, but I merely hope to encourage us all to recognize that the media censorship and bias around foreign policy issues is as bad or worse than local media about points of views that democrats do not share. We cannot function rationally without informing ourselves and holding our political positions up to moral scrutiny. We cannot MAGA without being grounded in truth and morality.
Hello Aimee, I am completely aware of your above information. What you may not know is our Intelligence tracked Ms. Kent's killers, to Aleppo Syria, where many of the
Terrorists had been basing in Syria. Participating in the Middle East with the Islamic Groups places one in the conflict of "Your Terrorist is My Terrorist" and with the obvious dangerous consequences. I could use your same argument " to go against our values to plunder, murder, devastate and facilitate land theft to remake a region for a foreign country that persecutes Christians and other religious minorities ..." to EXACTLY describe the So-Called-Leaders and their Sheep right here in Santa Barbara that ain't no "Foreign Country." Do not through Stones in a Glass House.
Howard Walther, member of a Military Family
Is my house glass? Maybe, but not based on your argument. I think we are talking past each other. I am saying the US should not be in the middle east. If the US was not there, Ms. Kent, tens of thousands of other US military personnel and *millions* of people in Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan and Lebanon would still be alive. The US shouldn't be in Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands have been needlessly killed there due to US provocations and proxy war there. The US shouldn't have drawn the USSR into an "Afghan trap" (Brzezinski) and the US should not have gone there in the wake of 9/11. The US govt should not have promoted radical Islam among the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan with Operation Cyclone, taking a page out of the Zionist playbook with their psyop Scofield Reference Bible that pushed heretical Christian Zionism, the US helped the Saudis promote a heretical form of Sunni Islam to divide the Muslim world and make it easier for Israel to it over. If you are from a military family, I hope you are aware of how the US government has played a double game standing up terrorists to target other governments, to carry out false flag attacks, and to justify things like the PATRIOT Act here at home. John Adams correctly said "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." This level of manipulation and criminality since WWII is not compatible with our system of government. It needs to end. We need to go back to being a constitutional republic instead of a rapacious, "might is right" global empire.
"Beware of foreign entanglements" -George Washington- Also, do we dare discuss the C.I.A.-led overthrow of the democratically-elected President of Iran in 1953? I know as someone who is 50% Assyrian that some of my family members were too busy loving the Shah to even discuss this, but nonetheless (as by definition Christian) Assyrians and other Christians or anyone else who doesn't fit into the grand scheme over there are not safe. While I support Israel's right to exist, our involvement with the Middle East is absurd, and never-ending.
To put it another way: I am so grateful to my grand/great-grand parents for getting out of Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, and by the way, once they came to the U.S. and proudly became citizens, they never returned.
Hi Celeste: A couple of things I would like to comment on. Firstly, although a native Santa Barbarian, my knowledge of SBCC's workings is slim to none and until I started reading The Current about the mess it is in, I really had little interest in it. I do, however, find it a little troubling that a special program is set up entirely for an ethnic group that, anymore in California and a good portion of the country, is not a minority. What is astonishing is that by the time college arrives for these kids, they are not fluent enough in English to get the benefits of upper learning without translation. What a sad state of affairs our education system has become. Thank you for the article. It seems to be an uphill battle with the entire school system as it now exists but hopefully that will change in the future.
Yes Monica sad, very sad, that non-Hispanic whites in So County Santa Barbara don’t care whether Hispanics receive necessary, prerequisite instruction in grades K-6 to be able to do secondary high school work. The Local Majority are content if the majority can read instructions, are polite, are clean, are hard working and obedient to serve their needs. Locally there’s an unending “need” for housekeepers, gardeners, hotel & restaurant workers, construction workers, etc. SBUSD elementary meets local expectations for Hispanics. The local Hispanic majority population deserves some instructional parity from SBUSD with the other 4 “white non-Hispanic” elementary districts to help prepare SBUSD elementary students for secondary.
CHILDREN are innocent; don’t they deserve fair play from their adult controlled elementary school district?
Literacy is power, but leftists don't want Hispanics learning English. (Sort of like the was slave owners didn't teach their slaves to read and write).
Very true.
Thank you, Ms. Barber, for your Portrait In Courage in support of the fabulous young lady who is so inspiring & important to SBCC! Doug Rudholm, Teacher for 62 years of my young 88 years
WELL DONE CELESTE !
Well done Veronica!
I would like to join others in thanking Veronica for her 12 yrs of service and dedication to public education in Santa Barbara. My New Year's wish is that other like-minded people will come forward and give their time and energy to fix the many problems we have with our schools in this community. It won't happen magically unless other people step up and continue in the footsteps of Veronica and the path she has blazed to give all kids in Santa Barbara a chance at a good and rewarding life.
Veronica seems to have met with a downright case of bullyism ... I can't think of another word to describe the level of antagonism she must have felt. I say, "One, two, three ... ASSHOLES!
Thank you, Celeste. Readers have commented so intelligently on your piece that my only comment is a question about Great Books. How did you get involved with it? Did you know Robert Hutchins? My parents belonged to Great Books when I was a child. We lived in Altadena (they moved to Santa Barbara when I was a teen). Hallock and Jean Hoffman ran the Great Books group in Altadena. They were liberals at a time when it meant something. They fought the loyalty oath in Pasadena, for example. I believe Hallock was Hutchins' student at Chicago, Hutchins was old enough to be Hallock's father. They both were part of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions here in Santa Barbara. I always like what Hutchins said about what Great Books meant to him.
Thank you, Polly, for asking about my involvement with the Great Books. A little over 20 years ago, I attended an academic conference in DC. One speaker grabbed my attention. Professor Bruce Gans gave a talk about the Great Books Curriculum, a program he developed at Wilbur Wright Community College, Chicago. Based on U of Chicago's famous program, GBC was designed specifically for community college students -- many among them who had never been introduced to the classics, enduring and deeply profound. I returned to City College and met with my dean and English Dept chair. I was given permission to develop the GBC here, the first in a community college. However, the college would not give me a budget. Somehow, I did it and with no budget, piggybacking on other entities (college library; Santa Barbara Library), and a lot of "sweat equity." About 5 years before I retired, I applied for and received a wonderful private foundation grant: the Apgar Foundation. With the grant, we did so much! A fall semester Great Read. Outreach to Santa Barbara High. Speakers, Free books for students. Essay contests. Actors to perform scenes from the selected Great Book. Sadly, still the college never financially supported the GBC, even when the Foundation wanted to contribute. Administration would not permit. When I retired in 2015, the College Vice President of Educational Programs and my then dean shut it down -- over my protest. The Great Books was a wonderful program.
PS I'll reply more - I'm writing a letter from Santa Barbara for a Brit magazine. The editor liked a piece I did here and asked me to Britify it.
Polly, "Britify" reminds me of my college Italian instructor who would ask us to translate written sentences, except he wrote in British English and we could not even translate him. At that time the term "straight away" meant nothing to our uncosmopolitan California ears. (Subito - immediately, was the correct answer)
That's hilarious. My husband finally got Calified when we moved here. He used to make fun of me for saying “Exactly” all the time and now he says it more Cali than me “Eggs Zach Lee.” Which could be a fusion Asian/Jewish deli breakfast dish in the Funk Zone if Santa Barbarans were more ironic.
The Brits, when they get Trump, really get him. Piers Morgan was interviewed by a young CNN pundit we know (his mom is an old friend of my husband's from NYC punk rock going days). Piers really laid waste to this kid's ideas about Trump.
Wow. Good for you. But how maddening.
How awful and how typical they would shut it down. I often marvel at how English departments have managed to kill reading books.
Even on Hoopla now - the free online library access website- I see plenty of synopses of books instead of the real books. But I must confess "Cliff Notes" got me through many an inaccessible reading assignment way back when. It took a lot more age and experience to finally "get" great literature. Now the spare writing of the Iliad can take my breath away.
Another spare prose writer Herman Hesse, was my real coming of age reading his works of fiction. But that was not until I was in my 30s when I started reading him in chronological order, but have yet to tackle his final work - The Glass Bead Game. It sits at my night stand, still staring at me.
Polly, A Pepperdine professor addressed the local GOP club a while back explaining how he teaches critical thinking to his students today. Two elements are required: (1) they must join a debate club; and (2) they must read The Great Books.
Wonderful.
Here is another side to the story that is worth considering. Not saying it is entirely correct, but it does give a differing context to the author’s assertions.
https://www.noozhawk.com/sbcc-board-of-trustees-censures-trustee-veronica-gallardo/
All part of the progressive bullying at SBCC. A censure is a way for the political majority to silence a voice they don’t like. The SBCC trustee majority count on the fact that few people follow them, so they do as the cabal pleases.
So, just to confirm, Ms. Gallardo did not miss or was not late to 55% of all meetings over the last two years?
Mr Scott: Special meetings were intentially called, posted with 24 hours notice to ensure Trustee Gallardo could NOT attend. Don’t trust what you read in Noozhawk. It’s biased Dem controlled, dependent on donors and advertisers for survival! Reporting truth is not a priority or of interest: money is its priority. Look at its biased non-coverage of SBCC’s fiscal crisis and poor management; then Noozhawk’s coverup reporting of lies by SBCC “Taxpayer Association” duo Ebenstein and Widroe. There is no reputable, reliable MSM in South County. They each are gazettes that must sell paradise to tourists and residents.
Unlike the other SBCC trustees who are retired or work remotely in cushy government jobs, as a public elementary school principal Trustee Gallardo could not simply vacate her responsibilities to the school children or her school campus/ District staff whenever Abboud chose to call a Special Meeting. She zoomed in often when at her paid school principal job. Records show she did NOT miss regular scheduled meetings.
Despite being censured her participation was active and relevant. Abboud unrelenting in his discriminatory attacks. Her strength and dignity under attack was remarkable. Former superintendents Goswami and Beebe have confirmed in writing their high professional opinions of Trustee Gallardo.
Point of order here. To Montecito93108, I've submitted quite a number of letters to the editor on Noozhawk, all with my real name and all published. Don't tell me it's Dem controlled. Who are you? I'm Dan Seibert.
PS. There are regularly scheduled formal board meetings once a month. Additional board or subcommittee meetings are called on a more informal basis. I believe there was no issue over her attendance at regularly scheduled board meetings. As noted, she came fully prepared and had studied the entire board packet in depth.
The issue of missed meetings I believe came during SBCC's rather chaotic change of CEO leadership times, when there was a need to call multiple short-notice special meetings. Since she had a full time job, she was not able to attend a number of these short-notice meetings. Plus several were called when she was on jury duty, according to an answer she provided in public in response to this very question.
Best if she answers this herself. But it appeared when this charge came up, it did require further context.
Don't believe everything you read in the local press. Like most news outlets for the past 15-20 years, objective investigative reporting has been replaced by apologists for the far left agenda. I am myself a moderate liberal. I also like and respect our local journalists, as they are aware, but I do call them to task. With the exception of Marsha Croninger, the other veteran trustees are all progressives who vote Party, not for the students and community they profess to serve. We hope that the newly sworn in trustees will do better. I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
I do not know Veronica Gallardo personally or socially, only through her work as someone who served as an SBCC Trustee. I am grateful to Celeste Barber for writing this well deserved tribute to Gallardo, a dedicated, principled and honorable public servant.
I started speaking to the board after the COVID policies began to be rolled out. As a homeschooling parent, SBCC dual enrollment for high schoolers and Promise for high school graduates are a wonderful support. As a Catholic, I would not recommend any of the history or literature classes for a high school student due to their bias and degenerate content, but the math and science courses were well run and rigorous. I am grateful to everyone who made those classes possible for my child, (including all of you tax payers and Promise donors!)
Unfortunately, during COVID, the board policies created a lot of hardship for my child and many others. Jonathan Abboud couldn't conceal his glee at passing a vaccine mandate. I believe he took credit for delivering the first community college mandate for his oligarch overlords. While he was using his power in our city college, he did not seem at all concerned about the risks or the ethical problems with coercing students, staff and faculty to take an untested novel technology dishonestly labeled a "vaccine". To this day, he is not interested in understanding what the impact of this technology has been on the students, staff and faculty. Adverse events? Turbo cancer risk? Fertility issues? He doesn't care. The SBCC community members getting mRNA jabs was just a means to an end for Abboud. They do not seem to be people to him. Their particular vulnerabilities, health and future fertility did not seem to be on his mind. His big win for the big guys and what it means for his political career are what seems to matter to Abboud. And while not as gleeful in the endeavor, his trustee colleagues, save for Gallardo, were all behind him with the same uncritical, arrogant, self-righteous and flippant attitude that demonstrated a deep disregard for the students, staff and faculty they were willing to impose these risks on.
Trustee Gallardo was the one trustee who recognized that many in the community had strong concerns about this policy. She is the only trustee that treated concerned parents, students, staff and faculty as human beings on this issue. I suspect as more information comes out of the lack of safety testing, liability protection and media censorship around the COVID jabs as well as more on the problems with our vaccine program more generally, the ethical among those who forced this on people will come to see the flaws in the information that they based their decisions on and they will come to appreciate the wisdom and foresight of brave officials like Veronica Gallardo who stood for us as human beings instead of pawns to be managed in a scramble to use a crisis to get more power for themselves.
Veronica Gallardo choosing to no longer work with an organization as flawed and corrupt as the SBCC Board of Trustees is understandable, but a great loss to the college. But whatever efforts are lucky enough to win her time, attention, intelligence, grace, diligence and humanity are very lucky. May God protect her in all her endeavors and may each one of us think, how can I be more like Veronica Gallardo?
Aimee, I am retired from SBCC 9 years. During the 20 years I taught English there, I was privileged to have two homeschooled students. Both were exceptional, especially in their preparedness for the classroom. Attendance. Always early to class. Always prepared. Regularly meeting me in office hours. Great contributions to class discussions. Academically at the top. During my time there, only one time did a parent ever thank me. That was the father of a homeschooler who waited outside the classroom on finals day to shake my hand and thank me. I would have been honored to be entrusted with your children. (And no worries about my syllabus!) Thank you for your comments above. All the comments cheer our dear Veronica, a model for the public servant our Founders envisioned.
Aimee, The "covid" data continues to come in. Hope you can watch the Tucker Carlson Network documentary (pay wall) featuring an investigative journalist's recent production: "Thank You Dr Fauci"
Many of us recognized everything about "covid" was a fast moving front, especially during the height of the hysteria. However, Ms Gallardo was censured because she wanted to board to re-visit their previous "covid" policy mandates in light of this continually emerging new information.
Ms Gallardo's requests to revisit prior board "covid" policy was considered a violation under the board code of conduct which requires a board member cease any further independent opinions, once the full board has taken action. This very narrow interpretation is obviously flawed, when faced with something as material and fluid as the rapidly evolving as "covid".
In turn, the SBCC Board chose to became acolytes for what has now been exposed as the massive "covid" disinformation machine. A teaching moment for the SBCC Board who needs to reconsider this part of the board's code of conduct. And to please rescind their censure of Ms Gallardo, who answered to her constituents at large, and not just internal college political dogma.
They lost the vote the first time they tried to impose a COVID jab mandate. They then pressured the new Superintendent/President out for not pushing it.[1] Then it was just fine to re-litigate that decision and pass it. These people who had that double standard that they would push out the Superintendent/President and revisit, but then smear Gallardo for asking for a revisit as conditions changed and the evidence of non-efficacy and adverse events grew are so dishonest, I don't know how they can look themselves in the mirror.
And notice that most of what they claimed about Gallardo was that she was not satisfactorily deferential to the new Superintendent/President Murillo who was brought in to carry out this political mandate agenda for big pharma. But in my albeit limited experience, Murillo does not appear to consider anyone who thinks differently than her easy to work with. Gallardo was seen as an impediment to the agenda to use COVID as a power grab and then the, apparently related, DEI operation and she likely was targeted for not rolling over. Murillo and the rest of the board were willing to ignore the fundamental rights of community members, alienate and disparage those who had concerns and break civil rights law when they went on a spending spree for DEI with their expressly declared campaign to hire 10 new "diversity" faculty when enrollment had dropped significantly! Their political agenda is more important than long term financial management and prudence. This is part of the reason for the short falls necessitating the bond measure. Gallardo would not have been a rubber stamp cheerleader for the bond measure P. The censure removed her from committees. This is likely a big part of the reason for the censure since the the rest of the board were voting lockstep for the COVID mandates and DEI agenda and could easily outvote her with no trouble.
I can't help but add, if I thought I was being hired because I was a woman and not because I could do a good job, I would feel undermined, not respected. The DEI tyranny is corrupt and dishonest and anyone who pushes it is either a con artist or a fool.
[1] https://www.noozhawk.com/sbcc_superintendent_president_utpal_goswami_resigns/
Grateful to those willing to be Daniel in the lions den. Being a oconservative Christian voice in a progressive and mostly agnostic or atheistic environment takes courage and conviction. Veronica has both and we would be well served if more on the board of SBCC were like her.
Only if they
1) have integrity
2) talk to people
While she’s the least bad of the lot, Veronica Gallardo failed in ticking these two boxes. It’s a low bar. Try harder next time.
More SB Bureaucrat Malfeasance; it is rife. Board Pres. Jonathan Abboud, your behaviour is vile and unprofessional with regards to Veronica Gallardo. Scandalous ineptitude and vast economic folly; your crowd doubles down on control at any cost; educational standards and common courtesy be damned. You are, of course are not alone, so many other parts of Santa Barbara government fail to even consider what citizens/students need and ask for; just grow the staff army and budget; steam roll along. Guess what? Radical change is long overdue there is no hoping you'll change. Piscis primum a capite foetet
Let us not forget the Vaccine Policy that leaves blood on your hands. Your budgets are disgusting. Unbalanced budgets and a $200 M bond issue because of siphoned off maintenance fees – unfit to serve. Just hazarding a guess: comparing SBCC to others in CA and the US, that CC educational effectiveness and costs per pupil put the school at or near the bottom (please toss out the DEI malarkey). You and your hench-staff deftly forget for whom you work and the true educational mission. Time for a full restructuring of the entire school management, you first along with all those that fail to serve in the people's interest right behind you.
This exposed ill-treatment of an honest trustee and a sterling representative of the largest ethnic group of students is an appalling demonstration ethical corruption.
As a well connected member of Trump’s team observed about the new British ambassador to the USA, the leader of the of the Trustees must be “an absolute moron”.
We need hundreds more of this exceptional lady in SBCC and the rest of the Santa Barbara school system.
Why is her ethnicity important?
It is only important in how it exposes the hypocrisy of the rest of the board. They are leftists who are constantly pushing shallow identity politics and constantly talk about inclusion while they silence, harass and marginalize and thereby EXCLUDE the only Latina member of their board. Because for them, a Latina is by definition a leftist, so one that is not a leftist is not really a Latina in their warped way of viewing the world. These board members are shallow, petty, arrogant, unkind and feel they are above the law when it comes to what they consider to be unquestionably good agendas such as following the fads our oligarchs have prepared for us such as DEI and COVID tyranny. These people do not know how to self-reflect and they only listen to people who agree with them, so the college continues to be in incapable hands, imo.
Your opinion Aimee is correct. Since the 2010 Marty Blum organized 2010 takeover of SBCC, there have been nine college Superintendents. The actions of 6 revolving Trustees since then have proven them to be controlled by the SB DCC with their individual political aspirations. Newcomer to Goleta and now departed SBCC Trustee Attorney Robert Miller is one of the worse offenders besides current Board Pres on Isla Vista Community Service District payroll Jonathan Abboud. His state funded job created by Das Williams to help Abboud afford to ascend the Democrat political hierarchy. Abboud has posted he “needs to make them [referring to whites] politically irrelevant.” Too bad self-identified Arabs were counted as whites in the 2020 Census, which has him counted as “white”. He has continually attacked Trustee Gallardo in writing and verbally.
Montecito District 1 Rep Charlotte Gullop-Moore is another offender to watch. Watch the 12/19/24 meeting video to see for yourself her low character. She’s a leader of the Santa Barbara Chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC). To Gallup-Moore, women must be progressive Democrats or they betray their female gender. She claims to represent D1 constituents — but not me.
I read here, in comments, expectations for change locally. IMO, don’t count on it unless many work together starting now to change tacks and fund change; and/or Feds withhold funding from CA. Good luck Vivek & Elon, Russ Voight, and Team Trump DOGE.
You should watch the July 20, 2023, meeting to see her [Moore] direct the Superintendent to racist hiring practices, and watch the August meeting to see the Superintendent proudly comply. 🤯
Chas, In response; SBCC receives supplemental taxpaid funding as a Hispanic Serving Institution. Trustee Gallardo is the only Hispanic, only bilingual Trustee, and the only Tristee speaking out for the needs of Hispanics needing faculty onsite teaching (rather than remote), more vocational course offerings for career attainment and advancement, and remedial academic courses to enable them to succeed if they attended low performing SBUSD elementary schools like McKinley, Cleveland, Franklin, Harding, Monroe… The majority of students from SBUSD elementary schools are not prepared for high school or college work. They aren’t instructed comparable to the other elementary district schools that are not-Hispanic majority. Unprepared to be competitive academically — through no fault of theirs — many students seek vocational training plus specialty course work at SBCC. Trustee Gallardo has been their only voice. SBCC is paid extra to be responsive not to neglect.
"... Ms. Gallardo was also the only Hispanic on the Board who is also Spanish-speaking. Given that this is a Hispanic-serving community college, that is extremely significant..."
Celeste. Thank you for honoring the the time, courage and dedication of Veronica Gallardo. Her values represent everything great about our nation, which is why the Marxists hate her. They value diversity above all, except diversity of thought. If Veronica chooses, I would love to see her run for higher offices (once the swamp is drained) because it is rare to see someone as caring, articulate, knowledgeable and diplomatic in these positions and it is exactly these traits that will be needed to Make America Great Again. ❤️🇺🇸
Thank you Veronica, and thank you to your family who graciously shared you for the greater good of our community.
Chas, in answer to your question: California Voting Rights Act requires local districts to create "protected class" voting districts, based upon specific race origins and Hispanic language speakers.
Ms Gallardo represented one of these newly created "protected class" race and language-denominated SBCC trustee districts, with the presumption these current protected class citizens were systemically under-represented in elected office. Hence it became Ms Gallardo's duty to represent the protected minority residents of her SBCC trustee district.
Better to ask our local state legislators - Senator Monique Limon and Assemblyman Gregg Hart -- why "ethnicity" became so important and what was the intent when these protected ethnicity election districts were created, under California law.
Or are the CVRA protected classes now archaic under the rapidly changing state demographics? Plus the need to respond to the recent SCOTUS decisions asserting in order eliminate discrimination, one needs to eliminate discrimination wherever it presents itself under the law.
California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) is just one example of government discriminatory legislation due for modernization and revision. Meanwhile, under law Ms Gallardo was the officially elected representative of a required protected CVRA minority class district.
BTW: Ms Gallardo was a superb choice regardless of this CRVA requirement. She participated in student government when she was a SBCC student, and went on to a very accomplished career in K-12 education. She was the right combination of skills any board would be happy to have, and proved it throughout her long service on the board.