The Peralta Community College District Board of Trustees holds its final meeting of 2014 tonight at seven in the boardroom at 333 E. Eighth St. Julina Bonilla, newly elected Area 7 trustee, will be sworn in, as will board vets Bill Riley, who cruised to reelection in Area 5, and Linda Handy, who faced no opposition in Area 3 and didn’t appear on the ballot.
Trustees will also elect a new board president to replace Abel Guillén, who’s off to the Oakland City Council. PFT wishes President Guillén all the best at his new gig, and thanks him for his eight years of service at Peralta.
The board will also name a new CoA prez, consider appointments to the Citizens Bond and Parcel Tax Oversight Committee, and hear the district’s sunshine proposals for upcoming contract talks with Local 39, SEIU, and PFT.
Elsewhere:
*The PFT offices remain closed as contractors gut 500 E. Eighth St. and start top-to-bottom renovations. (Union HQ was flooded by a burst pipe in the fire-control system in mid-November.) PFT staff is currently working out of the Bay Area offices of its parent union, the California Federation of Teachers, at 1330 Broadway in downtown Oakland. To get in touch with PFT during construction, contact DB Coordinator/Communications Specialist Kayla Lewis at union@pft1603.org or 510.523.5238.
*PFT’s annual holiday party, which for years has brought together the whole Peralta community for seasonal cheer, has been canceled due to the flood. PFT will throw an office rewarming early next term once repairs have been completed—look for announcements after winter break.
*This afternoon San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow will hear closing arguments in The People of the State of California vs. the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed suit against ACCJC to stop the commission’s disaccreditation order against City College of San Francisco. Disaccreditation would effectively shutter CCSF and cost 80,000 students access to affordable higher education. PFT will bring CCSF board members, faculty, and students to Peralta in early February for a panel discussion about the trial and the college’s battles with the ACCJC.
In solidarity,
Matthew M. Goldstein, President
Peralta Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 1603