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Letters
Board supports stadium but not global education
I attended the last West Valley College board meeting to remind the current board and administrators of the integrity and stellar character of the first WVC chancellor. He opened the college and would never have reneged on his agreement to not build a stadium in Saratoga.
While there, I became aware of a current educational issue: international students, supported by faculty and a unanimous vote of the student senate, have twice asked the board and the administration to make the global education program a budget priority in this fiscal year.
As I understand it, such a program would offer counseling and other services to international students. It kind of reminds me of a very small scale I House (International) on the UC-Berkeley campus.
To the detriment of how the public perceives the board and the administration, in general, only one board member (Jeffrey Schwartz) and one student trustee (Jeff Ouye) supported the students and faculty. I have difficulty understanding the lukewarm response of the majority of the board and of the administration to a project that could be so educationally beneficial. These same board and administration members are, however, wildly enthusiastic about a stadium at the West Valley campus. Silly me--I had always been taught that educational facilities should be focused on educational, rather than entertainment, endeavors!
Dora Grens
Old Oak Way
Board member apologizes for lack of courtesy
Cheriel Jensen's letter (Feb 21, Saratoga News) raises valid questions about the West Valley-Mission Community College District and, particularly, about the conduct of our governing board meetings. At our last two meetings we had groups of students wanting to address us about educational programs and several Saratoga residents speaking to us about community relations, environmental issues and the proposed football stadium.
At both meetings our board and some of our top administrators responded with a lack of common courtesy, and made it abundantly clear they regarded public comment as an imposition. Some board member turned to each other and whispered and joked, ignoring a person addressing us from a podium 15 feet away. People who wanted to speak to us were asked to hurry, although we seldom get any public input and our board talks about how we might improve communication with the community.
Students and local residents alike received no response at our Feb. 1 board meeting. Unlike the Saratoga City Council, there is no item on our governing board agenda designated for responses to communication from the public, so no one gets answers, or indications that their concern will be responded to in the future.
I apologize to the community for not speaking out at the Feb. 1 meeting. I did at the Feb. 15 board meeting, answering members of the public when I could, and I asked that our board reconsider the manner in which we deal with communication from the public.
By law, any board member may request that something be agendized for a future meeting and I have requested that the matter of dumping concrete into the creek on the Saratoga campus, and the question of whether the district can do things like cut down trees without complying with Saratoga city ordinances, be placed on the agenda for our April 19 board meeting at West Valley College.
In spite of the problems raised by Ms. Jensen, our district does need public participation, comment and, yes, even criticism. We have a $95 million budget, two colleges, 26,000 students and 1,000 employees. I urge members of our community to become more familiar with what we do and how we do it. I have twice proposed we videotape our governing board meetings for broadcast on local access cable TV. That can be done at almost no cost. Unfortunately, neither the district administration nor any of the other six trustees would support my motion to that effect, so we continue to operate with little public awareness, scrutiny or involvement. That isn't healthy.
Jeffrey A. Schwartz
Governing Board Member, West Valley-Mission Community College District
District should have told voters of plans
Jim Ousley reminds us in his letter in the Feb. 14 issue that Measure D was not for the expansion of facilities and that the new kindergarten rooms, which SUSD did not disclose to the voters it planned to include in the modernization project, should not be built--certainly not in light of the shortfall in funds. We should remember that there are other items that SUSD planned to include but did not disclose to the voters before the Measure D election such as new administration buildings, new multi-purpose buildings, air conditioning, and relocating day care facilities.
Of course, even after the district became aware in early April 2000 that it would be short of funds because it would only receive $2.7 million from the State in matching funds rather than the $7.25 million for which it was eligible, it proceeded to relocate the day care facilities at Argonaut and Foothill and to demolish the entirely serviceable multi-purpose building at Argonaut, requiring that a new one be built to replace it.
We should also remember that the only expansion of facilities that the voters did authorize was additional classrooms to alleviate overcrowding. However, it is these classrooms, plus the ones to replace the nonconforming classrooms which have been demolished or otherwise removed, that the District has told the construction company it plans to drop instead of dropping the new facilities which the District had neglected to disclose to the voters.
Now the District apparently will not even have sufficient funds left to repair and modernize the classrooms at Argonaut and Foothill and replace the nonconforming classrooms much less build additional classrooms to alleviate overcrowding.
Shouldn't the District ask the members of this community whether they would prefer to have modernized classrooms that will provide educational value for the children or have extravagant new administration buildings and multi-purpose buildings and additional kindergarten rooms? Maybe the community shouldn't wait to be asked.
Wesley I. Ferguson
Chateau Drive
West Valley officials making bad decisions
Last Thursday as a private citizen, not as a planning commissioner, I addressed the West Valley College board of trustees and administration with regard to our recent circulation element and the very serious traffic problems already occurring on Fruitvale and Saratoga avenues. Now I ask you, how can a full-scale stadium be good for Saratoga, while a stadium proposed by the city of Santa Clara be bad for Mission College? Easy, all you need is a large measure of arrogance and hypocrisy and this is what you get:
Linda Salter, chancellor of West Valley-Mission College, told the community of Saratoga not to worry about the traffic impacts on our roads, and in the same breath urged the college trustees to oppose the city of Santa Clara's consideration of a stadium across from Mission College. Why, you guessed it, because the traffic congestion would hurt the college.
This brings a few thoughts to mind: First, why is the college not attempting to work with the city of Santa Clara on this proposed sport stadium facility? Second, if Linda Salter and West Valley President Marchelle Fox are so lacking in ethical or moral integrity that they publicly propose that what is bad for Mission College is good for Saratoga, maybe they need to be recalled.
Erna Jackman
Oak Street
Homeowners would not have bought near college
We recently bought a home on Douglass Lane, although we have been Saratoga residents for the past 10 years. The atmosphere and peacefulness of the neighborhood were major considerations in purchasing our new home. This is now being challenged by West Valley College with their plans to build a stadium.
We strongly oppose this stadium and are part of the West Valley Home Owners Association, which is opposing the college's plans. As we understand the situation, the college has attempted to build a stadium numerous times over many years, in complete disregard for the use permits and promises originally made when the college was allowed to build in Saratoga.
There are numerous clear reasons why a stadium should not be built on this land. The foremost are noise, traffic, safety, and property value impacts for residents within miles of the campus. Just as importantly, the integrity of the West Valley College Board and administration is brought into question. The college should not be allowed to repeatedly disregard the legal commitments it has made.
As new owners in the West Valley College area of Saratoga, we had been unaware of this ongoing fight over a stadium. Had a stadium been in place or under construction, we would have never bought in this area. If we had known about the recent legal judgment in favor of the stadium, we almost certainly also would not have bought here, just on the chance the college would be allowed to proceed.
The Saratoga City Council has been fighting the attempts for a stadium in the past. We have gained their support to continue this fight, representing us as residents who have enjoyed Saratoga's quality of life. We will fight this recent judgement and hopefully find permanent, legal means to cause West Valley College to stop these attempts. It is ridiculous that the residents have had to continuously fight with the college to get them to abide by agreements made. I consider the recent judgment a fluke that will eventually be overturned. Treating a stadium as an educational facility is a pretty strange interpretation, and purely a mechanism to squeeze through a loophole in the laws.
From what we understand, all of this is symptomatic of numerous instances where the board and the college's administration have shown questionable integrity and disrespect for the residents and previous agreements. Whether dumping concrete into the creek, the stadium issue, or the treatment the residents received in the recent February 1 board meeting, all are instances of the college acting without integrity.
For those of you opposing the stadium issue, we appreciate your support and integrity.
For those others, we urge you to reconsider your position on the stadium.
Ralph & Sandy Mullins
Douglass Lane
FACT will look at SFD issues
In response to Dave Pitman's letter to the editor Feb. 14. Saratoga firefighters and citizens have formed an investigative group called FACT (Firefighters and Citizens Task Force).
The task force was formed to establish a public forum to investigate and respond to the need for increasing the level of service and safety for both the citizens and the firefighters of the Saratoga Fire District. Our purpose is to collect and distribute accurate and factual information regarding the possibility of contracting for services with the Santa Clara County Fire District.
FACT meets every Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at the Saratoga Senior Center. Public attendance and input is welcome.
David W. Dolloff
Sigal Drive
Correction
Phyllis Hunt currently teaches the old-world method of leaded stained glass in the South Bay. She is not the only instructor in the South Bay who teaches Tiffany-style, as was incorrectly reported in the Feb. 21 issue of the Saratoga News.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
