Dan Rothwell and Lou Tuosto are campaigning for the only seat on the Cabrillo board of trustees going to the polls this year, representing Area 6, which includes Aptos, Corralitos and Freedom. The other two open seats were uncontested, one going to the incumbent and one to a momentous newcomer.
The board of trustees is a publicly elected body of seven representatives responsible for overseeing the implementation of state laws, the office of the president, budgets, salaries and benefits for teachers and staff, implementation of bonds, negotiations with unions and contractors, and development of school policies. Each trustee represents a district of the region for a four-year term and is uncompensated, besides the occasional free lunch.
Rothwell is the first former Cabrillo professor ever to run for the board. He taught speech and debate in the Communication Studies department for 30 years and was a member of the faculty senate for 22 years, the college planning committee for 10 years and the Cabrillo College Federation of Teachers for 10 years, serving as chief negotiator to the board in 2016.
“I know this college intimately, I know it from the inside out,” said Rothwell. “I know the politics, I know the needs, I know what people feel they can say and what they feel they can’t say. I will give voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless.”
Tuosto owns an insurance and financial planning company, has a Masters in board governance and is a serial board and committee member, including two terms for Soquel union elementary and one for Bethany University. A former Cabrillo student and occasional seminar teacher, he was asked to run by Alan Smith, Cabrillo trustee for the last 24 years and current representative for Area 6.
“I like serving on boards and committees to be helpful,” said Tuosto. “It gives me a sense of fulfilment and I’ve developed a skill set. It’s exciting to think that my many years of public service and volunteering could be put to work for the benefit of Cabrillo’s future.”
Donna Ziel, incumbent for Area 1, ran uncontested and was appointed in lieu of election.
Adam Spickler, 48, became the first openly transgender man to hold elected office in California when he was appointed in lieu of election to Area 2 this summer, which includes parts of Santa Cruz, Live Oak and Scotts Valley. Spickler is a senior analyst at the Santa Cruz County Human Services Department with over a decade of experience in local government, two terms on the board of the nonprofit Santa Cruz County Diversity Center and an associates degree in child development from Cabrillo.
Funding seems to be the main issue affecting the success of Cabrillo students. California community colleges are funded by the state according to a formula which was recently updated. Now, 60% of community college funding is distributed based on enrollment (especially full-time) and district size, 20% on access for low-income students and 20% on degrees, certificates, transfers and attainment of a living wage.
Enrollment at Cabrillo has declined from a high of 16,653 in the fall of 2008 to approximately 12,239 in the fall of 2017, resulting in a permanent loss of apportionment funding. The funding formula also eliminated students’ ability to repeat courses.
Tuosto said that in order to increase enrollment, and therefore funding, he would use his connections with local schools, committees, rotary clubs, churches, chambers of commerce, business leaders and elected officials to encourage college-bound students to stay home and complete their general education requirements at Cabrillo in order to save money and take advantage of the excellent educational resources here in Santa Cruz.
He also advocated to expand online education to cater to those who work full-time but want to take classes.
Tuosto is a networker with experience managing large budgets, and has been endorsed by Bruce Mcpherson, John Leopold, Ryan Coonerty and Santa Cruz Republicans.
“The thing that drives me, that I’m real passionate about, is developing college and community outreaches,’ he said.
Rothwell said he would advocate at the state level to change the funding formula to better support the education goals of the community, and thought adjunct professors at Cabrillo deserve higher salaries.
“State requirements for repeatability are transforming community colleges into junior colleges where the only thing that seems to really matter is that we pump out degrees and certificates, and what we’re losing is lifelong learners, we’re losing the community,” he said.
Rothwell opposed the formation of Cabrillo’s first entirely online degree because he felt that the requirement for public speech couldn’t be adequately fulfilled online.
He is a self-identified liberal and progressive with endorsements from the Cabrillo College Federation of Teachers, the Monterey Bay Central Labor Committee and the Democratic Women’s Club of Santa Cruz County. He has a doctorate in communication theory and social influence from the University of Oregon and is the author of five books.
Look for them on your ballots this election to determine who will have the final word on all major decisions at Cabrillo for the next four years.
