 "Photo: Leda Garcia")
District trustees appointed attorney Blakely Latham Fernandez to represent District 7 after interviewing two applicants at a special meeting Monday.
She replaces Charles Conner, who resigned Oct. 28 after seven years on the board and has moved to Corpus Christi.
Fernandez will fill the vacancy until the May board election. Whoever wins the District 7 seat will serve out the term, which ends in 2012.
The other two candidates were Debra Nicholas and Dr. Samuel Houtkin. Houtkin, however, did not receive an interview because he resides in District 1.
After holding interviews in executive session for about an hour, trustees voted 6-2 to appoint Fernandez. Anna Bustamante of District 3 and District 1 trustee Bernard Weiner voted for Nicholas.
Fernandez spoke on district issues during a phone interview Tuesday morning.
Discussing single verses joint accreditation, she said, there is a lot she needs to learn before making an educated comment on it. She said she is interested in seeing the report from the districtwide Accreditation Review Committee when it comes out. The Accreditation Review Committee is a group from each of the district’s five colleges appointed by Chancellor Bruce Leslie after the board charged him with reviewing the differences between single and joint accreditation.
Faculty Senates of four colleges presented a vote of no confidence in the chancellor during the September board meeting.
Trustees countered with a vote of confidence.
“I have to stand by the opinion of the current trustees,” Fernandez said.
She said she heard about it in the news and said about the faculty’s vote, “I think it’s real(ly) unfortunate; maybe there’s a communication gap.”
To employees who voted no confidence, she said: “I hope over time that their feelings would change.”
She said she has an open mind about the chancellor.
“I think you always start with confidence in somebody,” Fernandez said, and, “I will say I have confidence in the trustees; I think it’s a really good group.”
As for the district’s $7 million budget shortfall, she said, funding from state and federal entities is tightening.
“Federal funding is a real problem with all community colleges,” and community colleges continue to grow at a rapid rate, she said. She said she supports keeping tuition as low as possible.
“Educating lawmakers on what a great investment is, is really critical, and is important to keep the fees and tuition as low as possible because it is important to keep education accessible.”
Still, she said, “it’s kind of an ongoing struggle.”
On the subject of low morale, Fernandez said she is excited to see that board members were taking the time to meet with employees at the college level.
She said about the open forums, “It’s a good start and the best way to address that.” The forums are to help with the communication gap among the trustees and college administrators, faculty members and staff.
However, she said, she has heard from students and parents of the Alamo Colleges within her community “that there’s a lot of good programs.”
“I think there’s a balance there.”
Concerning renovations at this college, she said she needs more information before she can give a comment.
She did say, however, though there were not enough funds to fix the library, it is a critical part of a college and it is the goal of anyone putting out a bond to give students and taxpayers what they voted for.
As far as the district’s plan to one day build a sixth college, Fernandez said it is too “premature” to comment on it because it is a long-term decision that requires time to create an educated decision.
The board floated the idea of building a sixth college in Northwest San Antonio during a board meeting April 28, 2005.
A district newsletter from December 2006 reads: “Rapid regional growth requires development of a sixth college and necessitates expansion of our recent strategic planning process to determine the appropriate districtwide culture that, in an environment of such change, will strengthen our focus on student success.”
She expects her experience on various boards to be valuable.
“I’ve got a lot of experience on different boards, and you learn on those boards how to approach problems creatively,” she said.
She said she applied for the opening because she was sold on the idea that community colleges are the start of success.
She said she has worked with the Alamo Colleges for five years on the legislative program through the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce voluntarily on federal and state issues and helped promote community colleges in Austin to the Legislature and in Washington, D.C.
“I stay in contact with some of the trustees so I was aware of Mr. Conner’s retirement, but I think the district did a great job in advertising it.
“I know the Conners both. Obviously, they’ve … made a great contribution through the community.”
Conner’s wife, Bonnie Conner, joined San Antonio City Council in 1999 and was re-elected in 2001.
Fernandez also said she has acquaintances on the board, but Conner was the only one who notified her of the opening.
Conner said in a phone interview Wednesday, he notified Fernandez about the opening because “she’s very qualified.”
“She’s served on the education committee and on the (Greater San Antonio) chamber of commerce,” he said.
Conner admitted he knew Fernandez through networking, but after he notified her of how to apply, he stayed out of the process.
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