The Santa Clarita Community College District Board of Trustees will hold a business meeting Wednesday, Aug. 14, beginning at 4 p.m. in closed session with open session beginning at 5 p.m.

The closed session will include three items:

Public Employment, Title: Interim Superintendent/President.

Conference with Labor Negotiator Santa Clarita Community College District Representative: Dr. Edel Alonso, Board President; Unrepresented Employee: Interim Superintendent/President.

Conference with Legal Counsel, Anticipated Litigation. Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9 subdivision (d)(2): Two potential cases.

The public session includes an agenda item for the “approval of the procedure and timeline to make a provisional appointment to fill Trustee Area 5 of the Board of Trustees and to approve the interview process. The resignation of Trustee Joan W. MacGregor effective Aug. 5 has resulted in a vacant board seat in Area 5. The board must make a provisional appointment within 60 days of the vacancy.

Considering the cost of a special election, the fact that a person elected via a special election would need to be seated until December 2026, and the fact that MacGregor’s seat is not up for reelection until the November 2026 ballot, it is recommended that the Board pursue the option to make a provisional appointment.”

The following timeline will be considered by the board:

Aug. 15: Deadline to provide notice to the community of the vacancy and that the Board has determined to make a provisional appointment.

Aug. 15: Application and steps in the process posted on the District’s website and available to the public.

Sept. 6: Deadline for applications for Trustee Area 5.

Before Sept. 13: Superintendent/President’s Office reviews applications and confirms eligibility of potential candidates.

Week of Sept. 16: Interviews tentatively scheduled for Sept. 18. Board meeting to interview candidates, vote for and announce the appointee, administer Oath of Office.

Oct. 4: Last day for Board of Trustees to make a provisional appointment. If no provisional appointment is made by this date, the Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools is required to order an election.

The open board of trustees seat for Trustee Area 1 caused by the resignation of Chuck Lyon near the end of June will be filled in the Nov. 5 general election.

The open session meeting will also consider an agenda item placed by Stephen Petzold, of Douglasville, Georgia, to rescind the appointment of David Andrus as interim chancellor of College of the Canyons due to alleged violations of the Brown Act at the July 10 regular meeting of the governing board.

Other items on the agenda include routine college business as well as:

–Process to Solicit Applications for Members of the Santa Clarita Community College District Independent Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee.

–Move Approval of the Change of the Title for the District’s CEO to Superintendent/President. On May 28, 2008, the Board approved the change of the title for the District’s Chief Executive Officer to Chancellor. The District now recommends that the Board return the title to Superintendent/President. This consistent with the titles of CEOs at other single college districts throughout the state.

–Move Approval of the Interim Superintendent/President’s Employment Agreement. On July 10, the Board appointed David Andrus as Acting Chancellor effective July 15. On July 16, Dianne Van Hook retired, and there is now a vacancy in the position of Superintendent/President, and the Board must now appoint an Interim Superintendent/President while the District conducts a recruitment for a permanent replacement. It is now appropriate for the Board to enter into an employment agreement with the Interim Superintendent/President effective Aug. 15.

The board will also conduct a first reading of several modifications and review of board policies including:

–Approval of Modifications to Administrative Procedure 2325 – Teleconferenced Meetings.

–Approval of Modifications to Board Policy 2345 – Public Participation at Board Meetings.

–Approval of Modifications to Board Policy 2350 – Speakers.

–Approval of Modifications to Board Policy 2355 – Decorum.

–Approval of Modifications to Board Policy 2432 – CEO Succession. Board Policy 2432 addresses the order of succession in the event the CEO is out of the office and has not designated an acting administrator. There have been changes to the Executive Cabinet since the last revision to this Board Policy. Acting Superintendent/President Andrus is proposing the following order of succession: Assistant Superintendent/Vice President, Instruction; Assistant Superintendent/Vice President, Student Services; Assistant Superintendent/Vice President, Human Resources. This Board Policy was last revised June 8, 2022.

To view the full agenda visit https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/coc/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=CYMRA56CFFAD.

The meeting will take place in the University Center, Room 301 on the Valencia campus of College of the Canyons, located at 26455 Rockwell Canyon Road, Valencia, CA 91355.

This will be an in-person meeting with the ability to view the meeting virtually.

WEBINAR ID: 823-2172-7780

To live stream the meeting visit https://canyonsonline.zoom.us/j/82321727780.

Consistent with the Brown Act, the above-noticed meeting of the SCCCD Board of Trustees shall take place as follows:

1. PUBLIC: Members the public may view the meeting using the Zoom link for livestreaming purposes.

2. PUBLIC COMMENT: Members of the public wishing to provide public comment on closed session items, open session items, and those items NOT on the agenda that are within the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees, may do so in-person at the location noted above. Forms for “requests to speak” will be available for the public to fill out.

3. WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENT: Members of the public wishing to provide written comments may do so by submitting them to boardmeetingcomments@canyons.edu.

The District will NO LONGER read emailed public comments aloud during the meeting. Emails sent to us before the meeting will be forwarded to the Trustees for their review and consideration.

4. ATTENDING VIRTUALLY: In addition to the public’s option to attend in-person at the location noted above, members of the public may attend virtually and are welcome to do so. At this time, while members of the public exercising this option are permitted to attend and observe, public participation remains subject to the in-person and written comments provisions above. Staff, attorneys, or contracted experts invited by the Board to attend may both attend and participate virtually.

PLEASE NOTE:

Board Policy 2350 limits each speaker to THREE (3) MINUTES per subject and the total time per subject to TWENTY (20) MINUTES.

Board members are prohibited by the Brown Act from responding to comments made regarding topics NOT on the official agenda.

Submissions of public comments will be considered a public record under the Public Records Act and are therefore subject to public disclosure.

For further guidance refer to BP 2345, BP 2350, and BP 2355. Board Policies are available at: www.canyons.edu/administration/board/policies/2000boardoftrustees.php.