Ken Wagman

Gavilan College Faculty Association
RUNNING FOR: Cabrillo College
Board of Trustees

Why are you running for election?
I will be retiring soon and want to keep contributing to community college students. I’ve been the president and a negotiator for my union local, and I’ve been trained to understand the budget over many years.

What are your top priorities?
The state’s current contributions to community college funding are falling far behind the rate of inflation. At times like these, we need to keep any reductions as far away from the classroom as possible, so the college can offer a complete schedule for students to graduate on time. We need to hang on to our excellent part-time faculty so we can grow back the programs when the money returns. Now is the time to tap into college budget reserves that exceed recommended levels to keep classes available and faculty able to afford to live near where they teach.

Why is it important to have educators on school boards?
We teachers have seen the impact to the students and faculty of the cutbacks from the recession 15 years ago. We need to make sure current students and faculty aren’t impacted that way again.

What does it mean to you to be part of the movement to protect and defend our public schools?
The California community college system is a valuable community resource — we need to make sure it stays that way for future generations.

How important is the November election?
It has the potential to dismantle this hyper-partisan divide, which is turning off great candidates to run for local public education positions. I’m optimistic that if Kamala Harris is elected, it will begin the long healing process and encourage more folks to run for local trustee seats.