By mid-June, employees with State Center Community College District will begin moving into the historic Guarantee Building in downtown Fresno, district officials say. Interior renovation work is nearing completion on the 12-story structure, which the district purchased for $10.6 million in 2018. Eventually, all of the district's leadership team and their...
Come 2022, Fresno CC Parking Hassles Should Ease for All
Neighborhoods near Fresno City College are looking forward to some relief from the deluge of cars that overflow daily from the school’s parking lots and crowd onto their tree-lined streets. “It is just getting progressively worse,” said homeowner Geri Bradley, who has lived across the street from Fresno City for...
Two Years of Free Community College? It’s in the Hopper.
Two years of free community college may soon become a reality for 2.1 million students in California through Assembly Bill 2. The measure is a more aggressive version of 2017's Assembly Bill 19, or the California College Promise. That program dispersed $46 million to the state's 114 community colleges with the...
SCCCD Board Names Buckley, Reyna As Newest College Presidents
In a 5-1 vote, the State Center Community College District Board of Trustees selected Jerry Buckley as Reedley College's next president and Angel Reyna to lead Madera Community College Center. Trustee Annalisa Perea abstained from the vote and Trustee Eric Payne voted no, saying he would like to have an...
Diversity Debate Erupts as State Center Is Hiring New Leaders
Former trustee Miguel Arias is challenging State Center Community College District's commitment to hiring diverse leaders. In a recent tweet, he accused district leaders of screening out qualified minority candidates in the Reedley College presidential search. Both of the finalists, interim president Donna Berry and Jerry Buckley, the vice president...
Area Colleges Promise Big Results from Half Billion in Spending
A large crowd gathered in October for the groundbreaking of a $5 million Agriculture and Technology building at Madera Community College Center. It was the first project to emerge from a nearly half-billion-dollar bond measure, approved by voters, benefiting State Center Community College District. “We have the honor of breaking ground here, but...
What Should Fresno Be Thankful For? Let’s Start With 5.3% Unemployment.
One of the best things about Thanksgiving is that it prompts us to look to the bright side and count our blessings. Aside from my familial blessings, the thing I'm most thankful for is the turnaround in Fresno's economic trajectory. The city's unemployment rate in October was 5.3%. Ten years ago,...
State Center’s Unrepresented Employees Get 2% Raises
Some of the high-ranking employees at State Center Community College District will get a 2.11 percent salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2018. District trustees unanimously approved the new salary schedules at their meeting Tuesday night. A total of 137 unrepresented employees, including academic vice chancellors, classified vice chancellors, and confidential employees, will...
No. 1 Issue for Fresno Schools? Closing Achievement Gap.
When it comes to closing the achievement gap in Fresno schools and community colleges, trustee candidates and incumbents shared their ideas on the best practices at the 2018 African-American Issues and Education Candidates Forum this week. Each of the 13 participants offered their prescriptions to boost student achievement to a...
How Nunes 'Magazine' Got Quote From Clovis Unified Trustee
A campaign mailer from Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare) created plenty of buzz locally and nationally. Residents in the district recently received a 40-page magazine. The mailer featured Nunes' point of view on what he calls negative coverage from The Fresno Bee and also Nunes' attacks on his opponent, Fresno County prosecutor...