“I’m committed to ensuring taxpayers receive value from their investment in SMCCCD.  I’ll ask the tough questions and push the organization’s culture to serve students’ needs above all else.”

John Pimentel

I pledge to improve student outcomes: aggressively recruit local students, support them through a more efficient transfer process, and offer vocational training relevant to the careers of the future.

Read John’s letters to the SMCCCD

 
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Create Opportunity

My top priority is reducing the District’s past focus on commercial enterprises such as privately operated gymnasiums and recruiting international students. Instead we will be laser-focused on serving local students, so they may grab hold of the first rung on the ladder of upward economic mobility.

Read more…

 
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Enable Equity

I’m passionate about protecting and expanding the path to upward economic mobility created by community colleges.  I want to make sure every self-motivated person in San Mateo County, especially those who are from disadvantaged communities and first-generation college families, has the same opportunity I had.

Read more….

 
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Demand Transparency

If I am elected, you can be certain there won’t be golden parachutes with $1.2 million contracts for no work, and there will be no question that proceeds from voter-approved bonds will be spent only on projects that were promised to voters.



Read more…

Create Opportunity

Auto-enroll every high school student

Automatically enroll every high school senior in San Mateo County at one of the 3 SMCCCD colleges. This is a low-cost way to reduce real and perceived barriers and to make potential students feel welcomed.

Recruit locally

Conduct an evaluation of the costs and benefits of efforts to recruit international students to attend SMCCCD, and determine if there is greater community benefit to increasing resources spent to recruit local students.

Efficient affordable transfer

Expand formal transfer agreement programs with more UC, CSU and private colleges to make the transfer process seamless. Offer program and online resources to educate parents of first-generation college families on the application, transfer and financial aid processes.

Visiting Varsity Program

Work with high school varsity coaches, music/theater faculty, debate teams, and others to make SMCCCD facilities available to high school students. Coordinate workouts in our gyms and productions in our music/theater facilities. This increases asset utilization of facilities paid for by County taxpayers and makes SMCCCD campuses more accessible and welcoming to high school students.

“It’s Up To Us”

Create “It’s Up To Us (IUTU)” Peer Mentor Program where SMCCCD graduates provide support, advice, and guidance to one SMCCCD student working to figure out transfer and financial aid. Expand the idea to have SMCCCD students offer peer mentorship to high school kids.

Satellite Campuses and Hybrid Learning

Bring SMCCCD to the communities it serves by opening a satellite campuses in East Palo Alto and North Fair Oaks. Leverage experience from COVID response to offer hybrid classes with substantial online learning to allow working students better access.

Enable Equity

Double enrollment in the Promise Scholars Program

Double the number of students accessing the Promise Scholars Program. Please consider donating to the Promise Scholars Program by clicking here.

Remove barriers

Evaluate the feasibility of reducing nuisance barriers such as eliminating parking fees, book expenses, personal technology costs, no-cost remedial classes, and public transportation to campus as a way to encourage student enrollment.

Better curriculum using employer supplied content

Increase relevancy of course materials by inviting practitioners from industry to review and improve curriculum to ensure we are training our students with those skills which will be required in the future marketplace. Where appropriate invite industry experts to support faculty by participating in the curriculum development and teaching processes. Cull course offerings in fields which do not have attractive future employment prospects.

Use certification approach

I believe SMCCCD has lost market share in vocational and technical education to private, for-profit operators. These private sector players use online interfaces, locations in conveniently accessible commercial buildings, short-class cycles and staged certifications to attract students who are supported by Federal Student Loans. I plan to push SMCCCD to compete head on with these private players by offering more relevant course offerings and structures at lower cost and without forcing students to assume burdensome student debt. Evaluate which vocational and training programs could benefit from shifting away from a traditional 17-week academic semester and toward a certificate-based format which might include breaking down a 60-unit Associate in Arts degree into multiple stages of certification which can be completed in 6-10 week certification programs.

OTJ training with the Trades

Invite participation from Trade Unions to provide practical, applied training content for tools and practices used in the modern workplace. Use this to get students enrolled in apprenticeship programs after completing coursework.

Job Tracks

Execute Training Agreements with large local employers such as Genentech, Box, Facebook, Oracle and others whereby employers promise job openings and agree to take on graduates in exchange for having a significant role in designing and delivering the training curriculum.

Improve police training programs

The California Community Colleges train 80% of our law enforcement officers. Proper training and screening of these cadets is a first step in developing police and sheriff forces free of implicit bias and well-prepared to better manage conflict with non-violent techniques.

Demand Transparency

Televise all public meetings

Make public meetings video recorded and digitally available to increase accessibility to everyone. This technology is cheap and easy to use. It is unconscionable that SMCCCD has not adopted a formal policy to video record its meetings for the public to access.

Eliminate No-Bid contracts

Create a blanket policy that any no-bid contract must be approved by the Board of Trustees. Avoid the use of sole-source contracting except for special situations.

Create an independent Inspector General

Create an “Inspector General” position that reports directly to the Board of Trustees and who is responsible for independent efforts to evaluate, audit and critique Administration performance on matters as directed by the Board of Trustees.

SMCCCD Freedom of Information Act Standard

Adopt an “SMCCCD Freedom of Information Act” standard whereby written enquiries from the public are acknowledged within 3 business days and clear answers are provided within 15 business days.

No Golden Parachutes!

In August 2019 the public learned that the dismissal of former Chancellor Ron Galatolo actually turned out to be a reassignment to a newly created position of “Chancellor Emeritus” which pays full benefits and a nearly $40,000 per month salary worth over $1.2 million. This type of Golden Parachute is unacceptable and will not happen under my watch. Read: College district stuck with two very expensive chancellors

Bond Reconciliation Report

Produce an analysis which compares the promises made in the last three bond measures which total over $1 billion authorized (before interest payments) to how the bond proceeds were spent.

Support the DA’s investigation

Allocate whatever resources are necessary to support the District Attorney’s investigation into potential improprieties at SMCCCD. Read: DA executes search warrants in case involving former college chancellor

Community access for facilities at low/no cost

Open SMAC: Currently a vendor operates a for-profit health club on the College of San Mateo campus at a beautiful athletic facility built using proceeds from bonds approved and paid for by county voters. The San Mateo Athletic Center should be available to students, faculty and staff and this facility should be opened to the public whereby any county resident can access for a nominal fee. Open Access: Adopt Open Access policy at each campus which encourages use of campus facilities at low/no cost by County residents.