The Santa Rosa Junior College Board of Trustees approved the elimination of two classified positions supporting the College to Career program, five classified positions supporting the Student Success program, and outlined a districtwide reorganization plan to address a $10 million budget deficit while updating the community on campus construction at its meeting March 10.
Noah Morris, employment services advisor of 13 years and Mary Schexnaydre, student success coach of 15 years voiced concerns about the potential impact of staff reductions on students and the College to Career program, which helps students with intellectual disabilities gain workplace skills and secure employment in Sonoma County.
The 3-year program, launched in 2011, accepts about 20 students annually and has supported students from enrollment at the college to gaining career and technical experience to placement into a job or job training position. In 2018, the program was ranked the most successful in the state. Morris highlighted the program’s record for placing students in more than 400 jobs and maintaining high employment rates among graduates. He warned that eliminating all classified staff could jeopardize compliance with Department of Rehabilitation contracts, which require certain services to be assigned to specific personnel…