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For every dollar the West Valley - Mission Community College District will spend in 2026-27, just 11¢ goes into the teaching of classes.  When one follows the money, it is clear that the District leadership has prioritized construction and using its voter-approved bond funds over offering classes to the community.

Source:  WVMCCD AY2026-27 Budget

The voters need to elect better stewards of their tax dollars.

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It’s time for leaders who will fulfill the mission of the community college by offering quality classes and services to the community.

Many students come to Mission College or West Valley College and end up on a waiting list.  10% to 20% of students are waitlisted each semester in the District.  When a student remains on a waiting list it is analogous to a public school turning away a student.  West Valley – Mission CCD is one of the wealthiest community colleges in the State of California, but each semester it turns away students by not offering all the classes needed by students. 

In Fall 2026, over 4000 students were waitlisted for classes.

 In Spring 2026, the situation was worse.  Two faculty wrote this about the Spring 2026 semester:

"We had thousands of students on waitlists this spring – 1614 students were on waitlists of 15 or more students, which should have immediately trigger class additions. Unfortunately, most of those waitlisted students were ignored and had to find classes elsewhere outside of our District.  Students in STEM programs, GE classes, and those interested in ESL and Kinesiology classes were some of the most impacted, with waitlists reaching 30+ students, and with one reaching 60 students. Our core business is providing a quality education to students in our community, and we are sorely lacking in our ability to meet their needs with our current budgeting structure.  In recent years, many programs have had their budget cut dramatically and replacement faculty have not been added. For such a well funded district as ours, it does not need to be this way.”

"I’m speaking as a Mission College counselor.  For nearly 30 years, I’ve worked directly with our students in their educational planning.  I’m here tonight because I’m concerned about the negative impact on students when classes fill early in the registration cycle and waitlists grow quickly, and when classes are cancelled.

§ Counselors want students to complete their educational plans in a timely manner.

§ I notice that students usually feel anxious about being waitlisted vs. being enrolled.  Rather than get on a waitlist, many of these students look elsewhere for a guarantee that they are enrolled, or end up delaying critical courses in their educational plan.

§ Delays in completion impact a student’s motivation level, and some leave our college and don’t return if they find another college that better accommodates their course and schedule needs. 

§ Waitlists can have unintended consequences for transfer to university, especially regarding STEM classes.  These courses are often part of a sequence of courses in a discipline like Biology, Chemistry, Math or Physics.  If a student splits a sequence between different colleges, this can be detrimental to transfer admissions, because universities typically require that students complete an entire sequence at the same college.”

It’s time for leaders who will prioritize offering the classes that students need and who will act quickly to open new sections when waitlists begin forming.

From 2013 to 2026, the West Valley – Mission Community College District’s ending fund balance in their unrestricted fund (e.g. the fund used for classes and counseling services) has grown from $10,769,937 to $122,680,341.

Source: WVMCCD Budget Reports

This revenue primarily comes from local property tax.  So instead of offering classes that students need, the District leadership retained this money in its reserve.

Meanwhile approximately over this same time period, the West Valley – Mission Community College District has more than doubled the number of administrators while decreasing teaching faculty by 7% and decreasing support staff by 17%.     Source: California State Auditor

There is now one administrator for every 3.37 full-time faculty.  Quality education need not cost this much!

The District is governed by an elected seven member board.  These trustees are entrusted to use tax revenue to provide to the community quality instruction and academic services.

Instead those who have served on the board for many years, such as Anne Kepner and Susan Fish, are emphasizing construction and capital outlay over the academic needs of community members.

What do the incumbents (Anne Kepner and Susan Fish) want to do?  They want to build housing for 300+ students.  What do Colin Glaves and Doug Robb want to do?  Colin Glaves and Doug Robb want to offer the classes, programs, and services that students need when the students need those.

What is the point of free housing at a community college when students are NOT able to enroll into the classes they need?

It’s time for the WVMCCD to refocus on the core purpose of a community college.  The best way to do this is for the voters to elect Doug Robb (Area 7) and Colin Glaves (Area 3).

Stand with your faculty union in supporting Board of Trustee candidates who support students and faculty! :

Colin Glaves' (Area 3) platform centers a commitment to serving students, through better management of taxpayer money, to: 

• fund expansion of course offerings -- did you know there are over 4000 students on wait lists for classes in WVMCCD this fall 2026 term?! 

• reduce class size, and 

• hire faculty instead of more administrators: Did you know our district currently has one administrator for each full-time faculty member?  

 Doug Robb (Area 7), with over 30 years of community college teaching experience, also supports proper spending of tax money through:

• elevating faculty and staff voices in institutional decisions

• focusing spending on educational programs rather than administrator salaries, and 

• shifting hiring priorities from administrators to front-line, student-facing staff

Randy Castello, Retired Accounting Faculty, Union Negotiator will be missed.  

Melvin Hugo Pritchard was a dedicated Union Activist.  He was Vice-President of both ACE and WVMFT.   He was dedicated to improving the lives of workers.