The San Mateo County Community College District’s new trustee is prepared to hit the ground running amid questions about the budget and the uncertainty in Sacramento.

Dave Mandelkern, an education technology entrepreneur, was elected to one of three open seats on the board of trustees. In one of the county’s poorest turn outs in history, voters stayed the course and re-elected Karen Schwarz and Patricia Miljanich. Trustee Tom Constantino will retire.

Mandelkern served on the President’s Council at Skyline College for three years. During his watch the college established the one-stop student services center, the childcare center, and the displaced airport worker program, as well as installed new landscaping and sponsored an author’s lecture series.

There was some controversy during the campaign when Miljanich vocally supported fellow candidate, Van Ton Quinlivan, and expressed her disappointment after the election.

When asked if he foresees any difficulties in working with the Board after Miljanich’s endorsement, Mandelkern said, “No, I respect Pat. I understand her point of view, which is to have more diversity on the Board. I’m in favor of diversity, but I think qualifications are important.”

“Dave Mandelkern is a real asset to the college community,” said Skyline President Frances White. “As a member of the President’s Council, he really cared about the students. I would like him to keep that in mind when making policy decisions.”

Now that he’ll be working at the district level, White would like to know Mandelkern’s priorities for Skyline College. Looming on the horizon is California’s multi-billion dollar deficit, an inexperienced Republican governor and a sharply divided, Democratic controlled legislature. Should the governor make further budget cuts to community colleges, White would like to know how the district operates and maintains its mission.

“When Skyline’s budget was cut by $10 million, there was a 5 percent drop in full time equivalents (students),” White said. She explained that fewer students attend college because of higher fees and tuitions and reduced course offerings.

Declining enrollment is disconcerting to administrators and is like a slow bleed on school budgets. The state pays districts according to the number of full time students.

The president and trustee are on the same page when it comes to accessibility. Mandelkern’s platform was affordability, accessibility and building partnerships. White’s concerns are the state budget and district policies that won’t “prevent, impede, deter or create obstacles for students to attend college”.

Mandelkern said that it’s unlikely the community colleges will receive more money in the budget and hoped that there would be no further cuts. With all things being equal, he hoped to increase revenues by partnering with businesses for training programs and providing scholarships to offset higher fees and tuition.

“There are models in the district that work,” Mandelkern said. “I would like the board and every department to have the mindset of looking for opportunities that would benefit the students.”

Among community partners is the Peninsula Healthcare District that grants an expanded nursing program at CSM. It provides for two full-time instructors, some clerical support, supplies and equipment for five years. Mandelkern is interested in pursuing similar partnerships with industries to provide locally trained workers.

To attract more students, Mandelkern cites the one stop student services center at Skyline College. According to Carmen Ybarra-Garcia, vice president of student services, the center is a model for community colleges and receives an average of two or three visits a month from representatives throughout the state.

Mandelkern said, “The tough reality of these days is that a CSU is hard to get into. I would like our transfer center and financial aid office to be the most competitive of all community college districts in getting students into CSU.”

Katharine Harer, co-president of the San Mateo Community College Federation of Teachers (AFT) said, “We are very pleased because all three of the candidates that we endorsed were elected. The candidates care about the faculty concerns and were interested in open communication.

“Budget cuts, low salaries, increased cost of benefits, lay-offs and beyond that there are many more issues. It’s going to be very challenging and that’s why we wanted board members we could communicate with and who really understood the basic issues.”

According to Harer, being open minded and creative would be the main thing for Mandelkern to do. “When there’s no money, I know there are different ways to cut the pie,” she said.

Tanya Johnson, Associated Students of Skyline College president, said she has faith that the recently elected trustees are well informed of the issues. She is interested in seeing new things brought to the table such as a fund for students who can’t afford college and offering college courses to high school students; two ideas that Mandelkern has talked about.

Gov. Schwarzenegger is expected to release his 2004-05 Mid-Year Budget Proposal in early January that will take effect next July. “The odds are low that the state will give more money,” Mandelkern said. “We have to look for additional sources of funding over and above state funding. The community colleges will be lobbying hard that the state won’t cut any further.”