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# M. Douglas Willis
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/m-douglas-willis/
- Published: 2004-10-27T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:21:01.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import

Endorsed by: Santa Monica Faculty Association, CSEA, Chapter 36 (Santa Monica College Classified Staff), Santa Monica for Renters’ Rights, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Santa Monica Democratic Club, County Federation of Labor, The K-12 Classroom Teachers, The Coalition to Protect the Living Wage, along with many other individuals.

Question #1: In 100 words or less, what about your background makes you a qualified Santa Monica College Trustee?

My 27 years as a resident and 25 years of community involvement in Santa Monica coupled with 27 years of employment in accounting at UCLA has prepared me to bring a wealth of skills, experience and knowledge to function as a trustee. My community service includes eight years as an elected official: Santa Monica Rent Control Board (1998 and 2001 chair); neighborhood board (PNA); 16 years on Community Corporation of Santa Monica (an affordable housing provider); Commissioner: Charter Review and Housing; presidents of Family Services of Santa Monica and Santa Monica/Venice NAACP and Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District Bond Oversight Committee member (ES) and tutor.

Question #2: In 300 words or less, do you agree with the way the SMC administration dealt with last year’s budget shortfall (i.e., the elimination of several academic programs)? What would you have done differently? Is it wise for the college and students to bring back those programs? Let’s be fair: Santa Monica is a great community college. You have students bypassing other neighboring community colleges to attend SMC. We are also “Monday morning quarterbacking” this question as well. Today, more than ever, community colleges are a necessity for employment through vocational training and transfer courses to four-year colleges. Community colleges are very important in the big picture. According to the evaluation report from “The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association for Schools and Colleges” on page 41, “The institution is hampered in its fiscal planning efforts by a financial accounting system recently acquired by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. The county office is responsible for the computerized accounting and payroll functions for the college. This new software system segregates human resources data from payroll data and both from the fiscal data-base. The lack of interface among the databases and the untimely reports from the county office is a serious impediment to financial monitoring and planning.” On page 42, the report states “Internally, however, the fiscal management system does not produce timely or even accurate information for sound decision making. The undependable and inconsistent financial reports have contributed to the atmosphere of discontent and disagreement that permeates the college. With the information the administration had, my reaction would have suggested “scaled back” programs until the college budget was more definite. Students would have been allowed to complete their programs. It is wise to bring back programs if there is a demand. For certain vocation programs, the college could partner with the business community under “Service Learning” when faculty permits students to go out to businesses to learn and receive credit. It is a win-win situation as potential employers/employees can pre-screen each other.

Question #3: In 300 words or less, why do you think the city of Santa Monica and SMC have had a strained relationship for years? How would you bridge that gap? That is the $64,000 question. Many residents and business community leaders I spoken to feel SMC operate in isolation. Santa Monica councilmembers desire improved collaboration, communication and true partnership with the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees and administration. There are ample opportunities where it can work. The state-of-the-art “swimming pool” is an excellent example where the city and college can work cooperatively. I know there were attempts to work collaboratively with the upcoming bond measure. Some councilmembers and city staff felt there was not enough time from the bond measure introduction presented in June to the board of trustees. The deadline to vote by trustees to appear on the November ballot was in early August and it was simply not enough time for sufficient discussion by the community. I am supporting Measure S. Also, I can recall after the 1994 earthquake there was problems in addressing how much the SMC should be reimbursed from FEMA funds from the city. As an elected official in Santa Monica and my 27 years in Santa Monica, I have nurtured relationships with all councilmembers as well as council hopefuls, and have established relationships with current board of trustees and hopefuls. I feel we can start “fresh” and forged collaboration, communication and cooperative with the city.

Question #4: In 300 words or less, there have been tensions between faculty and college administrators in recent years. Why do you think the faculty is upset and what’s the first step toward addressing their concerns? The faculty/staff feel their concerns/- suggestions were disregarded by the administration during the state budget crisis and the elimination of programs. Once again I quote from the evaluation report prepared by “The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.” Page 47, states “The problems stemmed from the perception of the faculty, staff and students that the ideas generated by these groups to address the crisis were not considered in the final decision. The lack of a more formal governance structure with written procedures and guidelines contributed to this perception. Also on page 47, on the report it states “The team found a general concern among faculty and staff regarding communication.

Many shared with the team that they believe information has not been shared in a open, timely manner to allow them to participate effectively in the decision-making process. One example given is the claim that the board agenda is published and distributed on a Friday afternoon prior to a Monday meeting. This process meets the requirements of state law regarding the publication of agendas for the benefit of the public being served. If there is an item of concern to anyone of the constituent groups on the agenda and this item has not been previously discussed to the extent that a recommendation has been reached and communicated to the faculty, staff and student leadership, the leaders of the group have little time to react and must work over the weekend to prepare to address the issue at the board meeting.”

Improved communication will assist in creating a culture that welcomes broad input and increased opportunities for participation in the planning process in an environment characterized by collegiality and mutual respect. Eleven members of the Collegewide Coord-inating Council should fully inform their constituent groups of procedures and actions affecting constituent members.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 27, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102704.pdf?ref=smdp.com)