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College Matters | CR seeks input from the community

This article was originally posted in the College Matters column of the Times-Standard.

View Article on the Times-Standard
By DR. KEITH FLAMER
Thursday, January 27, 2022 - 3:00pm
I hope that you and your family started the New Year happy and healthy as we continue to navigate challenges associated with the pandemic. During times of greater distance and isolation, I often reflect on how important community is for us to thrive. Our community has shown that we have the willingness and skill to adapt and move forward, but as we adapt, it is important for us to have the information we need to tailor our curriculum and schedule to our service area needs and interest. To that end, we are embarking on a community canvassing campaign that will inform our direction forward.
  • For example, do students in our area prefer online, in-person, or a mix of the two when considering attending college?
  • Are local students enrolling in online classes outside of our area?
  • Are students looking to transfer to a four-year school or are they just looking for skills to help improve job prospects?
  • Are there programs you feel would be valuable to the area that we do not offer?
  • How aware is the community of all the programs we do offer?

In the coming weeks, we will be asking you to answer these and other questions through online surveys, mailers, and possible in-person or virtual events and we hope that you will support this effort by participating. The data we gather will inform our educational choices in the years to come.

CR is also adapting to population changes throughout our service area. The Board of Trustees has started a redistricting process that will change the boundaries of the zones, called areas, that our trustees represent. College of the Redwoods has seven trustees who live within the boundaries of Ferndale, Fortuna, Eureka, Arcata, McKinleyville, Hoopa/Willow Creek, Southern Humboldt, and Del Norte County and this proactive redistricting will ensure that these distinct areas continue to be represented in the best manner. The newest U.S. Census data will be used to determine areas so that the system is proportionate and fair, and in accordance with the one person, one vote principle by requiring that district areas be as equal in population as possible so that voters in every community are adequately represented.

This is a complex process so CR has contracted with Planwest Partners to study the 2020 Census data and make recommendations regarding redistricting. Planwest Partners attended the January 4, 2022 Board meeting and a recent Board workshop at which they provided multiple redistricting options to the Board of Trustees that would comply with the California Voting Rights Act. The trustees engaged in thoughtful discussion and they reached a consensus on one of the options presented by Planwest. They will bring it forward for possible approval at their next meeting on Feb. 1, 2022, at 1 p.m. in the Eureka campus boardroom. Public comment is welcome and members of the public are encouraged to provide input.

Planwest’s redistricting presentation and draft redistricting maps can be viewed at https://www.redwoods.edu/board/Board-Home/Redistricting.

We look forward to your input on all of these changes as we move into the New Year.

Dr. Keith Flamer is the president of the College of the Redwoods. 

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