Officers elected to college district governing board

The Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Governing Board has unanimously selected Bill Garrett to serve a seventh straight year as president, while Edwin Hiel and Debbie Justeson were re-elected to serve their second terms as fellow board officers for 2014.

Garrett has served since 2008 as board president for the East County district. Fellow board members also elected Hiel as vice president and Justeson as board clerk, posts they had held this year. The district serves about 30,000 students at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges, in addition to the district’s Continuing Education and Workforce Training program.

Garrett praised the Governing Board for its cohesiveness and its excellent service to constituents. He added that much has been accomplished by the district under the leadership of Chancellor Cindy L. Miles. A revamp of the district’s public safety program, the re-staffing of key positions, and an extensive effort to bring back classes and students lost during the state budget crisis are just a few of the challenges undertaken during the course of the year.

“It has been gratifying to see the hard work of the board and progress made these past months -- progress made at the direction of the chancellor and with the support of the board,” Garrett said. “It is sometimes easy to overlook these accomplishments as the day-to-day efforts of everyone doing their jobs, but I and the rest of the board am deeply appreciative of everyone’s efforts on behalf of our students and the public we represent. We look forward to even more in 2014. There is still a lot to do for the students and all of East County.”

Garrett was appointed to the Governing Board in 2004 and first elected in 2006, while Hiel and Justeson were both first elected in 2010. Also serving on the Governing Board is Greg Barr, who started on the board in 2006, and Mary Kay Rosinski, who began serving in 2008. The student trustees are Zack Gianino for Grossmont College and Elsa Michelle Hernandez for Cuyamaca College.

 Chancellor Cindy L. Miles congratulated the board-elected officers.

 “Your collective talents and dedication to service have been remarkable,” she said. “Our students and the public are fortunate to have such excellent representation.”

 The Governing Board holds its regular meetings on the third Tuesday of each month with the exception of the Sept. 9 and Dec. 9, 2014 meetings. Meetings start at 6:30 p.m. after a closed session at 5 p.m. The board meets at Griffin Gate at Grossmont College in even-numbered months (February, April, June, August, October and December) and at the student center at Cuyamaca College in alternate months.

 For more information, visit www.gcccd.edu/ or call (619) 644-7010.