The Mt. SAC Board of Trustees met Wednesday, May 13 in Founder’s Hall to discuss the district’s possibility of refinancing their bonds, contracts to address deferred maintenance and honor retirees and athletes from campus.
Trustees ultimately tabled a proposal to issue up to $56 million in general obligation refunding bonds after questioning whether the refinancing would save taxpayers money or increase short-term property tax costs.
The board spent roughly 40 minutes hearing a presentation from Barclays, Jones Hall and Urban Futures, who provided information on whether the district should refinance several outstanding bonds.
The agenda item asked trustees to approve the issuance and sale of refunding bonds, a form of refinancing existing debt. The plan would have asked property owners to pay slightly more in the short term, estimated during the discussion at about $10 more per year for an average household while shortening the repayment timeline by about five to six years.
District advisers said the plan would make the debt easier to pay down over time. They said the Los Angeles County Treasurer’s Office supported the idea, but some trustees questioned whether it made sense to refinance while interest rates are higher.
Trustee Jay Chen was the most vocal trustee during the presentation, advocating for the board to not approve this decision. He argued that the projected savings were largely the result of accelerating payments rather than securing a significantly better interest rate, and instead revisit the idea at a later date. The board tabled the item.
“If I see something that doesn’t make financial sense, I’m going to call it out,” trustee Chen said. “I would not be comfortable with just doing the easy thing and voting for it.”
One of the board of trustees main roles is to act as a legal and financial advisor to a college. The motivation behind trustee Chen’s pushback was “exercising oversight and being a good fiduciary to the community,” trustee Chen said.
Deferred maintenance, which is when repairs or maintenance of campus facilities are pushed back to a later time, was another point of contention, with trustee Gary Chow being the board member to ask for clarification.
The agenda suggested that the board approve an agreement to hire The Gordian Group to conduct an on-site assessment of Mt. SAC’s deferred maintenance to help fill in knowledge gaps related to funding and projected costs.
President Martha Garcia, along with Daniel Madrigal, Mt. SAC’s manager for maintenance and operations, helped clarify the board’s questions related to the process of using outside consultants.
A high note of the meeting was the recognition of those retiring from Mt. SAC and the men’s swim and dive team.
The board of trustees recognized the faculty members who are set to retire at the end of this year, totaling over 271 years of service to the college.
The board also recognized men’s swim and dive, who won the 2026 California Community College Athletic Association championship for the first time in Mt. SAC’s history.
We’re very happy and proud of ourselves here at the end of the season, getting this award and the recognition from the board,” Powell Stanger, a 19-year-old elementary school education major and swimmer with the team, said.
Faculty representatives also used public comment to push for expanded adjunct health care and pay parity. Hershel Greenberg, a professor of critical thinking, said the college’s $1.4 million adjunct health care pool went over budget after 50 more adjuncts enrolled in the free single-party Kaiser plan, adding about $300,000 in costs.
Faculty speakers asked the district to remove the health care cap and address pay parity, which they said would help ensure faculty are paid for the work they are expected to do. The board did not take action on the requests during the meeting.
The May 13 meeting also marked Student Trustee Michelle Obasi’s final meeting as Mt. SAC’s student representative on the board. Obasi was recognized by trustees, constituent leaders and speakers throughout the meeting, many of whom thanked her for representing student concerns during a year that included faculty negotiations, contract nonrenewals and ongoing campus governance debates.
In her closing remarks, she urged the board to keep students and faculty involved in campus decisions.
“Please continue seeking student and faculty input before making decisions that directly impact students and faculty so we can all feel that culture of care,” Obasi said.
Both CSEA chapters also acknowledged President Garcia’s recent responsiveness, communication and transparency. This comes after months of objections from the public, claiming there was a lack of transparency from President Garcia and the board.
“I feel pleased and grateful, and continue to be committed to enhance the collaboration and transparency with [faculty] and the entire campus community,” President Garcia said.
The board of trustees is scheduled to meet next on June 10 in Founder’s Hall.
