Community Group Calls On PCC Leadership To End Bullying Of Gonzales

On Monday, C-FAIRR, a local advocacy organization formed in 2012, to challenge public policy and promote adequate, honest, and effective representation in the State of Arizona, is calling on the community to fight for free speech at Pima Community College.

Mario Gonzales, one of the founders of the Coalition for Accountability, Integrity, Respect, sent a let out to members and the community urging them to “call or email the PCC Board members to object to their attack on the Free Speech rights of duly elected Board members.”

At issue, are the attempts by the Board majority to silence Board member and former State Senator Luis Gonzales. Gonzales has a vocal critic of the failing status quo and has insisted on transparency.

Related article: Board Member’s Attack Shows PCC Leaders Committed To Controversy [Video]

Gonzales’ persistent questions regarding the budget, increases in student tuition, reductions in classes offered, and hiring practices have resulted in the majority resorting to bullying tactics in an effort to silence him.

C-FAIRR’s letter reads:

Last November Luis A. Gonzales was elected to the Pima Community College Governing Board and began his term in January, 2017. Luis has not been a typical board member who rubberstamps whatever the administration brings to the board. Luis is very well prepared at every Board meeting. He reads all the material in his Board packet and prepares relevant questions and is a strong advocate of transparency, that is, of the college’s obligation to inform the public, whose taxes support the college, of what the college is doing. Some examples:

1. Last month the Chancellor proposed raising tuition for local students yet again-last year tuition was raised for local students while tuition for foreign students was lowered Luis wanted to see if there were areas that could be cut to save money so as not to have to raise tuition. So he asked the administration for more information than what was provided.
2. The administration claimed to have an Affirmative Action Plan, but the plan was not on the College’s website or anywhere Luis asked the administration to produce the plan and make it available to the board and the public.
3. Luis has called for a public discussion of a very important matter: This year, in three (3) separate cases federal judges have found that Pima Community College-specifically the Chancellor-has violated the civil rights of This is serious business, but the Board and the administration militantly refuse to schedule a public discussion of this.
4. Luis has questioned (a) the policy that no PCC Board member can visit a PCC campus without notifying the Chancellor and (b) the ”unwritten policy” that no Board member can meet with college organizations or employees unless the Chancellor is present (which guarantees no one will say anything critical for fear of retribution).
5. On several occasions, the Board Chair has publicly ridiculed PCC staff/faculty and community members who spoke at PCC Board meetings; this can discourage people from addressing the Board. Luis encourages people to express their views and insists they be respected  when they

The Board is used to rubberstamping what the administration proposes. So, Luis’ asking questions and requesting information has made him a thorn in the side of the administration, the Board Chair, the board majority, and the board’s legal counsel. So much so that at the March, 2017, PCC Board meeting the Board Chair presented a motion to limit the speech of board members to three (3) minutes on a non-action item and five (5) minutes on an action item. This motion was aimed directly at Luis Gonzales and the constituents he represents.

Silencing and limiting Luis’ voice is a direct assault on the democratic rights of the people who elected Luis to be their voice on the PCC Board. A PCC Faculty Representative is also being silenced by the Board majority.

A major reason PCC was put on Probation by its accrediting agency, the Higher Learning Commission, was that the board abandoned its oversight responsibilities and let the administration run roughshod over the staff and faculty and anyone else who raised questions. It took four (4) years for PCC to get off of Probation, but it is engaging in the same behavior that got it on Probation in the first place.

What can we do? We should call or email the PCC Board members to object to their attack on the Free Speech rights of duly elected Board members. Here’s how you can contact them:

Board Members:
Mark Hanna (Dist. 1)
Demion Clinco (Dist. 2)
Sylvia Lee (Dist. 3)
Meredith Hay (Dist. 4)
Luis A. Gonzales (Dist. 5)
By Telephone: (520) 206-4971, by email: board@pima.edu