We asked the candidates vying for the Trustee Area 6 seat on the Cabrillo Community College Board this question:
What do you believe is the most important change Cabrillo College should make over the next four years, and what would you do as a trustee to make it happen?
Karen Cogswell
Retired Business Owner
Student success must be Cabrillo’s top priority. Whether students plan to transfer or enter the workforce, they should leave with a clear career path and the coursework to reach it.
Karen Cogswell
As a trustee, I will push for an inclusive review of what four-year universities and local employers require, then support faculty and staff in aligning our curricula to those expectations.
Sound finances are essential. Colleges nationwide face declining enrollment as birth rates fall and immigration policies shift. Cabrillo can respond by expanding dual enrollment for high school students, welcoming lifelong learners to any class and advocating for the option to repeat classes.
Demand is strongest in health care, from front-line administrative roles to RN positions, yet long waits push many students to enroll elsewhere. New anatomy and other labs at the Watsonville campus are close to where many of these students live. We must keep finding ways to meet this demand.
Finally, students feel the promise and peril of AI as they navigate their futures. Cabrillo should lead a coalition of community colleges in confronting these issues, drawing on the statewide system’s strength. The pace of change demands immediate action, from state and federal advocacy to substantive discussions with local business and political leaders. Our college and community have the knowledge and experience to lead. Let’s roll up our sleeves.
Ben Finke
Bus Operator
I believe that Cabrillo should take steps to support and compensate faculty and staff at a rate comparable to that paid to employees at colleges in other similar California counties. Primarily, hardworking people are entitled to a comfortable living wage — and, as the people directly responsible for student mentorship and success, it is integral to the good of the school and student outcomes that they be treated fairly and given the accommodations and resources they need to perform at their absolute best.
As a trustee, I would analyze and contrast the budgets of Cabrillo and similar schools and plan steps to move toward closing the pay gap between them. I understand that the school is currently operating with a nearly $3 million budget deficit, but I believe that front-line faculty and staff should be the last to be cut when funds are tight and the first to benefit when the capital is available.
I would also look to work closely with the Community College League to advocate for the alteration of the Student Centered Funding Formula, moving to allow schools like Cabrillo with moderate numbers of lifelong learners and adult students to receive more funding from their enrollment, rather than focusing heavily on first-time students.
Similarly, I would work to petition the state to allow community members and students to retake classes. This would increase enrollment, as well as allow our neighbors to recreationally engage in programs they enjoy, building real community and lending to strong local culture. Holistic and needs-based enrollment and waitlist weighting could be altered to ensure first-time students are able to take the classes they need but not completely exclude elective participants.
It would also be integral to advocate for the state to defund Calbright, an online-only community college. While, in principle, it is beneficial to offer online courses, this option is redundant, draws funding away from local community-serving institutions and does not offer the same quality of education or levels of student success as even online classes offered by traditional brick-and-mortar schools.
I would also explore the reintroduction of bond measures, the implementation of which would allow the school to keep general fund capital available for operations costs, rather than having to be spent on facilities maintenance.
Were we able to achieve one or two of these goals, let alone all of them, Cabrillo would have the funds to ensure that faculty and staff can comfortably focus on student success while benefiting our entire community.
Milissa Ales-Barnicoat
Chief Executive Officer
The most important change I would like to see over the next four years is Cabrillo Community College positioning itself for the future. For me, that starts with students. Access can’t just mean getting through the door. Students need to be able to afford to stay, feel like they belong, finish what they came for and see opportunity on the other side — whether that’s transferring, starting a career, earning a credential or continuing to learn.
Milissa Ales-Barnicoat
I also think we need to stay connected to what is happening outside the college. That means listening to our community, understanding where jobs and careers are changing and building strong relationships with employers and other partners.
There is also a very real financial piece. Funding is changing, and costs aren’t getting any lower. I don’t think Cabrillo can simply cut its way to a stronger future. We need to be looking for new resources, too. That’s an area where I have experience. Much of my work involves bringing together education, government, labor, employers and community organizations. I know how important relationships are when you’re looking for funding, building partnerships or trying to get something new off the ground.
As a trustee, I would bring that experience to the board. I would want us actively advocating for Cabrillo in Sacramento and beyond, looking for state and federal funding, grants, private funding and partnerships while making thoughtful decisions about the resources we already have. A trustee isn’t there to run the college. We’re there to ask questions, set direction, make responsible decisions and hold leadership accountable.
Four years from now, I want Cabrillo to be financially stronger and a place where students feel they belong, where great faculty and staff want to stay and where students can see a future for themselves.