If you’ve seen the voter guide, you know there are a lot of initiatives and elections on the November ballot. While all issues are important, the two items regarding Allan Hancock College are particularly significant this year.
The first is the election of a trustee for Area 3, which encompasses Guadalupe and southern Santa Maria. Incumbent Larry Lahr, born and raised in Santa Maria, is a Hancock graduate and has served as a trustee for 24 years, providing leadership and stability as the college blossomed into the incredible institution it is today. It is my pleasure to serve alongside Larry, a compassionate advocate for students and a champion for the faculty and staff who serve our community.
Larry’s leadership guided the college through budget downturns in a way that avoided the layoffs and furloughs of other public agencies. He was a key player in the development of the new, modern campuses you see today in Santa Maria and Lompoc. Most importantly, though, Larry is committed to ensuring that every student in our region has access to affordable, quality education that can lead to fulfilling careers. In fact, he was the first champion for the College’s Career Day–an event that now brings more than 3,000 high school and junior high students to Hancock annually, offering a chance to hear from local businesses and to start visualizing their own future.
The second opportunity on the Nov. 6 ballot is Measure Y, a bond measure that our board voted to support. Measure Y provides students with 21st century skills and leverages $10 million in donated funds and an additional $24 million in state funds to replace 50-year-old buildings on the Santa Maria campus. The project continues the college’s leadership position as a hub for the arts while providing students with cutting-edge programs in graphic design, computer animation, digital photography, and virtual reality. Measure Y will also replace aging classrooms where students take classes in athletic training, sports medicine, and recreation management–each a growing career field along the Central Coast.
Measure Y also addresses career education programs in the southern part of the district by providing additional upgrades to the state-of-the-art public safety training facility and modernizing equipment for PCPA’s productions in the Santa Ynez Valley. With Measure Y, Hancock can continue to provide the most advanced education possible in classrooms that are designed to last for generations.
As a trustee, I am pleased to be a part of all the great things happening at Allan Hancock College. Each year we set new records for graduation and we remain focused on our core mission, including career education and transfers to four-year universities. This fall, we welcomed our first group of Hancock Promise students with great success. In January, we will see the launch of the new four-year degree plan through a partnership the University of La Verne. This program will provide substantial scholarships for transfer students, further expanding access to higher education in our region. It’s an exciting time at Hancock and for our community.
When you are ready to mark your ballot, I hope you will consider the importance of supporting Allan Hancock College. We are poised for even greater things in the future, and your vote for Larry Lahr and Measure Y will ensure that we maintain our trajectory!
Hilda Zacarias is president of the Allan Hancock College Board of Trustees. Send your thoughts to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 1-7, 2018.
