STATEMENT OF GEOFF BAUM

CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNING BOARD MEMBER

Trustee Area No. 1

 

PASADENA AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

Occupation: Educator/Nonprofit Executive

 

Pasadena City College belongs to all of us. It leads California in transfers to UC and Cal State, and offers over 100 career programs, from nursing to construction trades. But students need more than statistics: they need classes that fit their shifts, textbooks that cost nothing, and counselors who help.
 

That's why I am running again.
 

I served three terms as a trustee, twice as Board President. When midyear budget cuts hit during the Great Recession, we kept a full class schedule and never laid off a single employee. Later, as President of the Community Colleges Board of Governors, I helped lead the fight for transfer degrees and zero-cost textbooks. California now invests $115 million in those programs, saving students thousands.
 

After the Eaton Fire, our neighbors, students, faculty, and staff turned to PCC for emergency aid, to retrain, finish interrupted degrees, and start over. I am committed to training the carpenters, electricians, welders, and building inspectors who will rebuild our neighborhoods, along with zero-cost textbooks, stronger transfer pathways, and careful oversight of every bond and tax dollar.
 

Our community deserves a college that delivers. I respectfully ask for your vote.