FIVE VIE FOR COLLEGE BOARD TWO TRUSTEE SEATS ARE AT STAKE.

Byline: Sue Doyle Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Business partnerships, employee relationships and funding for College of the Canyons are on the minds of five residents vying for two trustee seats with the community college.

The race has two incumbents seeking re-election and three hopefuls looking for a start with public service on a board that helps shape the education of more than 14,000 students enrolled at the Valencia school.

New candidates choose the board members they want to challenge on the Nov. 8 ballot.

So in this race, Teresa Todd and Ronald Vitale are aiming for Joan MacGregor's seat. Jonathan Kraut hopes to replace Ernie Tichenor.

All want to sit on the five-member trustee board and have issues in mind that are driving them to serve for the next four years.

For MacGregor, board president, it starts with funding. The 59-year-old Santa Clarita resident said College of the Canyons does not receive the money that it should, and that it never has. She said the school needs to generate more funding through grants and with partnerships in the community.

MacGregor said the college must continue its high transfer rate of students to four-year universities. The rate is used as a measuring stick of academic success among community colleges.

``It shows that our faculty and our students are achieving those results in order to get those students prepared for a continuation of their education after they leave College of the Canyons,'' MacGregor said.

A trustee with the college for 12 years, MacGregor also owns Valley Oak Properties Inc., a Santa Clarita-based brokerage real estate company.

After talking with teachers and other staff on campus, Teresa Todd hopes to improve relations among these employees and the school's administration. The 47-year-old Santa Clarita resident said that many on the school's staff feel jilted with salaries, in comparison to the annual increases that Superintendent Dianne Van Hook sees and the bonuses that others receive.

Todd wants to find a way to meet the needs of these employee groups within the constraints of the budget.

Another issue that motivates Todd to run for the board happened after she filed for the seat this year when trustee Ron Gillis was censured after revealing a real estate transaction that involved the college during open session at a board meeting. Todd disagrees with the board's action.

``Right or wrong, it really shed light on a board dynamic that may be dysfunctional,'' Todd said.

Todd owns McCabe Todd Consulting, a public relations and marketing agency in Santa Clarita. From 1999-2003, she served on the board for the Sulphur Springs School District. Todd is also a chairwoman for the Santa Clarita Council PTA.

Trustee Ernie Tichenor, 49, says the college is in the middle of the most productive period in the school's 36-year history and wants to keep the momentum going. He's referring to the school's partnerships with local businesses and the future opening of a biomedical lab on campus that will connect students with the biotech industry and its leaders.

In addition, the school is expanding with a new satellite campus coming to Canyon Country in 2006.

But overall, it's classroom learning that matters most, Tichenor said.

``Most importantly, it's this great quality education that we're providing the students,'' Tichenor said. ``And I want to continue along that same vein.''

A political science teacher at Bakersfield College, a community college about 85 miles north, Tichenor also attends school at California State University, Northridge, where he's working toward a credential to teach high school. He has served two terms as a trustee for College of the Canyons.

Jonathan Kraut wants to cultivate a stronger internship program between students and local businesses, particularly in the fields of technology, dentistry and auto repair. The internships help students get on track with careers after college.

In addition, Kraut wants professionals from those fields to design courses and teach on campus, since they are most current with what's happening in those areas.

Kraut also wants to improve relationships with the college staff and have more participation with them when it comes to making decisions that affect the school.

The 50-year-old Santa Clarita resident is president of Net Check Investigations, a private investigation company. He also teaches Latin dance and culture part time through the Parks and Recreation Department with the city of Los Angeles. Kraut has not held public office before.

As a former College of the Canyons adjunct professor, Ronald Vitale said the school's faculty and students are not treated fairly by the administration and that the relationship needs reforming.

Vitale said that faculty wages and grievances are mishandled and that the staff members fear retaliation by the school's administration, the board of trustees, when they have complaints.

``I'm deeply concerned because people are afraid that the administration that they work for would retaliate against them,'' Vitale said. ``I'm very appalled by that.''

Tuition also weighs on his mind. Vitale said tuition must remain affordable in order to give all an education said that's what community colleges are supposed to do.

The 55-year-old Castaic man is a real estate broker and runs Vitale and Associates Real Estate Group. He taught real estate law, principles and practices at College of the Canyons for six years. He has not served in public office before.

Sue Doyle, [phone]

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

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(1 -- 5 -- color) Candidates are, from left, Jonathan Kraut, Joan MacGregor, Ernie Tichenor, Teresa Todd and Ronald Vitale.