Improve Community Relations

By Jeffrey A. Schwartz

While Mission has had excellent community relations with Santa Clara, West Valley College has poor community relations with Saratoga.

Early problems with oveflow parking in the neighborhoods surrounding the Saratoga campus, and more recent problems with noise and traffic have kept community relations from tenuous to adversarial. the District has been sued by the City of Saratoga and lost, has been sued by the surrounding neighborhoods and lost, it has been the target of a city-wide initiative which was then enacted into law by unanimous action of the Saratoga City Council, and the District is currently being sued again by the City of Saratoga. The District does not reach out to its Saratoga neighbors nor does it even notify or advise the surrounding neighborhoods when the District is considering policies or changes that would affect these neighborhoods.

It is time for West Valley College to solve its community relations problems with the City of Saratoga and with its surrounding neighborhoods. The College must acknowledge that it is not exempt from being a good neighbor and should get on the with business of dealing with its surrounding neighbors regularly and positively.

Integrity is a concept that is rightfully applied to institutions and organizations, as well as to individuals. Where the College has made commitments, promises and agreements with the City of Saratoga and/or with surrounding neighborhoods, the College is obligated to live within those agreements. Breaching such agreements frequently, unilaterally and at will and then leaving the aftermath to be handled by the District's lawyers, often at great expense, is hardly the path to good community relations. West Valley College is justifiably recognized as an excellent educational institution, and there is no good reason why its community relations should not become excellent as well.