life of the community - and in the lives of those who constitute its student body. For some.....like teresa cox et al are dreaming night terrors

Sums spent on Del Mar searches were reasonable

In an ideal world, we might be spared such outlays, but if the money helps secure effective leadership, it is well spent indeed.

April 16, 2007


In response to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Caller-Times, officials at Del Mar College released records indicating that the school spent some $71,000 to conduct the searches that resulted in the hiring of the institution's last two presidents.

Carlos A. Garcia, who recently announced his resignation, was named to the top job in 2004. His immediate predecessor, Gustavo Valadez Ortiz, served in the post from 2002 to 2003. The process that resulted in Ortiz's hiring, which included the use of a search firm, cost approximately $37,500; the next search - in which Garcia was chosen - cost approximately $33,800. Expenses included advertising, legal counsel, and catering.

It was important for these figures to be released: Taxpayers, students and other individuals and entities in the college district provided the funds. However, before the usual suspects send up a cry of dismay at these expenditures, it's crucial to put the figures into perspective.

First, it bears noting that the president of Del Mar deals with formidable responsibilities and faces daunting challenges. Filling a role similar to that of a chief executive officer in private business, the president administers an $80 million budget that supports three campuses - the East Campus, primarily for academic programs; the West Campus, with newly expanded vocational facilities, and the new Center for Economic Development on Staples - serving 12,000 students.

And that doesn't even begin to cover the vast array of secondary functions facing the president, from labor relations to faculty issues to student needs to such perennial headaches as parking and - inevitably - the occasional academic turf battles.

Most important, however, is the president's paramount mission: to preserve and, where appropriate, expand the immensely important and constructive role Del Mar plays in the life of the community - and in the lives of those who constitute its student body. For some, Del Mar is a launching pad for young scholars who will in time find their way into universities and ultimately stake out careers in the professions, in business, or back on the campus. For others, it offers entree to vocational training that translates into good jobs - and spurs economic growth in the community. And for more than a few, it makes available all manner of life-enhancing options: exercise, swimming, golf and so on.

Del Mar plays a huge role in the life of this community. In that context, the sums expended in efforts to secure the best possible leadership for the institution seem eminently reasonable. Trying to go it on the cheap, or resorting to some good-ol'-boy network for contenders, would be the worst kind of false economy.