Community Petition regarding Democracy on the Lane Community College Board of Education
LCC Board of Education and LCC President Bulger
The public elects local candidates to school boards and other local offices, including the LCC Board of Education, and representational democracy at every level is important and foundational to our broader democracy in Lane County and beyond. We believe that limiting the role of publicly elected Board of Education members contravenes the public interest and limits the voice of the people.
The LCC Board of Education is increasingly excluded from decision making, including for their own Board agenda and important decisions that affect the whole community such as the recent suspension of the Licensed Practical Nurse program, which had no vote of the Board, nor any opportunity for public comment at an open meeting before the decision was made by the LCC Administration.
Supporting our publicly elected local LCC Board of Education members is critical for democracy in our community. We call for the LCC Board of Education to reaffirm their role as the governing body for Lane Community College.
Sponsored by
To:
LCC Board of Education and LCC President Bulger
From:
[Your Name]
Community Petition regarding Democracy on the Lane Community College Board of Education
WHEREAS, Lane Community College Board was excluded from decision making about the suspension of the Licensed Practical Nurse Program for the 2025-2026 academic year at Lane Community College; and
WHEREAS, students and the public received no notice nor opportunity to provide public comment at any open meeting of the Lane Community College Board of Education prior to the suspension of the Licensed Practical Nurse Program for the 2025-2026 academic year; and
WHEREAS, the LCC Board of Education voted on September 30, 2025 to exclude a reference to “$3 Million” in cuts each year for the next three years, yet the LCC Administration continues to promote these cuts as “accepted” or “approved” by the Board even though the budget development process and meetings that take place in accordance with Oregon Local Budget Law have not yet begun; and
WHEREAS, the Lane Community College Board of Education has longstanding policy, practice, and precedent with decades of voting history on agenda setting, program and service cuts, reductions, and suspensions, but this authority is being removed from them by the LCC Administration; and
WHEREAS, the Lane Community College President has declined to add agenda items to the Board of Education agendas that the Board Chair, Vice Chair, and other Board members have requested; and
WHEREAS, the Lane Community College President has held meetings about budget cuts without public notice despite Board member concerns about open meeting law violations; and
WHEREAS, the public elects local candidates to school boards and other local offices; and
WHEREAS, we believe in representational democracy and believe that limiting the role of publicly elected Board of Education members contravenes the public interest.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that:
SECTION 1. The Lane Community College Board should uphold representational democracy, to ensure the LCC President and Board conform to open meeting law.
SECTION 2. The Lane Community College Board must create its own agenda and retain its authority in agenda setting.
SECTION 3. The Lane Community College Board should continue to uphold the existing Board policy, practice, and decades-long precedent of making decisions and voting on program and service cuts, reductions, and suspensions.
SECTION 4.The Lane Community College Board must not accept new interpretations of policy that limit the role of the publicly elected Board in any other decision making.
SECTION 5. The Lane Community College Board must not limit community input through public comment at open meetings.
SECTION 6. The Lane Community College Board must encourage, celebrate, and welcome the free exchange of ideas, including divergent viewpoints and direct the President to do the same.
SECTION 7. The Lane Community College Board has a right and a duty to communicate with campus and community stakeholders and the people of Lane County and should not be constrained or silenced in their engagement with community members.
SECTION 8. The Lane Community College Board should publicly re-affirm its role as the governing body of Lane Community college and critical role in our democracy in representing the people of Lane County.