Stan Mantooth. Courtesy photo.
CAMARILLO — Stan Mantooth was installed as a Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD) trustee at the District’s Annual Organizational Meeting on Dec. 15. Trustee Bernardo M. Perez, who has represented Area 4 since 2010, was installed for another four-year term. The board of trustees also elected Joshua Chancer as chair, Dianne B. McKay as vice chair and VCCCD Chancellor Greg Gillespie as secretary.
Mantooth and Perez will work with Chair Chancer, Vice Chair McKay and Trustee Gabriela Torres in adopting policies that oversee all activities relating to the business of the District and its three colleges. Student Trustee Ashley Gonzales will continue to advocate on behalf of VCCCD students. The five-member board of trustees is elected in even-numbered years to four-year terms by Ventura County voters. The student trustee is elected annually through a district-wide student election.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to be elected chair of the board,” said Chancer. “Our new board has a strong commitment to ensuring our students receive the best college experience possible. I look forward to working with our full board with our continued commitment to serve students.”
“It will be another challenging year for our students and employees but I am looking forward to working with our new, yet extremely experienced, trustee, Stan Mantooth, and Chair Chancer. Strong and invigorating leadership will help to guide the District through these uncertain times,” commented McKay.
Mantooth will represent Area 3, which includes Camarillo, Port Hueneme, Southeast Oxnard, East Oxnard Plain, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Piru, East Lockwood Valley and eastern portion of Naval Base Ventura County Port Hueneme.
In 2008, Mantooth was appointed Ventura County Superintendent of Schools and has been elected to successive four-year terms, the latest in 2018. Mantooth’s areas of expertise encompass financial systems and budget development, personnel administration, collective bargaining, facilities planning and administration and risk management. He has shared his expertise while serving on a variety of statewide committees, including serving as past-president of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, Association of California School Administrators and California Association of School Business Officials. He has also served on a variety of local committees and commissions, including First 5 Ventura County, Ventura County P-20 Regional Council, Ventura County Community Foundation and Ventura County School Boards Association.
Perez represents Area 4, which encompasses Simi Valley, Moorpark, Santa Susana Knolls, Box Canyon, Chatsworth Peak, Home Acres, Sinaloa Lake and Tierra Rejada Valley. He served as chair in 2012, 2016 and 2020 and as vice chair in 2015.
Prior to joining the board, Perez represented his community on the Moorpark City Council and served as mayor. Perez worked as the project manager for the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation in Ventura and was employed with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for more than 30 years.
Perez has served his community through a number of nonprofit organizations, including the Ventura County Civic Alliance, Clinicas del Camino Real, United Way of Ventura County, Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation and El Concilio del Condado de Ventura. He served on the Children’s Health Initiative Steering Committee, HOME Housing Task Force, Justice and Peace Commission, and worked with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Ventura County Living Wage Coalition (Co-Chair) and the 2010 Ventura County Housing Conference Planning Committee.
“The District leadership and board of trustees will continue to ensure academic and career success for VCCCD’s approximately 31,000 students,” stated Gillespie. “We are committed to maintaining a strong foundation for student achievement at Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges, especially during these challenging times.”
The next board of trustees meeting will be Jan. 19, 2021 via Zoom. Detailed information regarding board meetings can be found at vcccd.edu/board-of-trustees.
About Ventura County Community College District — The Ventura County Community College District is a member of the 116-campus California Community College system and serves approximately 31,000 students annually. The District’s three colleges–Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura–offer programs in general education for degrees and certificates, transfer to four-year colleges and universities, career technical education, and provide opportunities to engage in co-curricular campus activities. For more information, please visit vcccd.edu