Board Accepts Resignation of Student Rep

Community college trustees accepted the resignation Monday of the board’s student representative.

Velia Soto, a trustee since last summer, said she no longer has the time for the demands of the job.

“It was a hard decision,” the 21-year-old Oxnard resident said in an interview Monday. “I had to put myself first for a change.”

Soto is a full-time Oxnard College student who has spent recent months applying to four-year schools around the country. She also teaches catechism at her church and is a volunteer for Big Sisters of America.

Trying to squeeze all of that in while spending more than 20 hours a week on district duties became overwhelming, said Soto, who is set to graduate this spring.

Ventura County Community College District officials said she will be missed.

“She was extraordinary in trying to strengthen the communications process between the student trustee and the students at the three colleges,” said Barbara Buttner, the district’s director of public affairs. The district operates campuses in Oxnard, Ventura and Moorpark.

Soto’s resignation was effective Feb. 1, but board policy requires the trustees to approve the departure.

It is not clear whether a new student will be appointed to fill the slot before the next student trustee is elected in April by students at the three colleges.

* COLLEGE PANEL: Professor seeks committee on whether trustees are abiding by state open-meetings law. B6