Greetings, everyone.
You've reached the blog of Paul Pinza, the Dean of Language Arts at Chabot College. I joined the college in June 2023 after spending ten years as an administrator in public high school districts. I'm also currently an ESL (English as a Second Language) instructor at the Hayward Adult School.
As a leader in public education, one of the great responsibilities we have also presents one of the greatest challenges: how to build a caring, responsive relationship with your team that models what you want all your faculty, classified professionals, and directors to build with our students. One of the pernicious obstacles that you have to work around is this: you technically can't give them anything.
The principle makes sense: taxpayer dollars are funding schools, colleges, programs. While there may be items available through these institutions (Chabot has a fantastic Gladiator Resource Hub that offers free groceries and school supplies along with referrals to countless other services), as soon as one person takes a little money from the fund and turns it into something for one other person, now you're talking about private gifts paid by public monies. Big no-no. As in, criminally liable no-no.
So while corporations in Silicon Valley can have gourmet meals prepared by master chefs and served to their employees nearly every day, the Language Arts division at Chabot cannot buy their tireless faculty and instructional assistants and administrative assistants donuts or snacks or lunch, even once. Because that would be a gift -- or a series of gifts -- from public funds. Nor can the college directly offer scholarships to students who have earned their AA in English or Spanish or Sign Language, have been accepted as a transfer to a university, and still need several hundred dollars in aid to cover the books, the parking, and all the other expenses that follow you when you go for a Bachelor's degree. Private gift, public money. Off limits.
From the student side of this equation, scholarships are given out by schools, districts, and colleges all the time because they use a separate foundation. In the K-12 space, that's often a Home and School Club or a Parent-Teacher-Student Association. Some districts have also put foundations in place that are run separately by volunteers in the community. Chabot is blessed to have the Friends of Chabot College Foundation that annually supplies thousands of dollars of scholarships for our students. It is managed by a separate board, independent of the college's administration and the district's Board of Trustees. And it relies on donations and fundraisers and endowments to continuously support the students' scholarships. This is why 70% of your LASER fund donations will go to the Foundation for designated Language Arts awards and scholarships for students.
But these foundations are also restricted against giving money to other adults. The rules around non-profit foundations are very tight in this area. How can a principal or a dean support their staff under those constraints? The teachers have to donate the money themselves. It's true, in schools across the country, if there is even a modest holiday party, the employees are paying for it themselves. And if we can be super honest for just a moment: that assumes that folks have the extra money to donate to this cause. Can we think of any public educators or public school or community college employees who may struggle to make ends meet in the Bay Area on their salary? Do all of them come to mind? Meta and Google don't have to ask that of their staff because they make profits and are free to spend some of those profits on their employees, as they should.
I'm twelve years into the administrator phase of my career in public education. I have always loved and admired the faculty, the fellow administrators, and the variety of other professionals I've worked with. I stepped into leadership because I believed that I could impact communities, on a generational scale, by supporting the teachers and leaders and assistants and advisors that are the life-blood of education. I try daily to model an inclusive, generous, and caring management style that lifts people up and keeps spirits high through the grinding struggles of a long semester. And this paradox - that I cannot show the staff the same love in the same way as the corporate neighbors around me that drive up the rents my teachers have to pay - it kills me. It frustrates me to no end.
So our Language Arts division has established a co-curricular account within the college, similar to the way clubs create their own account through a high school's ASB. Similar to the foundation, we take no direct money from the general fund; every single dollar is raised ourselves. This gives us more freedom to spend the money. And I'm not looking to put my division on a yacht in the Bay, folks. I'd like to provide snacks at my monthly division meetings, sympathy cards when someone loses a loved one, perhaps even a peer-nominated employee recognition program. Small, simple acts of gratitude, celebration, and care. None of this can be supported by our general fund, so 30% of your LASER donation will go into our co-curricular account so we can love on our people just a little bit.
Yes, your LASER donation is actually going into two separate accounts. But I absolutely believe that these two objectives are intertwined; we empower our college to support students best when we support our professionals in the best way we can. The two feed off each other. I explored creating a business account on one of the online platforms, but they want to take a percentage of every transaction. And I don't want your money going anywhere other than to the students and those who support them. This is why the QR code goes to my personal Venmo: so that I can divide the money between the two accounts. In order to maintain accountability, I'll personally send you two letters for tax deduction purpose - one for the Friends of Chabot College, and the other for the division's co-curricular account. Each letter will show the precise amount that went to each fund. You'll know exactly where each dime landed. And of course, you can add a note to direct your donation how you see fit. 70/30 is our default, but you can customize that. Just ask and we will honor your wishes.
I appreciate your taking the time to learn more about our needs and how we hope to fill them through your support. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions at all. And when you're ready, you can donate here.
Thank you so much for your support.
Paul C. Pinza
ppinza@chabotcollege.edu
