Tuesday deadline to apply for PCC Governing Board appointment

If you're interested in being appointed to the Pima College Governing Board seat left vacant when David Longoria resigned last month, Tuesday is the deadline to apply. Those interested in serving on an advisory committee to review candidates can also put their names forward.

Longoria resigned suddenly in October, with former aide to Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry moving north to become chief of staff for Phoenix City Councilwoman Laura Pastor.

The process for filling his seat representing District 2, which encompasses much of the South Side and extends to Sahuarita, was laid out by Pima County Superintendent of Schools Linda Arzoumanian, who will appoint his replacement to serve out the rest of his term, through the end of 2016.

Those interested in the appointment must have resided in the district for at least one year.

Interested in applying? Complete a questionnaire and submit it to Arzoumanian before 5 p.m. on Nov. 24.

A Community Advisory Committee will be set up by the county superintendent to help review the candidates. Those interested in serving on that committee should also apply by Tuesday.

Arzoumanian will choose a PCC faculty member, a PCC staffer, and a PCC student, as well as a district resident and the owner of a business with the district to serve on the committee. She will also appoint to the committee a local school district superintendent, who will be selected directly and not from those who apply via the online form.

The date of the appointment has not yet been determined, but will depend on the number of interested candidates and the schedule of interviews, said Ricky Hernandez, the chief financial officer and spokesman for Arzoumanian's office.

Longoria was appointed to the PCC Board in February 2010 to fill a vacancy, and was then elected that November to serve from 2011 through 2016.

Longoria's resignation and replacement will be the second in months for Pima's leaders. Marty Cortez suddenly resigned from her West Side District 5 seat at the end of June after holding it for two decades. Martha Durkin, deputy Tucson city manager, was appointed to that empty seat in August.

With Longoria stepping down, just one of the members remain of the Governing Board that was reviewed as "dysfunctional" by the Higher Learning Commission as PCC was placed on probation by that accrediting body in 2013. Scott Stewart of District 4 on the East Side has a term that runs through next year.

The other members of the Governing Board are District 3's Sylvia Lee, elected in 2012 for a 2013-2018 term, and District 1's Mark Hanna, elected last year for a term running through 2020.

The college was placed on probation by accreditors — putting at risk both federal financial aid and students' ability to transfer course credits — in part because of what HLC investigators termed "a culture of fear and retribution that pervaded the administration of the college."

Although the school was taken off probation in March, PCC remains "on notice" by the HLC. Accreditors will continue to monitor progress as improvements are made.

As Lambert was appointed in 2013, after the college was put on probation, he said he would model "important behaviors that start to open the door to a new way of transparency and a sense of openness."