Thanks to the 2012 election, the VCCCD Board has a new and a renewed member whom will both bring new insight to the issues plaguing our district.

Larry Kennedy is the member who was newly elected and took the place of Larry Miller who has been on the board since 2004. Bernardo Perez was appointed to office in 2010 and was just elected to continue being on the board in the 2012 election. The two members will officially start their new term on Dec. 11.

Now that Miller is no longer on the board, he plans to continue mentoring transitional age youth which he has been doing for several years.

“They call me Papa Larry,” said Miller in an email interview.

Kennedy, who will be a first time board member, is currently a management teacher at Oxnard College. He has been on the Ventura County investment board for 17 years and was endorsed by the Federation of Teachers, the VC Star, the Ventura County Reporter, and others.

Kennedy decided to run for board member because he had several teachers approach him and ask him to give it a shot. He will miss teaching but hopes that he can make a difference.

“This is a sacrifice for me because I can’t teach and be a board member,” said Kennedy. 

He has several ideas about how he plans to do his part in helping the district but first, he is going to take it slow so he can get the hang of things.

“I’m going to be not taking too many big steps at first,” said Kennedy. “I will be the freshman of the team and will look at how they work and how I can contribute.”

Once he is ready, he plans to propose that companies donate and raise money to buy classes for our schools. He said that the Oxnard College Foundation currently raises money for scholarships but will now donate some of that money to buying new classes. He hopes to get large companies from different areas of business to join in and donate.

Perez will continue being on the board.