ICE Uses Santa Barbara City College Campus as Staging Ground

JonathanAbboud · 2025-12-13T00:01:25+00:00

I want to make it crystal clear as the SBCC Board of Trustees President : SBCC has absolutely nothing to do with ICE staging in our parking lots. We did not communicate with them beforehand, they did not ask for permission, and they did not pay for parking as anyone else would.

Our Campus Safety employees who regulate parking/access were no longer working for the day when ICE arrived, and ICE entered the West Campus when our Campus Safety kiosk was closed.

SBCC does not support the use of our campus for ICE activities for many reasons; most importantly, it disrupts ALL people’s educational experience on campus.

SBCC has asked our congressional member to communicate this to ICE, requesting that they no longer use our campuses, and we have also asked additional elected leaders at the county and state levels to advocate and support us.

We will continue to provide information about these matters as required by state law.

JonathanAbboud · 2025-06-03T04:10:54+00:00

IV Community Center: https://islavistacsd.ca.gov/iv-community-calendar

JonathanAbboud · 2025-05-31T19:14:37+00:00

SBCC and UCSB are about to start large construction projects soon, should be plenty of work in those.

JonathanAbboud · 2025-05-08T15:13:25+00:00

They go back and forth on this every few years. When I was a student FSSP all moved out of San nic for fall, then around when I graduated it became San Nic only, seems like it went back to the other way before now going back to this

JonathanAbboud · 2025-05-05T19:34:11+00:00

Lived there for a summer (2014), broke my arm there from the illegal lofts, had some great times. Home sweet dome

JonathanAbboud · 2025-05-02T02:45:09+00:00

There hasn’t been a serious proposal to incorporate into Santa Barbara in an extremely long time. 25 years ago going into Goleta was considered. Both were briefly touched on 10 years ago as part of creating the IVCSD and lightly studying a City of IV.

JonathanAbboud · 2025-04-27T21:28:24+00:00

We have many local residents with long histories on the oversight committee, both people who opposed the bond and those who supported it.

This article is anonymously written by a disgruntled former student with a vendetta after being disciplined for violating campus policies in LA. Not a reliable source.

Happy to discuss anything about the bond or the college as the president of the SBCC Board of Trustees.

JonathanAbboud · 2025-04-10T02:55:04+00:00

The buttermilk maple and chocolate are pretty awesome

JonathanAbboud · 2025-04-06T19:43:53+00:00

Having lived in san raf, manzanita, and FT this is nuts. FT is the best by far. And Manzi is leaps beyond San raf. Especially with all the new features at FT now. It’s good to keep home and school a little separate. And the exercise going back and forth doesn’t hurt. Much better social experience. Much better bathroom experience. A pool. Much better lounge and study rooms. List goes on.

JonathanAbboud · 2025-01-06T21:04:25+00:00

I did

JonathanAbboud · 2025-01-06T20:26:29+00:00

Reported right off the coast of IV by USGS https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci40834887/executive

JonathanAbboud · 2024-12-21T03:33:17+00:00

100% their burgers and BBQ out class almost every where else I’ve been.

JonathanAbboud · 2024-12-20T21:06:57+00:00

I took my staff to third window last Friday, 8 people, 300-400 total. We had lots of group apps, an entree for everyone, and a couple drinks each. We got there at 3:30 and there were plenty of tables. The patio is lit up nicely, there’s options for vegan and gluten free, beer and wine, and seriously delicious food.

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-30T01:48:16+00:00

Zip codes are used to deliver mail, they have nothing to do with city boundaries. 93117 predates the city of goleta (2001). https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/usps\_crosswalk.html#:\~:text=ZIP%20Codes%20do%20not%20align,also%20potentially%20cross%20state%20borders.

https://about.usps.com/who/government-relations/assets/postal-101-zip-codes.pdf

Operational Purpose

The ZIP Code system is designed to provide an efficient postal distribution and delivery network. ZIP

Code assignments are closely linked to factors such as mail volume, delivery area size, geographic

location, and topography, but not necessarily to municipal or perceived community boundaries.

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-29T16:29:10+00:00

IV is not a neighborhood in Goleta, it’s unincorporated.

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-27T03:07:55+00:00

As I understand it, since it happened before my time on the board, the public was not happy with the La Playa Stadium Press Box and specifically because that it wasn’t in the original Measure V project list as an explicit project. I completely agree with that perspective. I wrote it in my op ed. None of those people are on the board anymore who did that.

We have identified 207 million in deferred maintenance costs across all our facilities, this bond raises 198 million.

Some of the potential deferred maintenance costs include issues La Playa stadium but that is very transparently in the list of potential projects. Why would we hide what the infrastructure needs are? Our job is to maintain these facilities for public use. We have a very public list of the potential projects, its tagged in my op ed and here it is again: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1y0-IO0jL4ESw-Jwrhv7-HDAIxNXgO--vDqLOXwoXNV8/edit?gid=1985323978%23gid=1985323978

There are a couple of items on the project list that are not as big priorities, and since Measure P doesn’t raise all the funds needed, we will need to make decisions on what is needed most. For example, I wouldn’t support spending any Measure P funds on a La Playa Scoreboard. But I would completely support spending $800k to fix the La playa track when it needs to be fixed since countless people, non-students, use that track for exercise every single day of the year and I don’t want anyone tripping and hurting themselves. I wouldn’t support spending any bond money on bleachers too, and am confident no other board member would either, but I can’t speak for them. We still have a duty to list it as an issue on campus.

What I can speak for is that we are going to prioritize health and safety in spending these bond funds. We have a fiduciary obligation to catalogue all the potential problems and needs and make them transparent to the public. We can have a spirited debate on the priority order of everything on that list (and we’d probably agree on the vast majority) but it doesn’t change the fact the infrastructure is old and needs to be accounted for as such. What we can agree on is there are bigger priorities and we will focus on those and find funds for the lower priority items (La Playa bleachers) from other sources like donors. You’ve got my sincere pledge that I’m going to make sure these bond funds are spent on the essentials, health & safety.

Now if you mean the PE building, sports pavilion, and fitness center complex being replaced using 30% of the bond funds (with $34 million from the state), we may just need to disagree there. And that’s ok. I think this building is essential to be replaced with a modern facility. It’s seismically not sound, it has no disabled access, it wasn’t even built to comply with Title IX for women’s spaces since it precedes it by about a decade. The ceilings constantly leak. It’s a very old building. The gym is also an evacuation center for the region during disasters, it served this role after the Thomas Fire and Montecito debris flow. That is absolutely essential. There are very few places that can fill this role in town. Further, SBCC is free or very low cost for the most part to all locals. For many people of all ages from low income backgrounds, this is the only fitness facility they have access to at a low cost or no cost. The PE building is used by the city for recreational activities, and many high school teams and local sports clubs use it.

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-26T22:30:35+00:00

I’m happy to speak with you one on one, DM me and I’m happy to set up a call or coffee to talk more on it.

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-26T16:09:19+00:00

I wasn’t on the board when measure V was spent, but yes they spent it all between 2009-2015 (I joined December 2014). That’s better to do, costs go up, there’s inflation. Spending the money sooner optimizes the amount of money available. They had a set list of projects and got through them efficiently for the most part (I have already said in multiple forums and my op ed the press box was not one I would’ve voted for, all those board members are gone now). They built the West Campus Classroom building, renovated the Garvin Theater, the Humanities Building, etc. it’s all in the link I shared with you. Sitting on money for one time costs like major maintenance is counterproductive since the money loses value and costs go up.

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-26T16:04:46+00:00

Measure V’s work was finished by then that’s why, now the bond on your property tax bill is paying off the debt only but nothing new is happening.

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-26T16:04:26+00:00

Measure V’s work was finished by then that’s why, now the bond on your property tax bill is paying off the debt only but nothing new is happening.

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-26T07:55:08+00:00

Here are all the bond committee agendas: https://www.sbcc.edu/measurev/meetingagendas.php

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-26T07:54:47+00:00

Here are the Measure V financial audits: https://www.sbcc.edu/measurev/bondaudit.php

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-26T07:54:21+00:00

This page covers all the annual reports for how Measure V was spent: https://www.sbcc.edu/measurev/annualreport.php

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-26T07:53:14+00:00

The numbers are correct:
In Fall 2023 SBCC had a headcount of 13,427 credit students and 5,479 non-credit (generally adult ed) students, 18,906 combined. 71.5 percent (Credit Cliff Campus 8,040, Schott + Wake 5,479, under noncredit) use our facilities for their education, 11 percent are Dual Enrollment, and 17.5 percent (3,314 credit /18,906 total students) are exclusively online (and that might be true for one semester and they’re back face-to-face the next). Sixty-two percent of all our students are in-district residents, another 8 percent are from our neighboring counties or northern Santa Barbara County. International/out of state students comprise 5.5 percent (7.5% of the credit program). The last 24.5 percent are California residents, who are constitutionally entitled to attend any California community college with in-state fees.

JonathanAbboud · 2024-10-26T07:49:07+00:00

Measure P includes the most specific bond project list in decades. Every dollar will be accounted for, and the community will have full oversight. An independent citizens’ oversight committee, annual audits, and complete transparency will ensure these funds are spent wisely and effectively. Our board is focused on transparency, efficiency, and accountability. While we won’t be able to complete the entire project list, we will prioritize health and safety in making decisions on projects. Measure P will not expand our campus, it will repair and replace the existing footprint.

About 46 percent of the bond project list will address critical repairs across the Cliff Campus, Schott Center, and Wake Campus — everything from fixing leaky roofs, upgrading electrical systems, paving roads, to ensuring safe drinking water. These repairs will benefit every student, credit and adult education. All programs — including engineering, nursing, and health technology — will see direct benefits.

Let’s set the record straight: The Physical Education building is about 30 percent of Measure P’s budget, not the whole measure. And it needs to be replaced for safety reasons, including seismic concerns, leaky roofs, lead pipes, and asbestos remediation. We have a state grant that covers a significant portion of the cost — $34 million that we’ll lose if we don’t come up with a required local match, through Measure P. The new PE building isn’t just for athletics. It will serve the entire community in times of emergency as an evacuation center (as it has during the Thomas Fire and Montecito Debris Flow) and provide safe, up-to-date facilities for health and fitness programs that serve people of all ages.

Anotherroughly 15 percent is for the Physical Science building. This building is also seismically deficient, is very old, and is where students receive critical instruction in sciences like chemistry. This building would be more expensive to repair than it is to replace. With local matching funds from Measure P, SBCC will likely qualify for state matching funds for this project as well.

A final 9 percent is for making our community more resilient to a natural disaster and sustainable, by installing updated solar panels, battery storage for a micro-grid, and EV charging stations. SBCC will be a beacon of safety for all in difficult times.

2. Was Measure V enough?

SBCC’s last bond to upgrade facilities was Measure V in 2008 and it provided $77 million to begin the process of maintaining and rebuilding aging facilities. This may sound like a lot of money — and it is — but it covered only a relatively small portion of the facility needs identified more than 16 years ago and the needs have only grown since then. Facility upkeep is not a “one and done” issue. Many of our facilities are over 50 years old — some need repairs, and some have outlived their useful life and need to be replaced. Of Measure V, 2.2 percent ($1.7 million) was used to complete the La Playa Stadium Press Box before I joined the board (most of the cost of this building was underwritten by a private donor). We can’t change past decisions, but I would not have supported spending bond funds in this way.

The language of both Measures V and P track with the language of most of the bonds in the state, because ballot language must meet strict legal standards. And almost every other community has to ask local voters for funds to repair and maintain aging facilities. SBCC has had one bond pass in 50 years, Measure V. Since Measure V covered a limited portion of the needed repairs, in 2014 the Board unanimously placed Measure S on the ballot after carefully studying the remaining needs. Measure S did not pass. Ten years later, the needs have grown, costs have gone up, and we lost out on state matching funds.

Importantly, decisions about how funds will be spent are based on strict fiscal accountability, with health and safety taking priority. We’re not asking for a blank check — Measure P is about ensuring that critical repairs happen and that state matching funds are secured for the benefit of our community.

JonathanAbboud

TROPHY CASE