August 25, 2026
Dear SRJC Community,
As we begin our 2nd week of the fall semester, I want to provide an update on the District reorganization and reaffirm the care, transparency, and shared responsibility guiding this work. This message summarizes where we started, where we are now, and what to expect next as we continue shaping a sustainable, student-centered organization together.
The goal of the reorganization is to create a streamlined, student-centered organizational structure and culture that reflects current and future student enrollment and fiscal conditions, protects access, completion, and core instructional capacity, and supports long-term financial sustainability.
During the spring town halls, I shared the guiding principles for our work and that the reorganization would occur in phases so we could communicate key elements clearly, create opportunities for input, and complete the work in a thoughtful and timely way.
Spring 2026 - Summer 2026 – Input and Assessment
Last spring, we began by reviewing the factors shaping SRJC’s future: enrollment trends, long-term fiscal outlook, current organizational structure, and community input. We gathered feedback through town halls, component area meetings, an online feedback form, and a dedicated webpage to help keep the college community informed throughout the process.
The Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Planning has created data dashboards to make student and institutional data more accessible. These dashboards include information on student access, course completion, success, and goal completion. We also reviewed disaggregated data and an environmental scan of Sonoma County factors, including housing, employment, education levels, and K-12 enrollment trends, to better understand where SRJC can improve student success and completion.
Summer 2026 - Fall 2026 – Analysis and Initial Design
Over the summer, we reviewed the feedback received alongside the institutional data gathered in the spring. This analysis considered fiscal sustainability, staffing implications, student impact, collective bargaining agreements, site programming, and the priorities in the 2025–2030 District Strategic Plan. Together, these factors help shape potential organizational structures that can meet the evolving needs of our students and community.
Below are several key themes that emerged from component area meetings and the online feedback form. You can find the themes from the town halls shared in a prior message.
- Keeping Students at the Center of Every Decision
Across all engagement opportunities, employees consistently emphasized that organizational decisions should improve the student experience. Feedback highlighted the importance of creating simpler, more coordinated, and more accessible pathways for students to receive the classes, services, and support they need.
- Strengthening Collaboration, Communication, and Organizational Alignment
Participants identified opportunities to improve communication across departments, reduce organizational silos, and clarify roles and responsibilities. Many expressed that stronger collaboration, and better alignment would improve both operational effectiveness and the consistency of services provided to students. We can streamline some processes and procedures to reduce redundancies and maximize the expertise and talent of our employees.
- Building a Sustainable Organization with People, Resources, and Technology
Employees shared concerns about staffing capacity, workload, and the continued implementation of Banner, while recognizing the need to align resources with long-term priorities. Many emphasized that sustainable organizational design should balance fiscal responsibility with the people, technology, and support necessary to serve students effectively. We must prioritize our work and efforts, so that we can most efficiently use the resources we have.
- Leading with Transparency and Continued Employee Engagement
Participants consistently expressed appreciation for opportunities to provide input and encouraged SRJC to continue communicating openly throughout the process. Many noted that understanding the rationale behind decisions is essential to building trust and successfully navigating organizational change.
- Advancing Equity, Access, and Belonging
Employees reaffirmed the importance of ensuring that organizational decisions continue to support equitable access to education and services for all students. Feedback emphasized preserving welcoming, inclusive, and accessible environments that reflect SRJC's commitment to student success and belonging. A culture of belonging includes students, classified professionals, faculty, and administrators knowing and experiencing SRJC as a place where they want to be.
These themes helped inform the development and evaluation of potential organizational structures. Some aspects of the potential design require regular and consistent collaboration with constituency group leads, such as the Academic Senate and/or collective bargaining units.
Fall 2026 – Consultation and Engagement
Beginning now through September 24th, we will meet with departments to discuss potential organizational designs and what they could mean for their areas, and I will continue to evaluate the District's leadership structure. These conversations are an important opportunity to understand the work of each department, consider how potential changes could affect employees and students, and allow those most directly impacted to ask questions and provide feedback.
In this phase, our goal is to create space for discussion and thoughtful review of how the data informed preliminary aspects of the redesign. These discussions will take place within broader parts of our community, such as Academic Affairs, Human Resources, Finance & Administrative Services, Student Services, and the departments that report directly to me as Superintendent/President. There is an important distinction between discussing and implementing potential organizational changes. We will honor that distinction and follow the collective bargaining agreements and engage with our Senates where appropriate.
I recognize that conversations about organizational change will naturally occur across SRJC as people consider what the future could look like. Rather than asking employees to wait until every detail is finalized, I want to provide appropriate opportunities for departments and individuals who may be affected to engage in these discussions. At the same time, it is important that we do not create the impression that a proposal has been finalized when it is still being reviewed and discussed. If you have feedback on another department, I encourage you to submit it through the online form.
Building a sustainable organization calls us to review our existing structure and the ways in which we can streamline and operate within our funded means. We will inevitably experience some changes in our roles, whether it is a revision or reclassification of our current job description, where a program/service might be situated within the structure, or how we might re-imagine some of our processes, thereby changing what our roles might look like. In each of these examples, this is the time where interactive discussions must take place to ensure we are thoughtful, strategic, and in alignment with our policies, procedures, and collective bargaining agreements.
At the end of the fall semester, additional Town Halls will be held on December 1st and 2nd to provide updates, gather feedback, and share next steps. This is the next college-wide space, but there will be appropriate follow-up sessions at the division and department levels, led by the Vice Presidents to accomplish our goal: The goal for the reorganization is to create a streamlined, student-centered organizational structure and culture that reflects current and future student enrollment and fiscal conditions that protect access, completion, and core instructional capacity to achieve long-term financial sustainability.
I know this work raises important questions, and I am committed to approaching the next phase with transparency, respect, and care for the people and communities affected by our decisions. I remain committed to keeping our college community informed throughout this process, by providing updates and posting information on the website.
I appreciate the thoughtful engagement so many of you have brought to this important work and welcome your input and feedback.
In Community,
Dr. Angélica Garcia, Ed.D.
Superintendent/President
707-527-4431, angelicagarcia@santarosa.edu
