The San Diego Community College District held its board meeting virtually via YouTube on March 25 at 4 p.m.

The meeting highlighted the district’s updated COVID-19 action plan and the appointment of Chancellor-Elect, Carlos Turner Cortez.

More on the approval of Cortez can be seen in this week’s episode of Newscene, the award-winning student-produced weekly newscast.

Trustees shared their solidarity with the victims of the tragedies that occurred in Georgia, Colorado, and on the San Diego City College campus where nine pedestrians were struck by an intoxicated driver, resulting in three fatalities, on March 15.

The Georgia tragedy also raised concerns of racism against Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and echoed the importance of bringing awareness to campuses.

“We have been faced with three successive tragedies, the one close to home at City College and then at Atlanta, and most recently in Colorado,’’ Trustee Craig Milgrim said. “It can be numbing and overwhelming, so I hope that everyone will not allow that to happen.”

Trustee Geysil Arroyo shared news about the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, which will be available starting April 1 for Californians 50 years old and up and on April 15 for everyone 16 years old and up. 

‘‘I am looking forward to our students and our employees having the opportunity to get a vaccine,’’ Arroyo said. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGeVjoZvqH4&t=3743s&ab_channel=SanDiegoCommunityCollegeDistrict

Chancellor Constance Carroll announced that the Educational Cultural Complex will become a vaccination site effective Tuesday. 

‘‘We have concluded our negotiations and work with the county,’’ Carroll said. ‘‘I would also like to thank Vice-Chancellor Chris Manis for his work on this.’’

Vice-Chancellor Susan Topham of Educational Services announced further protocols for COVID-19. If you would like to keep up-to-date on the Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 guidelines, click here.

Other discussions included Assembly Bill 927, which will be moving forward in a hearing on April 22. 

This existing law requires the program to consist of a maximum of 15 community college districts, with one baccalaureate degree pilot program each, and requires students to participate no later than the 2022-2023 academic year. For more information about this bill, click here.

Another vote that took place was for the salary and benefits of Cortez. The vote passed with four trustees voting yes and one no.

The board also voted to unanimously nominate City College’s Library Assistant Richard Fernandez as Classified Professional of the Year.

As this year’s recipient, he was noted for his service to the district of over 20 years and for recently supplying students with laptops during the pandemic.