College of the Canyons’ Associated Student Government announced at its regular joint meeting with the college’s governing board Wednesday that it’d be moving forward with a petition for the resignation of three board members.
ASG plans to begin querying students to sign the petition starting this week.
Those board members – President Sharlene Johnson, Vice President Fred Arnold and Darlene Trevino – earned a vote of no confidence from ASG members in early October.
ASG’s assessment of the board’s three newest members has seemingly changed little since that vote, but board members both on and off ASG’s do-not-endorse list insisted Wednesday that much has changed since the start of their tenure together, and that their resolve to do good by the college together was stronger than ever.
ASG representatives said the petition wasn’t intended to be personally offensive or divisive.
“Our repeated efforts … to directly communicate with the board of trustees through public statements, written correspondence and this resignation petition are not to criticize or create division,” said Ava Hernandez, the ASG’s vice president of communications. “Our actions stem from a responsibility to represent students in a solution-oriented manner.”
Johnson, Arnold and Trevino were elected to the board on what at the time was considered a “pro-business” slate in November 2024, a few months after the former long-time college CEO Dianne Van Hook was placed on leave. Her interim replacement, political science professor David Andrus, ordered a forensic audit of the college’s facility contracts soon after that election.
The board announced Andrus would be fired – a move almost immediately retracted in favor of Andrus’ resignation – about a year later, the same month that the audit was turned over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office in September 2025.
Andrus’ departure from the interim CEO role drew outcry from college staff and students. ASG issued its no-confidence vote in Johnson, Arnold and Trevino soon after.
The college’s Classified Senate, representing the college’s classified employees, issued a no-confidence vote in Johnson and Arnold in September.
Over the past six months, ASG representatives said they’ve met with the three board members for one-on-ones – Arnold in the fall, and Trevino and Johnson in the spring – but those meetings seemingly did little to move the needle on sentiment.
The announcement at Wednesday’s meeting came at the end of a string of presentations on ASG campus initiatives from ASG representatives, including Hernandez and Taha Saiyed, ASG’s vice president of advocacy.
Hernandez said the first no-confidence vote in Johnson, Arnold and Trevino was prompted by concerns that their actions on the board had contributed to division in the college community.
Since then, the three board members hadn’t demonstrated a willingness to be open that students rely on in their college leadership, she said.
“The (ASG) believes that the students at College of the Canyons rely on very strong, transparent leadership to support their academic and personal success,” Hernandez said. “I know it is a very uncomfortable discussion to have, but as uncomfortable as it is, it is an important discussion.”
Following the announcement, Johnson said that she was proud of the college’s current board, and urged ASG members to do their “due diligence” in speaking with all of the board’s current members to get a better sense of its current ethos.
“I am incredibly, incredibly proud of this board,” Johnson said. “I find that we have a really well-diverse and supportive team this year … and I would heavily encourage you to take that time with each of the board members, because I think there’s going to be some amazing things that happen over the next few years.”
After Johnson and interim college CEO Jasmine Ruys presented board and CEO-search updates, Arnold circled back to the ASG’s petition announcement to speak in defense of Johnson and Trevino.
“I’m really proud of the five of us coming together and really raising the bar on what groups of trustees should do throughout their community college district,” Arnold said. “(Johnson) took a lot of flak at the first review, but it was the first review of any board in many, many, perhaps decades, and that took courage.”
Arnold added that Johnson’s heart is “pure” when it comes to serving the college, and commended Trevino for running a “first-in-class” law firm while consistently showing up to college board meetings, seemingly referring to Trevino’s string of board absences that prompted the college’s Classified Senate to retroactively add Trevino to its September no-confidence vote in December.
Trevino has been present at all board meetings since then.
ASG officer Saiyed reiterated that the petition wasn’t meant to be personal, and that their mission is to represent the college’s students.
“When we are approached multiple times with concerns … from our student body, it’s our responsibility to take that on and represent their opinions,” Saiyed said. “I don’t want this to become a matter of personal opinion.”
Board clerk Edel Alonso commended the ASG representatives for their courage and honesty Wednesday.
“In all the years that I’ve been here, you have, in my view, been the most honest and the most courageous (ASG), and I salute you for that,” Alonso said. “I have seen you take governance seriously, and I so appreciate that.”
