If the selection of a permanent chancellor for the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) was a multiple choice test question, the Board of Trustees just answered “none of the above.”

In a June 17 email to the Peralta community, board president Cindi Napoli-Abella Reiss announced the board’s decision to defer any decision on a new chancellor until “sometime in the Spring of 2022.” Reiss also said the board asked Interim Chancellor Jannett Jackson to remain in her position through June of 2022 and that Jackson agreed. Jackson’s contract extension will be on the Board’s agenda at the upcoming June 22 meeting.

According to the email, Reiss and the board believe hiring a new chancellor at this time “would be disruptive to the momentum we are now experiencing under Dr. Jannett Jackson’s leadership.”

Peralta faces some major challenges over the coming months including the final report from the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) on the district’s accreditation status and implementation of plans for a return to some in-person instruction starting this Fall. 

PCCD agreed to pay consulting firm AGB Search a total of $66,000 to conduct the search for the new permanent chancellor. AGB, which was retained at a special Board of Trustees meeting on January 12. The search firm and the chancellor search hiring committee narrowed the field to three finalists: John Maduko, Muddassir Siddiqi and Richard Storti. These finalists appeared at an online forum on May 27 where they responded to questions from students, classified professionals, faculty and administrators.

The district’s agreement with AGB Search states that “if the district is unable to identify a candidate of choice for the position of chancellor” within four to six months, AGB will “continue the search process until a successful appointment is made within one year of the initial start date of the search.” Therefore, the firm may continue to be involved in the search process.

If the search continues for over a year from the start date, AGB will require a new and “revised contract with adjusted fees.”

Reiss closed her email by thanking all those involved in the search for their “thoughtful and active participation in this important endeavor.”