CHULA VISTA – The board of trustees of Southwestern College has declared that the list of finalists to be the college's next president doesn't have enough women or minorities, so it has rejected some finalists, added one of its own and extended the search.

A 22-member committee considered about 50 applicants to be the next college president. It presented three to five names to the board of trustees this month, committee members said.

Although the original candidate pool was diverse, the committee recommended finalists that included no women and one Latino, said Christina Hicks, a member of the search committee and president of a campus labor union.

The board announced to employees via e-mail this month: "The Board is not satisfied with the gender and/or the ethnic diversity of the finalist pool of candidates sent forward by the presidential search committee. Therefore, the Board will consider other options."

"We weren't just looking at ethnicity and gender, we were looking at background," said student government President Brandy Hill, a search committee member.

The board's e-mail statement also announced that it is considering two of the candidates recommended by the committee.

Originally, the board had hoped to have a new president start July 1. Now it hopes to identify and announce a president by then who could start work as soon as possible.

Interim President Norma Hernandez was among the 50 applicants, but the committee did not recommend her as a finalist. Board member Christine Aranda confirmed that the board has decided to consider her a finalist, though.

Aranda said the board has to weigh not only qualifications but also who is the best match for the college.

The board placed President Serafin Zasueta on leave in January 2003 and appointed Hernandez as interim president then. The board fired Zasueta a year ago.

Critics of the search process said Hernandez has done a good job as the interim leader.

In February, the board granted her a raise retroactive to last May that boosted her salary to $161,000, which was what Zasueta earned.

The board met off campus last night in a hotel conference room in Bonita to consider how to proceed with the search. Aranda said the meeting was held off campus because rumors start when college employees see people entering and leaving the board room during closed-session meetings regarding the president search.

"I feel that this board no longer has the good of Southwestern College and its students in mind," search committee member Hicks said. "I think personal and political agendas are what's directing this board."

The college has spent $20,000 on a search consultant. A college spokeswoman said information on additional expenses – such as plane fare, lodging and meals for candidates brought in for interviews – won't be available until the search is over.