The Personnel Commission is a five-member, independent body. It is the mainstay of the Merit System. Commissioners are private citizens who must be known adherents to the merit principle.
Commissioners are appointed for staggered three-year terms, and may be reappointed
upon their showing a continued interest and support of Merit System principles and practices.
Two Commissioners are appointed by the Board of Trustees, two are appointed by the
classified employees through their exclusive representative, CSEA (California School
Employees Association). The fifth Commissioner is appointed by the other four Commissioners.
The Commissioners are responsible for guaranteeing that employment, retention and
promotion for all classified employees are based on Merit System principles.
With the advent of collective bargaining in the public educational field, functions
performed by personnel commissions take on an added significance. The necessity of
objective information and classification decisions unaltered by labor or management
pressures, protection of the rights of non-represented employees and an independent
body which can hear employee appeals in an impartial manner are all vital to the efficient
and economic operations of a school or college district and to the benefit of the
general public.
Personnel Commission Meetings
The Commission meets the third Wednesday of every month and operates on a Fiscal Year
calendar.
Additional meeting agendas and minutes can be found in Archives.
Our Commissioners
Dr. Joseph P. Metoyer, Jr. is the current Chair of the Personnel Commission, and is an appointee of the District's Board of Trustees. Dr. Metoyer is the pastor/teacher
of ACTS - A Church That Studies in Santa Monica, CA. Dr. Metoyer has served as Commissioner
at Santa Monica College since 2001 and is actively involved in the community. Board
of Trustees appointee (Term expires 11/30/2027)
Joy O. Abbott, Vice Chair of the Personnel Commission is also an appointee of the Board of Trustees. Commissioner Abbott has over three
decades of executive experience in Human Resources and Corporate Administration, formerly
as Senior Vice President of Distribution at Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(retired). Commissioner Abbott also served for 14 years on the Personnel Board of
the City of Santa Monica, including as Board Chairperson for five of those years.
Board of Trustees appointee (Term expires 11/30/2028)
Deborah Jansen is one of the two CSEA appointees on the Personnel Commission. While employed at
SMC for 14 years, Commissioner Jansen worked diligently to preserve and strengthen
the Merit System and was a member of many District-wide committees. Now a Principal
Human Resources Specialist at Los Angeles Unified School District, she was appointed
Commissioner in 2006. CSEA appointee (Term expires 11/30/2027)
Barbara Greenstein is a CSEA appointee on the Personnel Commission. Formerly a Deputy City Attorney at
the City of Santa Monica (retired), where she specialized in labor and employment
law, she also worked at the Santa Monica Rent Control Board and the Legal Aid Foundation
of Los Angeles. Barbara is a strong supporter of collective bargaining and the merit
system. (Term expires 11/30/2026)
Mina Patel is a Commission appointed member with more than thirty years of leadership experience
across major media organizations including Amazon MGM Studios Distribution, CBS Studios
International, Paramount Pictures, and MGM/UA. Her focus is operational excellence,
organizational development, and fair, transparent personnel practices with over a
decade in public service and nonprofit involvement supporting Santa Monica College
and community organizations through mentorship, workforce development, and student
advocacy (Term expires 11/30/2028)
Annual Report
The Personnel Commission compiles an annual report summarizing actions taking during
meetings over the Fiscal Year.
