Uncovering the Truth Behind St. Charles Community College’s Decline: What Voters Need to Know Before 2026 Elections

The article delves into the challenges faced by St. Charles Community College (SCC), highlighting declining enrollment, underutilized facilities, and questionable financial decisions under President Barbara Kavalier’s leadership. It discusses the impact on students, faculty, and taxpayers, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability. With two Board of Trustees seats up for election in April 2026, the piece urges voters to reclaim SCC for the community.

Original story By Karen Jones
St. Charles Community College Visionary, Faculty Union Leader & Distinguished Former Faculty Member 

St. Charles Community College (SCC) has a story it does not want told. Taxpayer dollars flow into underutilized buildings, while essential student programs disappear. Furthermore, enrollment collapsed as campuses multiplied. Ultimately, this community college has forgotten that it belongs to the community.

Upcoming 2026 Board Elections

In April 2026, St. Charles County voters will fill two of the six Board of Trustees seats. Therefore, before voters cast their ballots, they deserve to know what has happened inside the institution their tax dollars fund. Specifically, they need to closely examine President Barbara Kavalier’s nine-year tenure.

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Dropping Enrollment and Rising Costs

At its peak, nearly 12,000 students attended SCC when it operated from a single campus. Today, however, the latest published numbers show fewer than 6,000 students. In addition, nearly half of these students enroll part-time.

Despite this drop, taxpayers funded the purchase of a second, $9.45 million campus in 2017. Moreover, the administration completed construction on a $41 million third campus last Fall. Consequently, we must ask: why does the college require three times the real estate to serve half the students? Furthermore, why does the administration add expensive campuses while it cuts fully enrolled classes and vital community programs?

This math simply does not add up. Yet, President Kavalier continues to preside with little oversight and accountability. For instance, her total compensation exceeded $318,000 in 2022, which is the last year public records are available. Meanwhile, Crowder College serves a similar number of students, but it pays its president nearly $120,000 less.

What This Means for Students and Faculty

While the administration poured millions of dollars into new buildings under Kavalier’s leadership, it gutted the programs and people that serve students.

For example, the college eliminated the Social Work program in 2023. At the same time, the nation faces a severe mental health crisis and desperately needs social workers. Additionally, the administration decimated winning programs that previously earned students national recognition. Now, they have rebuilt these programs with a fraction of the participants and none of the success.

Furthermore, former students report that they cannot file complaints through mandated oversight mechanisms.

Students currently pay full tuition for an education that part-time instructors increasingly deliver. According to the Labor Tribune, the administration systematically converted faculty positions—nearly 30%—into non-union staff roles. As a result, a student has only a one-in-four chance of learning from a full-time professor. Nationally, the average is one in two.

Presently, at least nine current or former faculty and staff members are suing the institution. Because these are just the current cases, the resulting legal costs should alarm taxpayers.

How Did We Get Here? A Shift in Culture

Before Kavalier became president in 2016, this institution worked well. It effectively served students with the programs they needed.

Back then, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recognized SCC as a Top Workplace. Employees truly believed in their leadership and enjoyed a culture built on transparency. Moreover, everyone held each other accountable. Faculty and staff evaluated administrators, administrators evaluated faculty and staff, and citizens addressed their elected board at public meetings.

However, Kavalier eliminated the administrator evaluation system immediately upon her arrival. Similarly, the Labor Tribune documented how the administration placed unprecedented restrictions on public comments at board meetings.

Previously, the board reviewed grievances. Now, these grievances stop at President Kavalier’s desk. According to the faculty MOU, “The President’s decision will be final.” Consequently, the very person contesting the actions gets the final say, meaning the board has abdicated its oversight responsibility.

A Pattern That Preceded St. Charles County

Barbara Kavalier left similar trails at previous institutions.

First, at San Jose City College (2010-2013), virtually the entire administrative leadership team departed during her tenure. Next, at Navarro College (2013-2016), she abruptly resigned following a discrimination scandal that drew national media coverage. As a result, the previous president had to come out of retirement to restore order.

After that, Kavalier withdrew from consideration at Butte College before the college held public forums. Ultimately, the hiring committee did not select her for a College of DuPage position.

When SCC began its presidential search in 2016, faculty members expressed reservations about Kavalier’s history. Nevertheless, the board hired her anyway. Nine years later, taxpayers are still paying for that decision because the institution has completely lost its way.

The Protection Around the President

Amid this extreme dysfunction, observers wonder how Kavalier remains employed and empowered with unprecedented authority.

Those who watch this institution closely have their theories. Specifically, they point to relationships—between the boardroom and county leadership, between the institution and the state capital, and between power holders and those tasked with providing oversight.

What Comes Next for the Community

Ultimately, the board of trustees exists to provide oversight and accountability on behalf of St. Charles County citizens.

Taxpayers absolutely deserve to know where their money goes. Likewise, students deserve an institution that prioritizes their success. Furthermore, the targeted, marginalized, and discarded employees deserve recognition that what happened to them was neither acceptable nor inevitable.

Trustees who oversaw this nine-year decline currently hold the seats on the April 2026 ballot. Therefore, it is time to wake up, step up, and protect our students, employees, and tax dollars. We must elect a board willing to take responsibility and enforce accountability.

In conclusion, SCC belongs to the community. Voters finally have an opportunity to reclaim SCC on April 7.

Karen Jeanne Jones Bio

Founder / Charter Author
Karen Jeanne Jones conceived the vision for SCC and physically wrote the college’s founding charter. Famously, she typed it on an ironing board, out of reach of her young daughters. The community established the college in 1986.

English Faculty & Department Chair
Karen served as English Department chair and as Executive Director of Global Education and International Students Support Services before retiring as a long-tenured SCC faculty member.

Union Leader
She formerly served as president of AFT Local 4803, the faculty union. Recently, in December 2023, she appeared at the SCC Board of Trustees meeting to show solidarity with faculty. She stood proudly with union members opposing President Kavalier’s administration.

School Board Leadership
Additionally, Karen served on the Fort Zumwalt School District Board for nine years.

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