La Casa de la Raza faces perhaps the most
challenging time in its history. As an organization, La Casa is probably
somewhere between $1.5 million and $2 million in debt. The existing site, after
soil remediation efforts, is perhaps worth only a few hundred thousand dollars
more than its current debt. What was once a vibrant and essential part of the
community is now an organization that is continually in the papers for bankruptcy
and missed tax payments.
Having participated in the founding of La Casa
in the late 1960s, it was not always this way. At one time, La Casa's debt was
in the thousands of dollars and cost only $150 per month. Now, payment on La
Casa's debt would be $10,000 per month or more. Because debt payment and other
expenses were initially small, almost all money raised could go for programs
and building maintenance and improvements. Hundreds of people from the
community participated in the operation and upkeep of La Casa, and thousands of
people used the building every month.
Though many won't like me for saying so, the
community has no one to blame but ourselves for the condition in which La Casa
finds itself today. Originally, La Casa was supposed to be run by its
membership, and each year there was a membership meeting to elect the Board of
Directors. For many years now, no membership meeting has been called. There is
a distance between the current, so-called Board of Directors and the community
they are intended to serve.
Services at La Casa have become
professionalized. Rather than community members directly running and
maintaining La Casa, a professional structure has become institutionalized that
is separate from the community. As a result, hundreds of thousands of dollars
of debt has been incurred that there is no apparent way to pay off.
At one time, many city leaders — including from
city administration and the parks and recreation commission — actively worked
with La Casa. These sorts of close relationships between La Casa and the larger
community no longer exist. La Casa administration and its board have largely
become an autonomous group who are accountable to no one but themselves.
I believe that La Casa can become viable and an
important part of Santa Barbara again, but it will take new leadership and
renewed dedication. La Casa de la Raza — the "House of the People" — can
again serve thousands of people every month, but it will be necessary to adopt
policies and employ personnel that will remove La Casa from debt and reconnect
it to the community. It's time for a new Board of Directors and new staff at La
Casa.
In the coming weeks and months, there will be
new court actions to determine what the fate of La Casa's building and site
will be. I can only express the wish that La Casa de la Raza will return to its
origins and that an empowered membership will elect a new Board of Directors to
reform La Casa according to its original mission and purpose. The place of La
Casa is too important in our community not to make every effort to preserve,
defend, and promote this integral part of Santa Barbara.Leo Martinez was
a founder of La Casa de la Raza and is a past member of the Santa Barbara City
Council.