Board of Trustees Report
District Office
May 25, 2011
There were meetings from 9:00 to 6:00, but for a 40-minute break for lunch (though not
for the Board, which went into Closed Session then). Hence a longer report, I’m afraid.
Institutional Effectiveness Committee
It was the Cityside colleges’ turn to present their strategic plan reports. A regular feature
in recent years, these half-hour presentations are meant to ensure that colleges are
making sufficient progress towards their goals and that their plans are in sync with the
District Strategic Plan. The Seaside colleges will report in June.
City's report was led by Vice President Kim Perry (recently named President of Butte
College) and Ed Pai, Dean of Research. SLO assessment progress was highlighted and
the improving enrollment numbers for 18-24 year old students was discussed. East's
was led by Karen Daar, Dean of Academic Affairs, and Ryan Cornner, Dean of
Research. East's new strategic plan was just completed. Financial aid awarded at East
is now at $41 million/year, up from under $10 million ten years ago. Sylvia Scott-Hayes
expressed some concern as to whether East will be able to meet its SLO assessment
target by next year. Trade's presentation was led by Vice Presidents Deborah Harrington
and Marcy Drummond. 98% of students at Trade require remediation. Success with the
new Trade Bridge Academy was highlighted, and new plans for first-year students were
detailed, including an open-entry English 28 course. This led to a short discussion about
accelerated courses. While supporting them, I suggested that we be cautious in making
claims for how much they can achieve. Sylvia Scott-Hayes wasn’t worried, however, and
said she was very eager to see a significant alternative to the traditional remedial path
finally available.
Finance and Audit Committee
This half-hour meeting included a quick review of the Governor's May Revise and an
update on district budget development. The discussion was essentially the same as that
in the DBC last week. For community colleges the cut remains $400 million, with the
increase in student fees reducing the actual cut to $290m ($26m for the district). The
governor will reduce the community college deferral from $961m to $611m ($86m to
$55m for the district). As a result of this reduction we will not have to borrow later this
year. If there are no tax extensions, however, then the CCC cut could mushroom to
$600-800m. That would involve a $50m cut for LACCD, or 10% of our budget. A worst
case scenario of 15% is now considered very unlikely. District projections for the next
three years were reviewed.
The trustees commended the CFO office and all others involved for prudent budget
planning, noting that some neighboring districts are in much worse condition.
Committee of the Whole
The morning Committee of the Whole was almost entirely devoted to the controversial
AB 515. Julia Brownley, the author of the bill, was present by phone for the full
discussion, which lasted for almost an hour. The bill would allow districts to establish
“extension programs offering courses for credit” for which high fees could be charged
($175/unit was frequently mentioned). The program would have to be self-supporting,
without using any state general funds. Nor could districts reduce regular offerings by
offering these. The intention would not be to make a profit, but to improve access in a
difficult economic situation. However, all CCC unions have lined up against the proposal,
as has the ASCCC and other organizations (the Chancellors' Office has not taken a
position). The Board had before it a resolution in opposition to be voted on in the
afternoon session. Opponents fear that allowing such high-fee courses will be a first step
toward setting up a two-tier system of education, in violation of the Master Plan for
community colleges.
Various amendments were discussed. Mona Field wondered about the need for the bill,
given a possibly improving economy. Kelly Candaele said there was no political
consensus for it, with groups normally strongly allied in opposition to Brownley and her
supporters. He said the bill was premature for that reason. Three students spoke, all in
opposition. A trustee from Santa Monica College spoke in favor.
A few minutes were given to a description of the other two bills before the Board later in
the day, one dealing with bond project transparency and the other with taxation of the
wealthy.
Open Session/Capital Construction
Committee
The afternoon session was a "hybrid" meeting, part regular Open Session and part
Capital Construction Committee (a committee of the whole).
Walt Jordan, the first public speaker, complained about the lack of display space for
college memorabilia at Southwest. Jack Daniels will meet with him as a follow up.
Several speakers followed about AB 515 (see above). The first five were all strongly
opposed. Valley student John Hooper said it would leave people behind, and Armida
Ornelas, AFT Chapter president at East, said it was disguised as an access mechanism
but was really “another iteration of class privilege.” Olga Shewfelt, AFT Chapter
president at West, said few would benefit from it and that the Guild was counting votes
on the resolution. Carl Friedlander, speaking as chair of the CCC Council, distributed a
letter of opposition. In his detailed comments he said that "bad lessons" of social
inequality would be conveyed to our students if it were to become law. I followed, noting
that the ASCCC was just as opposed as the unions and that the reassurances Brownley
offered that financial aid could offset the high fees were not convincing.
Chip Chapedelaine and Rose Marie Joyce then spoke in favor, though in a somewhat
muted fashion. Chapdelaine suggested that the classes might be offered at satellite
locations only. Joyce stressed the loss of sections that the bill is meant to alleviate.
Committee reports followed: Scott-Hayes on IE, Candaele on Budget and Finance, and
Santiago on the Committee of the Whole (see above).
Next Sue Carleo presented the Valley Speech team, which recently won the national title
for the third time in the last four years. Josh Miller, chair of the department, and Duane
Smith, team director, spoke briefly, followed by the ten team members, each of whom
described his or her achievements and plans. The trustees warmly congratulated the
team, and they were given a standing ovation.
The Board then came back to AB 515, and considered Miguel Santiago's resolution in
opposition. Given the changing nature of the bill, with some amendments being identified
only at the morning session, Field and Scott-Hayes suggested tabling until the next
meeting. Santiago and Candeale objected, noting that a legislative committee would be
voting on the bill Thursday. Candaele described a delay as a dodge. The vote was 4-3 to
table, however, with only Pearlman joining Santiago and Candaele in opposition.
The Board unanimously approved a resolution in support of SB 911 (De Leon) which
would ensure greater accountability and transparency for school districts bond projects.
As Field noted, "Given some history," this is something the Board would want to support.
During the discussion Field made reference to the District Citizen's Oversight Committee
and the fact that it "will now be doing its job, if it didn't always in the past."
A resolution in support of AB 1130 (Skinner), which proposes a one percent increase in
tax on those Californians making $500,000 a year or more, was passed unanimously
without discussion.
The final resolution was a commendation to Linda Tong, the outgoing student trustee.
This was her last meeting. Pearlman, who has worked a lot with the Student Affairs
Committee, praised her for her hard work. Tong thanked the Board and all who have
worked with her.
During the Capital Construction portion of the meeting, the first item was a presentation
regarding the Construction Technology Building at Trade Tech. At 162,000 square feet,
this three-story building will be the largest in the bond program. It will be located on
Grand Ave, across from the two large buildings that opened two years ago. The almost
doubling of their available space will allow the department to expand course offerings in
emerging construction technologies, such as sustainable energy systems. Features
include a dramatic lobby atrium and use of the roof as lab space. The trustees seemed
quite impressed.
The second topic dealt with inspectors and inspection labs. This was in response to an
earlier question from Tina Park. Tom Hall and a colleague reviewed the process
whereby inspectors and labs are selected. Some changes are being proposed, one of
which will be to have a committee make the selections, as opposed to the Executive
Facilities Director or his staff.
Whole building commissioning was next. This has been the subject of a number of
Board discussions in the last couple of years. There’s been a lot of confusion as to just
what it is and why it's necessary. In addition, the “sole source” (non-competitive)
awarding of the district WBC contract to an Oregon firm, INICI, was highlighted in The
Times' articles. Hall distinguished between regular commissioning (heating, ventilation,
hot water in sinks, et al) and whole building commissioning, which looks at those items
but considerably more: security systems, thermal insulation systems, doors and
hardware operation, and finishes (paint, flooring, carpet), to pick just a few. In the past,
the college facilities staff would be responsible for the commissioning of new buildings.
But with the large number of complex projects in the bond program, and the demands
already made on the college facilities staff, this is not practical. Some trustees expressed
residual skepticism as to why the contractors are not just held responsible for completing
their contracts correctly. Hall's response was that WBC was increasingly common in the
industry, and that LAUSD is now including it. Hall did also claim that INICI was uniquely
qualified and so the sole source contract was not inappropriate in that case. Candaele
seemed to accept that argument, but I disputed it, pointing out that Tyree Wieder had
investigated and found that there were some three dozen WBC firms in Southern
California.
The new Student Information Systems (SIS) was the final topic of the day. Given the
long day, I took a pass on the presentation by Jorge Mata and John Clerx. I will
summarize it later, however, when I review their handout.
Comments
Too, too long. Some trustees were in meetings from 9:00 to 6:00 without a break. Let’s
hope there are no more “hybrid” afternoon sessions.
The Valley Speech students sounded terrific: bright, articulate, and witty. To win the top
national prize three years out of four is an amazing accomplishment. Hats off to all of
them, to the two earlier teams, and to their coaches!
David
David Beaulieu
District Academic Senate President
dbeaulieu@email.laccd.edu
213/891-2294