Board of Trustees Report
District Office
March 24, 2011
Budget and Finance Committee
The committee again dealt with the appeal by AON regarding the broker contract for the
Owner Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP) being awarded to Alliant. (Given that this is
a reprise of the dispute last year between the rival applicants, which I covered
extensively, I didn't attend the first two-thirds of this meeting.) At the conclusion, Kelly
Candaele proposed denying AON's appeal, but granting a two-year contract
authorization to Alliant, rather than the four years originally proposed. There would be a
one-year renewal option, however. His motion was approved on a 2-1 vote, with Sylvia
Scott-Hayes concurring, Tina Park dissenting.
Infrastructure Committee
The Harbor facilities team made a presentation regarding the modernization of the
Harbor theater and music building. At $7 million, it will be an extensive renovation and
include landscaping of the quad that connects all the fine arts buildings.
ADA upgrades at Valley was the next item. A complete campus-wide mitigation of ADA
access problems has been planned. This was followed by a short City report on the
need for temporary classroom facilities while Clausen Hall is renovated and the Student
Services Building is constructed. The trailers will be located in the quad area in front of
the library and the Science and Technology building.
Open Session
Georgia Mercer began the session with a comment on a recent ground-breaking at
Southwest. This latest project will finally complete the build-out of that campus, over
forty-five years after the college was begun. She also spoke enthusiastically about the
recent opening of the Performing and Fine Arts Center at East.
Abel Rodriguez, the representative of the supervisor unit, spoke briefly about their new
board. I gave a short report on the recent Math Summit, pointing out that not all the
reaction from faculty was positive but that it was a positive step forward nonetheless.
Stephen Glover and Al Washington, both representing contractor associations, spoke in
support of LA Construction Career Awareness Day at Trade Tech on April 7. It will
include 50-60 exhibitors and some 2,200 participants.
Dan Wright from the Van de Kamp Coalition said it was appropriate that Larry Eisenberg
was fired and that the district’s mission at Van de Kamp was “perverted.” He asked the
faculty and administration to keep the Board on track in terms of bond matters and urged
the Board to settle the coalition’s two pending legal actions.
Cortnee Connor, the local advance director for Hands Across California, updated the
Board on the latest preparations for the April 17 event. She claimed it would be the
largest fundraising activity in the history of higher education. Proceeds will go toward
scholarships, with the Bernard Osher Foundation providing a 50% match till June.
Kelly Candaele and Nancy Pearlman gave brief committee reports (see above).
A settlement in a case involving a party named Lander was announced out of Closed
Session. The vote was unanimous, but no other details were provided.
Resolutions were passed in support of Child Abuse Prevention Month (April); Sexual
Assault Awareness Month (April) and Denim Day (April 27); National Administrative
Professionals Week (April 24-30); Month of the Young Child (April); Earth Day, 2011
(April 22); and Day of Remembrance: Armenian Genocide (April 24).
Additionally, a resolution was passed commending a classified staff member, Barbara
Stephens, on her retirement after 40 years in the district.
Finally, a portion of the park area at Pierce east of the new Center for Sciences was
designated “Rocky Young Park,” in honor of his “extraordinary dedication to Pierce
College and his tireless leadership.” Young was the president at Pierce from 1999 to
2003 before coming downtown as Senior Vice Chancellor.
In his Chancellor’s Report, Daniel LaVista discussed necessary steps in the aftermath of
The Times’ articles. They included forming an independent citizens’ panel and doing a
comprehensive study of current bond program practices. He promised a detailed
statement on April 27 that would include information about other interventions he and
Tom Hall are considering.
He then introduced Sue Carleo, praising her work as Valley president. Carleo in turn
introduced Lennie Ciufo, the director of the Job Training Center at Valley for the past
seventeen years. He made a presentation in which he claimed an 87% placement rate.
The center has won several awards, and has upgraded the skills of over 15,000 workers.
Field and Mercer were effusive in their praise.
The chancellor then presented a proposal to change the organization of Board meetings.
Responding to Board requests for more focus on policy matters, more oversight of the
bond program, and more preparation time, he recommended a shift from two meetings a
month to one for operational matters. This would be in keeping with the practice of most
boards. The second meeting time of the month will focus on the bond program and be a
Committee of the Whole called the Capital Construction Committee. The current seven
Board committees will be reduced to four: Institutional Effectiveness (currently known as
Planning and Student Success); Finance and Audit, which will cover all fiduciary
responsibilities; Legislative Affairs; and Capital Construction. The latter will the only one
to meet as a COW as of now, though Scott-Hayes suggested that Institutional
Effectiveness also do so. Pearlman suggested all four be COW's.
In addition, LaVista suggested that all materials be made available to the trustees one
week in advance of the meetings, that there be an optional study session in advance,
that there be a chance for trustees to seek more information from staff before meetings,
and that the current practice of the president and vice president of the Board reviewing
the agenda with the chancellor be opened to allow other trustees to participate.
There were additional proposals regarding housekeeping matters (food, cell phones, et
al), but they weren't detailed. He also suggested considering guidelines and a "tighter
framework" for public speakers. Candaele and Field said, however, that they wouldn't
support any restrictions on public speakers.
The trustees were generally supportive, and the plan was adopted unanimously. It will
be implemented right away and will be evaluated in approximately three months.
Two items in the Consent Calendar drew extended discussion:
Scott-Hayes asked why Patrick MacCallum’s contract wasn’t reduced even further
(beyond the 20% identified), given that the chancellor has added an executive assistant
to lobby legislative officials. LaVista responded that he has a higher regard for the work
performed by MacCallum now that he has become more familiar with his operation. I
mentioned that there was a longstanding DAS concern about the size of MacCallum’s
contract, but offered no view as to the current proposal.
A few trustees asked pointed questions about the proposed renovation of the District
Office. The cost has expanded from an original $5 million to $23 million (approximate
figures), and a transfer of funds from other accounts was being requested to cover the
increase. Unanticipated infrastructure costs were cited as the main reason for the
increase.
Mona Field remarked on the opening of negotiations with the Faculty Guild. She said we
all needed to work together, given budget constraints.
After the District Office item was separated out, the Consent Calendar was approved,
including the new contract for MacCallum. The Board then passed the DO renovation
item 4-2-1, with Santiago and Park opposing and Candaele abstaining. At its next
meeting, a detailed listing of expenses will be presented.
A discussion of the OCIP contract appeal followed. I left the meeting at this point. I
learned later that Candaele’s recommendation was approved by the full Board on a 4-21 vote, Park dissenting and Pearlman and Santiago abstaining.
Comments
The district office really does need some renovation. ADA compliance, for example, can’t
be put off any longer, and we’re told that will cost several million dollars. Lighting and
HVAC will cost a comparable amount. Only 13% of the total budget is slated for paint,
carpet, and furniture. Assuming these figures are accurate—and we will be checking
them again in Bond Steering--the total expenditure seems justified. What isn’t justifiable
is the confusing manner in which the project budget has been handled over the years. It
led to lots of suspicion in the committee, and faculty balked at approving the fund
transfer request that Eisenberg submitted last fall. However, with better information,
Bond Steering did unanimously support the renovation going forward at our March
meeting. None of us want to have bond money spent on non-academic purposes
needlessly, but the staff in the district office deserve decent working conditions just like
all other district employees.
More about the Math Summit soon. I’m glad to see the conversation advancing, but the
Math faculty will have to drive it. I’m working closely with Steve Castillo and the rest of
the Math Discipline Committee to be sure that that’s the case.
David