The short meeting was devoted to a single item: approving the revision of the District's
Cooperative Work Experience Plan. As you know, in Co-op Ed students are placed in jobs of a limited duration and get credit for the training they receive. They are expected to improve their work habits and skills. The college instructor, employer, and student each have responsibilities to assure that the goals are being met. We've had a Co-op Ed program in the District since 1978, and a formal revised plan is submitted to the
Chancellor's Office roughly every ten years. Co-op Ed is especially strong at Valley, where around 400 students participate, and at East, where around 200 are involved.
East Vice President Renee Martinez and I presented the latest revision.
Chancellor LaVista said that Cooperative Education could be a significant means to boost student success. I added that it reminded me of the “apprenticeship education” emphasis of UCLA’s Jeannie Oakes, who presented at the DAS Summit in 2008. Sylvia
Scott-Hayes urged us not to wait so many years to revise the plan again, but it was pointed out that this formal submission to the state was really a compilation of many changes to the plan over the last several years. In short, it has been revised on an ongoing basis, just not formally.
The entire meeting was devoted to the bond program. The first part was about bond project cost principles, formulated in response to the recent finding from bond legal counsel that claimed many expenses were in violation of Prop. 39. Up to now there has been no document to turn to as a reference source for bond expenditures. Kelly
Candaele had persistent questi ons as to whether the consultant fees we’ve been paying are “representative.” He wanted to see proof that the district is not being gouged, adding that Board members can’t be expected to just take someone’s word about this. Scott-
Hayes asserted that we sho uldn’t look locally for comparisons but nationally, but
Candaele disagreed. He said we needed to do both. Chancellor LaVista was tasked to do a study of consultant compensation and report back to the Board. Scott-Hayes said she wanted to see a retraction from Lisalee Wells, district bond legal counsel, of her charges about Prop. 39. She said that she understood that Wells had admitted that she was wrong. Chancellor LaVista was asked to request such a letter.
The second part of the meeting consisted of an extensive presentation by Lloyd
Silberstein regarding the organization of bond management. He detailed the change in structure that took place in June of 2007, when DMJM was replaced by URS (and then renamed BuildLACCD). College project managers began to report to the college

presidents, he claimed, and not to the Project Manager (formerly James Sohn, now
Silberstein). Duties of the PM and CPM were also reviewed.
Scott-Hayes complained about the college presidents being more involved than ever in bond management, as it kept them from focusing on academics. Others disagreed, however, among them the Chancellor, who felt it was essential that the presidents be involved, given the academic implications of the building program.
In the months since Silberstein has been the PM, he has instituted a number of changes to fine tune what he still sees as a generally very successful structure. From an overly centralized structure up to a very decentralized one, he has taken steps to “nudge” the program toward greater cen tralization “to better support execution of the work.”
Field described Silberstein brief tenure to date as “phenomenal,” with “so much (done) in such a short time.”
In brief opening remarks, President Georgia Mercer suggested that there might be changes in the offing regarding the Board meetings, with more of a focus on educational policy.
Kate Crowley, the director of an Atwater child care center, stated that she was looking forward to the Van de Kamp Innovation Center being fully operational.
Ricky Jones, a district classified employee terminated by the Board in 2008, claimed that his rights had been violated by a fraudulent, error-ridden process of review. Camille
Goulet replied that the Personnel Commission had ruled against him.
No actions were reported out of Closed Session.
Committee reports were given by Scott-Hayes and Kelly Candaele (see above).
Resolutions were passed in honor of Patriot Day (Sept. 11), Latino Heritage Month
(Sept. 15-Oct. 15), and U.S. Constitution Week (Sept. 17-23).
A resolution was passed commending six retiring classified employees (one with 36 years in the district).
Mona Field presented a CCCLC resolution calling upon the Governor and legislative leaders to expeditiously adopt a state budget, and to use the Conference Committee spending plan as a framework. As you may recall, a budget resolution presented by
Miguel Santiago on Aug. 11 had been tabled, due to objections that it was too partisan, among other points. Santiago had rephrased and resubmitted his resolution, but he withdrew it and supported the League's, stating that it addressed all of his concerns. It was then passed unanimously.
With all present standing in ovation, Georgia Mercer presented Tyree Wieder with flowers and a resolution of gratitude from the Board for her work as Interim Chancellor.

She described Wieder as an "extraordinary woman with extraordinary energy and an extraordinary attitude." LaVista added his "deep and sincere gratitude" for her assistance in making the transition. In her remarks, Wieder talked about the need to keep student needs first and foremost in our minds. She also said working as Interim Chancellor had made her realize just how hard the Board works.
The final budget for 2010-11 was adopted without comment.
After opposing comments from the Van de Kamp Coalition trio (Dan Wright, Laura
Gutierrez, and Micki Jackson), the Board voted to approve the purchase of 1.4 acres adjacent property to the VDK Center. The Coalition has already initiated a suit against the District, claiming that this is an improper use of bond monies, and a violation of the
California Environmental Quality Act. Goulet strongly disputes both allegations. The vote was 5-0-2, with Santiago and Tina Park abstaining.
The Board approved the addendum to the Pierce College 2002 Final EIR and its 2010
Master Plan update. The vote was 6-0-1, with Nancy Pearlman abstaining. Preceding the vote, eight speakers spoke in favor, and one opposed. Those in support included
Senate President Tom Rosdahl and Guild Chapter President Don Sparks. They noted the extensive faculty involvement in the review process, as well as its green tech aspects.
In his first formal Chancellor's Report, LaVista said that he would like to use them as occasions to celebrate the work of the District. To that end, he had Sue Carleo describe the recent accomplishment of a Valley student-athlete named the U.S. National Junior
Champion in the pole vault.
He then had Jack Daniels introduce the Achieving the Dream Initiative at Southwest, which is getting started this fall. ATD was started back East in 2004, with key funding from the Lumina Foundation. It focuses on formal degree/certificate completion and on underserved student groups. There are now 100 colleges involved nation-wide, but only three in California: Evergreen, Sequoia, and Southwest). Two expert coaches will assist the college in developing a "culture of evidence" and identifying gaps in achievement as well as steps to ameliorate them. The initiative will be the focus of the Opening Day at
Southwest on Thursday. Particular funding for Southwest will come from a Kresge grant, as well as other sources.
The Consent Calendar was approved, after a few questions. Scott-Hayes was interested in the cost of Etudes, the Distance Education platform used by several colleges.
As I mentioned last time, I’m very sorry to see Tyree Wieder leave. She made a great contribution to the district by serving as Interim Chancellor. In particular, she reined in the bond program, which in some respects seemed out of control in early 2009. I recall
Mark Drummond’s alarm at the news he was hearing then about energy proposals.
While the work of the Bond Steering Committee and the Energy Oversight Committee

will continue, we’ll really miss her down to earth insistence that we adhere to key values, such as clarity, practicality, and integrity.
Silberstein’s presentation was very impressive, and while I don’t share his degree of enthusiasm for past management, I do think he’s made some very important improvements since he came on board. I would, however, like to see a more candid
Board discussion of past management errors. If we don’t learn from them, they’re likely to recur. I’ll specify two areas of concern in upcoming DAS newsletters and in
Academically Speaking .
I hope your first day of class went well!
David
District Academic Senate President
213-891-2294 dbeaulieu@email.laccd.edu
www.laccd.edu/das