Board of Trustees Report
District Office
May 12, 2010
Infrastructure Committee
The renovation and expansion of Trade’s 1926 auditorium was the first item. The work
will be done by Behr Browers, who did the Chinese Grauman’s restoration. Besides
carefully preserving the ceiling and other historical features, space (for back of house
storage, et al) will be added to the rear and side, doubling the current size and improving
the street appearance. It will become a prominent venue for a wide range of community
events. December, 2012, is the projected completion date.
Larry Eisenberg reviewed the recently developed evaluation process for the college
project managers. Up to now an evaluation has only been done every four years, when
the firms’ contracts are about to expire. Mona Field said that more needs to be done,
and annual reviews were discussed. Miguel Santiago called for a common, transparent
process district-wide. Nancy Pearlman called for a list of expectations. Eisenberg said
that the college president would collect input from his senior staff, as well as from the
college’s Facilities Committee. I said I was concerned that faculty opinion be included,
given the complaints faculty have had with CPM performance at some colleges.
Santiago supported that request. He added that the evaluation should focus on key
issues. This topic will be put back on the agenda for the next IC meeting.
There was a short discussion about employing small, emerging, and/or minority-owned
firms. Field cited the progress made (“we kept the promise we made”), while noting that
some activities can no longer occur due to the recent legal clarification re Prop. 39.
Eisenberg reported that titanium dioxide is being sprayed on district buildings (one
million square feet have been treated to date) in order to keep them clean. As a result of
extensive discussion in Bond Steering about safety concerns, an expert from UCLA has
been asked to do an objective assessment. I noted that the study was not being ordered
due to the insistence of one or two faculty members alone. Rather, the entire committee
wants to get some questions answered. Field wondered whether it wasn’t too late, given
the amount of work done already. I replied that the applications needed to be reapplied
every five years or so, so it would be an ongoing issue.
There was a brief discussion of the current Dept. of State Architect Office timelines.
Budget cutbacks are slowing things down.
Planning and Student Success Committee
West and Southwest presented their strategic plan updates. Mark Rocha introduced the
team from West, and Fran Leonard led the presentation. After a year of hard work, they
have written a new mission statement and updated all their master plans. The Southwest
team was introduced by Jack Daniels. Allison Moore led the presentation. As with West,
their goals follow those of the state and district strategic plans, but they’ve added one
regarding CTE goal. Their twenty-seven objectives will be reassessed, with a planning
retreat scheduled for this summer.
Both presentations were lucid and persuasive, and the Board response was very
positive.
I did mention the importance of categorical funding, in particular given the emphasis on
student success in both plans. Field took issue to the use of the word “categorical.” It
was a bit unclear as to what she meant, but she seemed to refer to the need for colleges
to be more flexible in the delivery of student support services in the future.
Gary Colombo reviewed the reports on the recent City-side college accreditation visits.
His report was upbeat, but we’ll have to wait till early July for ACCJC’s final word.
Open Session
In order to accommodate some of our financial consultants, the financing of the solar
projects at East, Southwest, Harbor, and Pierce were moved to the top of the agenda.
Given that these projects have been exhaustively reported on earlier (March 24 report,
www.laccd.edu/das), I won’t go into detail here. The Board was presented again with
arguments for the “lease purchase” agreements with Edison and DWP. They had heard
a version of this presentation earlier, and the Energy Oversight Committee has gone
over it in detail twice. The only new information was that the federal grant may be less
that had been anticipated. If that is the case, the savings will be significantly diminished,
in which case it may be better to go back to an outright purchase. We’ll know in ten days
or so.
A long discussion ensued, with the Board finally approving the agreements unanimously
so the process could move forward. It was made clear that they could get out of the
deals at a later date, if they so chose. Miguel Santiago was particularly persistent with
his questions, and he asked for confirmation that the Energy Oversight Committee
thought the financing plan was a good idea. Given that the chair, Ernie Moreno, was
absent, I affirmed that that was the case.
Linda Tong, ASO president at City, complained about the recent student trustee election.
The winning candidate (not identified) did not campaign, she alleged, while two others
had. She suggested that his victory had to do with his name being at the top of the ballot
at all colleges and suggested that in the future the names should be listed in various
orders. She also argued that there should be three student trustees, given the size of the
district. John Clerx noted that a formal complaint has been filed, and an investigation is
in process.
Allison Jones introduced the City Theater Department cast and crew of “Anton’s Uncles,”
a rewriting of Chekhov done by Tina Kronis. The troupe were a big hit at the Kennedy
Center in Washington, where they recently performed, and they’ve been selected to
participate in the upcoming program celebrating the Centennial of California Community
Colleges, along with Valley’s Jazz Vocal Ensemble. Only eight others were selected for
this program, and “Anton’s Uncles” will be the grand finale.
Three speakers, including Armida Ornelas, AFT Chapter President at East, decried the
recent Arizona immigration legislation as “racist” and “not what America is about.” They
urged the Board to approve the resolution before them that opposes the bill (see below).
The Board did so later in the meeting, voting unanimously. It calls for the district to
“cooperate” with the city and state as they take “appropriate measures” in response.
The Van de Kamp Coalition trio spoke again. Micki Jackson said she was sorry that the
DAS president’s “aristocratic sensibilities” had been offended. The “peasants will still
complain,” she insisted. There was general puzzlement as to what she was getting at,
but this scribe knew very well (see below). More seriously, John Walsh said “indictments
are coming,” as the alteration of the classrooms at the Center for alternative uses is “a
criminal matter” (though he added that the Board members were not guilty themselves,
just misled).
One item was reported out of Closed Session. There was a unanimous vote to approve
a settlement with KOA. No details were provided.
Resolutions in support of LGBT Pride Month and National Safety Month were passed
without discussion. West Los Angeles’s revised Mission Statement was approved.
Lisa Winter presented a short report on the success Project Match interns have had in
obtaining work as college instructors. Her extensive research has revealed that almost
50% of our PM graduates have been employed by the district. Artina McIntosh, a recent
intern, described it as “a wonderful program.”
A motion to suspend a classified worker in the District Office for three days was tabled,
after a strong protest from Velma Butler that the union leadership was not notified of the
increase in the discipline meted out).
Kris Kimble from Green Hive again complained about it losing its space in 811 Wilshire
(see the last board report).
The district earned two more bond program awards. Details were not provided.
The meeting was adjourned in the memory of the late Professor Mary Fairfax Ware, who
taught at Southwest for thirty-two years.
Comment
Don Gauthier raised the questions about the titanium dioxide spraying initially. The study
will hopefully show that there is no risk. We just want to be sure, as there have been
some questions raised by environmental groups and others.
I knew “sturm und drang” could be trouble. You have to watch the foreign phrases. Start
throwing them around and you’re likely to get called an “aristocrat.” But really, it was only
the once! I promise I don’t really speak German, though I do work at French a little.
All the best,
David