Board of Trustees Report
District Office
December 17, 2008
Infrastructure Committee
The committee reviewed the state budget situation, with Mona Field concerned about
the morning headlines of state projects being shut down due to the budget crisis. She
wanted to know if the crisis would have an adverse impact on our own projects that
involve state funding. Larry Eisenberg reassured her, however, that we can proceed on
our current schedule with them, given that state money will come eventually. We can
cover any short-term loss in state revenue with bond money in the meantime. A review
then followed of all the state funded projects currently in design, under construction, or
completed in the district. The list consisted of some 20 projects.
Larry pointed out that it was a great time just now for us to proceed with construction.
Due to the collapse of the private construction market, and the relative slowdown of the
public project market, labor costs are lower than they have been in years and we're
getting many more bids on projects. When Obama's stimulus package kicks in, this will
change, however.
City College presented the plans for its Student Success Building. It will be a three-story,
one-stop center, located at the site of the old library. The design is marked by open
internal stairways, lots of light, and some very attractive common spaces both inside and
out. The committee was impressed.
Finally, there was a discussion about the effectiveness of design-build, as opposed to
the traditional method of designing and constructing buildings. Design-build requires the
architect and contractor to work as a team from the beginning, and colleges are not
required to take the lowest bid, but rather to consider a range of factors in selection.
Because of the greater efficiencies that result, both total costs and the time needed to
complete projects are reduced 20-30% with design-build construction. Mona Field
pointed out that the LACCD was instrumental in getting the legislation allowing this
through Sacramento, and that we piloted it, along with a few other colleges. It is now an
option for all CCC's. Over two-thirds of the new projects in Measure J will be built this
way.
Campus security was also discussed briefly. The new blue security phones were
mentioned. They are going up around all campuses.
Ad Hoc Committee on Public/Private Partnerships
I didn't attend this meeting, but the focus was again on West LA and Trade, the only two
colleges currently pursuing these partnerships. Two Requests for Qualifications are out
in the case of West, and Trade reported several opportunities to partner with businesses
and/or purchase real estate next to campus. The primary intention in pursuing these
partnerships for both colleges is to generate revenue.
Committee of the Whole
The Board met as a Committee of the Whole to hear the Cityside colleges report on their
completed accreditation self studies. Kerrin McMahan, Brad Vaden, and Joe Myers
made the presentations for East, Trade and City respectively. The reports were well
received overall, with the first two in particular cited by Gary Colombo as being very well
done. He did, however, have some pointed questions for each. In East's case, the need
to spell out and document the link the between planning and budgeting was stressed. I
mentioned that the two certainly had been closely connected at East, just not
documented adequately. In Trade's case, Gary mentioned the continued need to work
on governance issues. In City's case, he was primarily concerned that they had only
come up with nine recommendations, given the state average of twenty or so. The Board
members found the reports "reassuring," and felt that the colleges were ready for their
March visits.
Open Session
A student leader from Mission spoke on behalf of the need to maintain tutoring programs
in the face of budget cuts. Rebecca Estrada, the ASO president at East, added similar
concerns, mentioning library hours and class offerings, also. Rachel Richards, the ASO
president at Harbor, complained to the Board that the student advisor there was
restricting discussion. All officers at Harbor are required to take a credit course in
student government, and they are allegedly being threatened with low grades if they
speak up to complain about various issues. Rachel claimed that the regulations for ASO
officer eligibility (E-22) were being violated, and that Linda Spink had not been helpful.
No action was taken in Closed Session that needed to be reported out.
The Board heard committee reports. Rose Bustos noted the work of the Student Affairs
Committee in three areas: contacting legislators about the damage done by budget cuts;
encouraging work on a clean and healthy campus environment; and arguing for keeping
bookstores under district operations, given their recent cooperation regarding buy-back
programs, et al. (See above for the other committees.)
After a community organizer reviewed the disturbingly large number of homeless
veterans in LA County (there are 20,000 homeless vets in LA County, with many more
expected in the near future), a motion was passed in support of a vet housing program in
the Valley entitled "New Directions." It was clarified after some discussion that the
motion will not obligate us financially in any way, but was meant as an expression of
moral support for a worthy cause.
Mattis Goldman made an extensive report on the "branding" campaign that he headed
up for the district. The campaign cost $1.6 million (down from the budgeted $2m). It
aired some 5,000 TV ads, 45,000 movie "impressions" on some 330 screens, as well as
cable, radio, and Internet ads. In the latter case, some 22,000 click-throughs occurred,
said to be a high number. They suggested (not surprisingly) that we sustain our
commitment to branding, as SMC has done so successfully. Further improvement of our
web presence was cited as the single most important thing for us to do, along with
advertising on the Google job search page.
Patrick McCallum reported on the latest deal brewing in Sacramento, which he dubbed
the "Triple Flip” (the Democrat attempt to bypass the Republicans and raise revenue)
and Carl gave a summary of the Emergency Response Group discussions. Since I'll be
writing about the latest budget news in my Newsletter early next week, I won't say
anymore here.
The Consent Calendar was passed unanimously, after several clarification questions.
Mona Field wondered about the appropriateness of approving an Early British History
(pre-history through medieval) class, given the budget downturn.
In final announcements, Linda Spink noted the Jan. 21 opening of two new classroom
buildings at Harbor and the Blue Ribbon Award ceremony last week for the Harbor
Teacher Preparation Academy, the LAUSD program on campus.
I thanked the four Board members who attended our Project Match reception on Friday.
In response to the discussion at the last Board meeting about the Math Department at
Southwest, I noted that the DAS was looking at additional steps we can take to support
the effort to improve the student outcomes for developmental math district-wide. I
promised to report back further to the Board at a future meeting.
Comment
Mona’s comment got me thinking. My response at the time was a bit feeble. I just joked
slightly that I sort of liked the course, a nod to the British side of my family. Then I added
that just because a course was being approved didn’t mean it would be offered or would
make. I’m sure her main concern was about enrollment, and I gave an enrollment
management answer. But, if you think about it, it raises another issue. How relevant is
Early British History to life in 21st century California? Wasn’t it just long and benighted?
Why not just forget it? I think there’s a contrary argument. Most of you are familiar with
Arts and Crafts furniture. I just love the stuff. Last Sunday’s paper featured Max
Palevksy, the art collector, whose esteemed collection in now on exhibit at LACMA. The
Arts and Crafts Movement started in England in the late 19th century, and it was itself
part of a century-long British fascination with medievalism. Think of the Romantic poets,
John Ruskin, the pre-Raphaelites, Henry Adams (in the USA), et al. Those thinkers saw
in the Middle Ages certain virtues that were being lost with the industrialization and
urbanization of Victorian England: an intensely close tie to the natural world, a stress on
the communal, and a dedication to craftsmanship among them. Our love for Arts and
Crafts and the current revival in California and elsewhere of artisanship in all its aspects
both hark back to the medieval world. So, yes, a course in Early British History, please!
And may it make!
David