District Academic Senate Executive Meeting
January 28, 2010; 2:00-2:00 p.m. District Office
Minutes
Attendance: David Beaulieu (President), Kathleen Bimber (Vice President), Angela Echeverri
(Secretary, Mission), Alex Immerblum (Treasurer, East), Tom Rosdahl (Pierce), Allison Moore
(Southwest), June B. Smith (Harbor)
Guests: Vice Chancellor Gary Colombo (LACCD)
1. Call to Order and Approval of Agenda: Meeting was called to order by President Beaulieu at
12:15 p.m. Agenda was approved (Bimber/Smith M/S/U).
2. Approval of Minutes for October 22 Meeting: Minutes for 12/17/09 were approved with
corrections (Immerblum/Smith M/S/U).
3. Public Speakers: None
4. Budget Report: Beaulieu expressed concern that difficult financial decisions are being delayed
by the Board and district administration because there is no permanent chancellor in place.
 Governance Problems: Jeanette Gordon has opposed additional faculty representation
on the Fiscal Policy Review Committee (FPRC), which is a subcommittee of the DBC.
Beaulieu added that faculty input on budget development is one of the key roles of the
Senate.
 Categoricals: Beaulieu reported that the state imposed a $28 million total cut to
categorical programs; roughly $13 million has been cut by the colleges. The LACCD has
promised to backfill $15 million of the cuts out of its reserves, but this can’t go on for very
long if with a reserve balance of approximately $40 million. The $13 million will go to the
colleges and reduce their deficits. Rosdahl stated that at some point duplication of
services must be evaluated. Immerblum added that East is cutting its instructional
programs and other expenses, but this will not eliminate their current year deficit.
Colleges are counting on the District Office to reduce its expenses. The Personnel
Commission and staffing of the District Office have to be looked at. Moore and Rosdahl
stated that the Personnel Commission holds classified people back because they don’t
allow them to cross train or work out of classification. Rosdahl inquired what would
happen if the LACCD reserve falls below five percent of its operating budget. Smith
replied that the state budget crisis is an emergency and the reserve should be used in
one. Beaulieu stated that the financial difficulties are expected to last through 2012. He
added that the balance was over $60 million two years ago and this year could go down
to $40 million. Five percent of the LACCD budget is roughly $25 million.
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Expensive Programs at Deficit Colleges: Smith requested clarification on whether the
Chancellor has instructed the president of Harbor College to reduce expensive programs.
Immerblum stated he respects the viability process, but we need to have a discussion on
whether high cost programs can be sustained. Bimber stated that our mission is broad
and we should not be English and math mills. In the 1980s the district closed down
nursing, dental and other expensive programs in response to the budget crisis. Rosdahl
added that the problem with getting rid of these programs is that it is very difficult to get
them back again. Additionally, Vocational Technical Education Act (VTEA) funding and
grants are tight. Moore added that nursing positions and equipment are funded by grants
at many colleges. Echeverri stated that Mission is the only college in the district that has
no allied health program. The faculty there have tried to establish such programs many
times and are always told the college can’t afford them. Moore said colleges are paying
20% of their funds to the district. Beaulieu replied that the District Office carries out
functions that the colleges would have to pick up if it didn’t exist. Moore asked whether
decentralization saved the district money. Beaulieu stated the Personnel Commission
costs approximately $2 million to run, but this does not take into account the costs of the
lost efficiency that it causes. Another issue is that Harbor and Southwest cannot afford
their salaries and benefits, which causes them to have a deficit from the start. Moore
stated it is too late in the fiscal year to make cuts. If they start cutting positions, it will set
off transfers throughout the district. The leadership of the district needs to take a hard
look at these issues. Jeanette Gordon has objected that the FPRC is too large. They
agreed to reduce the committee by one college president (President Daniels is off,
Presidents Moreno and Rocha remain) and one faculty member (probably Carl
Friedlander or John McDowell).
5. Union Issues: Union elections will be held in April. Joanne Wadell from Valley College is
running for the AFT President position. AFT President Carl Friedlander and Caroline Widener
are stepping down from their Guild positions after many years.
6. DCC Report
 Repeatability of Basic Skills Waiver: Bimber reported that the state limits students to
30 units of basic skills classes (excluding ESL classes). Last month, the district found out
that they can request a Basic Skills waiver from the state. The LACCD currently does not
have a waiver policy in place and the DCC is asking for the temporary use of a waiver.
Vice Chancellor Clerx is going to draft language to allow students who have reached the
30 units to enroll in additional basic skills classes while a policy is being developed and
approved. The DAS Executive Board could ask the full DAS to authorize it to approve the
waiver. Beaulieu said he was concerned about setting a precedent with a Chancellor’s
directive without some formal DAS approval, though it would be faster this way, since the
DAS won’t be meeting until after the term begins. Moore added that Southwest’s Senate
bylaws state that the Executive Board can act as the full senate during non-instructional
periods. Smith asked how many students would be affected by not having a waiver.
Bimber replied that there were not that many who would be affected. The consensus was
that Exec approval would suffice, and that the DAS will be notified of our action and the
reason for it.
 CB21 Coding Workshop: Will take place at City College tomorrow from 9:15 am to
12:00 noon. They need English and Math representatives from several campuses. The
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state has changed the deadlines and information multiple times. A CB21 webinar will be
held on February 26.
Unit Limits (Cooperative EducationTitle 5 Changes): Will be presented at the next
meeting.
BR 6202 Catalog Rights: Will be presented at the next meeting
7. Treasurer’s Report: Postponed.
8. EPAC Report: Postponed
 Denials
 HR Staff Changes
9. Distance Education Update
10. Student Success Report: Postponed
 Basic Skills Request from BOT
 Transfer Update
11. Salary: Postponed
12. Administrator Hiring: Postponed
13. District Office Service Outcomes (DOSOs): Vice Chancellor Colombo distributed a draft of the
DOSOs and reported that the Functional Map was developed and revised as part of the
response to the accreditation recommendation to delineate the functions of various units in the
district. They will also develop a separate document to define the roles and functions of various
committees and governance units. Below is a summary of the discussion and the suggestions
that were made:
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Office of Budget & Management Analysis: Beaulieu inquired why Vinh Nguyen reports to the
Deputy Chancellor (page 38) and why Chief Financial Office Jeanette Gordon has a separate
office (page 60). This was identified by Beaulieu as a consultation item.
Division of Information Technology: Add DAS and college senates under the IT constituents
(page 41).
Workforce Development: Beaulieu questioned why this appears under the Division of
Educational Services and not the Division of Economic and Workforce Development headed by
Vice Chancellor Marvin Martinez (page 44). This was identified as a consultation item.
Division of Institutional Effectiveness: Add language as follows: “Facilitate the review and
modify DSP goals and objectives on a periodic basis” (page 50).
Division of Economic and Workforce Development: Specify senate and union faculty leaders
under constituents (page 58).
Facilities Planning and Development (Unit: Bond Programs): There was a discussion of the
responsibilities under the public relations functional area and whether it should include out of
state travel to promote sustainability issues. Concern was expressed about the amount of time
that Manager Larry Eisenberg spends traveling. This was identified as a consultation item.
Beaulieu added that Eisenberg does not widely distribute copies of bond related documents at
Board meetings. Only the Board of Trustees, chancellor and deputy chancellor are given bond
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documents. He suggested that in order to ensure transparency of the bond program, all
members of the resource table, at least, should receive copies of bond documents.
The District Office Service Outcomes were accepted with the corrections and changes listed
above (Bimber/Echeverri MSU).
Colombo distributed a draft of Responses to the Cityside District Accreditation Recommendations
and discussed each of the three recommendations.
District Recommendation 1: Financial Resources and Board Administrative Organization. In
order to improve, the post-retirement health liability should be carefully monitored for the
potential fiscal ramifications that could arise over the next few years. The LACCD agreed in
the fall of 2006 to pre-fund part of its unfunded obligation by directing 1.92% of the employee payroll
into a trust managed by CALPERS. Colombo stated that the plan is to not make the $6 million dollar
contribution in June 2010 and June 2011. The rationale is that the obligation decreased from $630
million to $540 million by the change in healthcare coverage that went into effect in 2010. Colombo
added that this will not be mentioned in the response because it won’t occur until June.
District Recommendation 2: Board and Administrative Organization. In order to improve,
both the district and the college need to evaluate the consistent adherence in practice to the
recently developed delineation of operational responsibilities and functions: Colombo
reported that the Outcomes of the District Role and Functions Assessment Survey had 185
respondents (about half of those of the Governance Survey). Over 66% of respondents agreed with
the description of the District system’s seven major functions and nearly 68% agreed with the
description of the college-level functions. Suggestions for improving the District/college relationship
included: rethink district/college relations, improve communications, streamline operations, and
increase representation in decision-making. Responses will be vetted with the District Planning
Committee (DPC).
District Recommendation 3: Board and Administrative Organization. To meet standards,
develop and implement methods for the evaluation of role delineation and governance and
decision-making structures and processes for the college and district. Widely communicate
the results of the evaluation and use those results as the basis for improvement: Colombo
reported that there were 312 responses to the Governance Survey (400 to 500 individuals were
sent both surveys). The District Planning Committee will review the raw data. The effectiveness of
strategic planning, goal setting, and Employee Benefits (JLMBC) were rated pretty high. In contrast,
the effectiveness of the Bond Program and Budget Development were not. There were 146
respondents that identified problems which fell into several categories, including lack of
communication/transparency, need for more college autonomy, insufficient representation, need for
accountability and leadership, and process-related problems. Colombo added that the DPC,
JLMBC, and District Budget Committee will be performing self-evaluations as well. Finally, he
discussed the LACCD Effectiveness Review Cycle.
14. Technology Policy and Procedures Committee: Beaulieu reported that the newly
reconfigured committee needs a representative from each campus. Deputy Chancellor Barrera
will co-chair the committee with a faculty member. The first meeting will take place on Thursday,
February 18th from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.
15. Proposed Future Actions and Announcements: None
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16. Adjourn: Meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.
Minutes submitted respectfully by DAS Secretary Angela Echeverri
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