LACC officially dedicated a new  library in the name of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., just steps from where he spoke to a 1962 Snyder Field crowd on "The Future of Integration."  

 

"While this library is made of brick and mortar, it's really about the knowledge and the wisdom our students will obtain to build their lives," Kelly G. Candaele, president of the LACCD Board of Trustees said at the October 7th ceremonies.

 

"This state-of-the-art facility is a much-needed resource to more than 15,000 students pursing training certificates or associates degrees here at City College." 

'Tis the (basketball) Season!

 Coach Miller and Coach Cleveland show off the third place trophy won by our Cubs men's basketball team during the Tip-off Classic, which was held Nov. 7 - 9 here at LACC. 

And the College Student Pulitzer Prize Goes to... 

 

Now that's setting the pace.

 

A Message from Chancellor Marshall "Mark" Drummond

Dear District Family:
I am sure that all of you hear the daily news reports about "how bad the economy is" and also the fact that it continues to worsen. Home foreclosures continue to climb, and retail sales continue to slump. Those are two of the pillars of tax income (real property appreciation taxes and sales taxes) in California. And of course as people lose jobs and the economy shrinks, the amount we all pay in state income tax also declines. This is not a pretty picture.

· We are currently operating under the 2008-09 Budget Law which was passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor late last summer. UNTIL another budget bill is passed and signed we stick with the current budget.

· All estimates (Department of Finance, Legislative Analyst, other economic forecasts) agree that the State of California is experiencing an $11 billion dollar shortfall today, with another $14 billion estimated for 2009-10. These bleak assumptions are made before the results of holiday sales' are known, and those are likely to be very weak.

· There are numerous proposals about how the State should deal with this crisis on the table, and the Legislature is currently in special session dealing with the situation. The current legislature has only until November 30, 2008 to pass a new budget bill or all of the termed-out legislators must leave and newly elected ones will take their places. It would not be beneficial for the Legislature to fail to act because every day that passes is another day less that we will have to respond to whatever cuts come our way.

· Estimates for current-year cuts to the LACCD range from a low of around $12 million to a high of $34 million. The Governor wants to cut more immediately and carry the cuts into next year. The Legislative Analyist's Office (LAO) suggests smaller cuts now but larger cuts next summer. Either way the LACCD is likely to lose $25-30 million dollars from our budget by next summer. When you add the $10 million dollars of unfunded cost increases (health care premiums alone are going up approximately $6 million dollars) we are heading towards a very large hole.

· You should separate in your mind current-year cuts from the cuts that may come next summer to the 2009-10 budget which would be permanent base cuts. The current-year cuts can be mitigated to a degree by using one-time money (such as money coming from the hiring freeze, the DWP overcharge refund, etc.) and we will try our best to cover as much of what ever current-year cut comes with one-time funds.

· The cuts that will come next summer are a different story. While we may have some one-time money to apply to the problem, we will have to seriously change our structure and operations to be able to cope with cuts of this magnitude. This will surely result in greatly restricted hiring and spending, and could cause us to cease doing some of the things we now do. We will deal with all of those questions as the year progresses.

I have an operating plan in place to (a) keep current on information; and (b) quickly develop strategies to cope with any cuts that come our way. I have formed a group to advise me that I have named the "Emergency Response Task Group." This is a small group of our family who I trust and believe have great knowledge and experience. Carl Friedlander, Velma Butler, college presidents Garber, Rocha and Daniels, District Senate President David Beaulieu and Deputy Chancellor Barrera make up the group.

This group is not meant to short-circuit shared governance; it is a group to help me think through these issues. Once strategies,  approaches and alternatives are fashioned by this group I will take my recommendations to the District Budget Committee (DBC) and consequently will take any recommendations that involve collective bargaining or academic and/or professional matters to the appropriate group for consultation.

I firmly believe that openness, fairness and equity are essential for this process to work effectively. I warn you however, that the crisis is real, the timing is short, and the stakes are very high. We will not have the luxury of endless debate and consultation on measures that must be taken to our Board of Trustees. We will however take the necessary time to inform,  debate and listen. No action will come to you as a "surprise," and your representative organizations will be fully "in the loop" for whatever decisions or actions must be taken. Again I caution that forceful action will be necessary to safeguard the institution we all care very much about, and needless delay when we know the facts would be fatal.

I will continue to "hope for the best" while we prepare for the worst.

Mark Drummond
Chancellor