Prop AA Planning Underway

In mid-June, the Chancellor announced the division of the Prop AA funds, allocating $94.4 million to LACC out of the $980 million Bond total.  In addition, the Chancellor announced that an additional $50 million would be set aside from Prop AA funds to pay off some $30 million in COPs payments (Certificates of Participation) associated with the Van De Kamp and Viron projects, and that the remainder to be used to complete projected Van De Kamp construction.  At the July 14th meeting of the Prop A Campus Oversight Committee, the following allocations of Prop AA funding were reviewed and approved:

• Completion of Academic Building Renovations....................$32,252,688

• Phase II of the Science/Technology Building....................... $13,052,500

• Construction of Performing Arts Center.................................$31,417,628

• Renovation of Women's Gym into Cafeteria & Bookstore....$4,176,294

• MLK Library Annex.....................................................................$4,000,000

• Completion of Infrastructure & Landscaping........................$11,560,385

The completion of Academic Building renovations includes additional work on Jefferson, Frankilin, Clausen, Holmes, and Da Vinci Halls, as well as the renovation of the Caesar Chavez Administration Building and the Communications Building.  Phase II of the High Tech complex includes construction of an Annex to the main High Tech building that will be located along Vermont, and the installation of an Astronomy viewing deck on top of the Annex.  The allocation for the Performing Arts Center would provide for a 60,000 sq. ft. facility with a performance hall with a 1,500-2,000 person capacity.  The funding set aside for the MLK Library Annex will be used to supplement the $19 million that the State has committed to rebuild the current college library.  According to the Master Plan, the new library will be located on Willowbrook, across from the High Tech building, and the Performing Arts Center will be located on the current library's site. 

• For responding successfully to previous accreditation recommendations

• For changing the culture of the institution in positive ways over the past six years

• For expanding shared governance

• For tying planning and budgeting to institutional evaluation efforts

• For improving communication

• For significantly improving facilities and maintenance

• For instructional innovation

• For responsiveness to community needs through outreach centers

Only six recommendations were noted, two of which were directed at the District:

• The College should enhance efforts to determine institutional effectiveness by documenting institutional outcomes

• Administrators, faculty, and staff should renew a shared commitment to effective and timely communication and accept personal and organizational responsibility to continue existing efforts to improve trust and shared responsibility

• The College should enhance research and assessment practices at the programmatic level to move toward the measurement of student learning outcomes

• The College should continue to emphasize high standards for facility maintenance and cleanliness

• The Board of Trustees should develop and publish a process for the orientation of new members, a BOT code of ethics, and a process for Board evaluation

• District and College leadership should delineate the operational responsibilities and functions of the colleges and District and establish a method and timeframe for the regular evaluation of this delineation

The ACCJC will publish its final, formal response to LACC's accreditation self study later this June.

LACC Reels Under State Budget Cuts
As a result of Governor Grey Davis's unprecedented mid-term budget take backs, LACC has been forced to make draconian cuts that threaten the future of all academic programs on campus.   As of January 28th, approximately 270 sections have been trimmed from the published offerings for Spring Semester.  Every department on campus has been affected, but hardest hit have been English/ESL (57 sections cut), Math/CSIT (54 sections cut), Foreign Languages & Humanities (23+ sections cut), Music (20+ sections cut), and Business Administration (19+ sections cut).  Unfortunately, these totals do not include sections that were eliminated from Departmental galleys prior to the publication of the Spring Schedule.  When those numbers are added, for example, the Math/CSIT Department's total reduction climbs to 92 total sections.  The  impact of these cuts will be felt for years on every academic unit in the College.  The English/ESL Department alone has had to trim some 35 sections from its core English sequence (English 21-103), which is required for prerequisites in other departments, vocational certification, the AA/AS degrees, and transfer.  This means that 1,200 to 1,300 college-prepared students will be turned away from essential English classes at LACC this spring.  Overall, nearly 10,000 students can expect to find classes closed when the arrive on campus on February 10th.