A qualified nod

One seat on the board of the Los Angeles Community College District went to a runoff after the March election. For Office 6, incumbent Nancy Pearlman far outpolled her nearest opponent, Robert Nakahiro. But with five challengers running, she fell just short of securing the majority needed for an outright win.

The Times endorsed neither candidate; Josef Essavi, who drew a couple hundred fewer votes than Nakahiro, appeared to be the most dynamic and informed candidate. But voters no longer have that choice. As a result, we endorse Pearlman in the May 19 election.

This isn’t as enthusiastic an endorsement as we’d like to be able to give. The community college district, with 135,000 students on nine campuses, is due for some shaking up. It is run by a majority that has developed a symbiotic relationship with the district’s unions, resulting in generous contracts and bond measures, and well-funded campaigns for incumbents. The district isn’t badly run; its dropout rate, though high, is much lower than the statewide average. The board has hired good managers. But there has been too much emphasis on lavish building programs rather than efficiency and adequate academic offerings.

Pearlman is one of the weaker members of that complacent majority. A longtime environmental activist, she openly states that her No. 1 priority as a board member is green construction at the colleges. We share her environmental enthusiasm and agree with the need for well-equipped campuses, but we think academics should come before buildings.

Yet Pearlman is the stronger candidate of the two. Nakahiro, a lawyer who grew up in Boyle Heights, is an energetic and likable community activist, but he has yet to develop a deep understanding of the community colleges and a well-honed agenda for improving them. Pressed in a meeting with The Times’ editorial board for details on what the district needed most, Nakahiro responded that students should understand the governing board’s role at the colleges. In truth, most college students care little about such matters; they rightly want to know whether they can land a spot in an over-enrolled class, how to get academic help when they’re floundering and why the prices of textbooks are so high.

Nakahiro could be a strong contender in future elections by brushing up on his subject and sharpening his ideas. Meanwhile, we hope Pearlman will redirect her energies by putting student-related goals -- more class offerings, rental libraries for textbooks and better guidance counseling -- at the top of her list.