Community College Races

The contest for the three open seats on the Los Angeles Community College District’s board seems barely visible in the shadow of the mayoral race. But the district is by far the largest community college system in the state, with nine campuses and about 130,000 students. Its board is responsible for allocating $2 billion in bond money approved in recent years by voters.

A Sacramento think tank recently singled out the state’s community colleges as key to helping businesses find skilled employees as well as to boosting low-income workers’ wages, correcting the educational failures of public high schools and easing pressure on the state’s four-year university systems.

College district board elections seldom attract much media coverage, though serving as a Los Angeles Community College trustee has historically been an entry point for politicians (former Gov. Jerry Brown got his start on the L.A. board in 1969). Another reason for the lack of spotlight is that well-established incumbents are running for all three seats.

Incumbents Michael Waxman (Office No. 2) and Kelly Candaele (Office No. 4) face no serious opposition. Nancy Pearlman, in Office No. 6, does have real challengers, and there’s a reason.

Pearlman emphasizes that she is the only board member to have made ecological responsibility her No. 1 goal -- by, among other things, “advocating for ergonomic furniture and nontoxic work stations.” These are fine ideas, but given the financial and educational challenges the district faces, they are side issues. One of her challengers, Gerald Pertulla, has put forth policies that better support the educational mission and financial health of the two-year colleges. (Pearlman’s other challenger, 22-year-old Maria Grunwald-Agazaryan, is sincere but lacks a detailed agenda.)

Pertulla is a Los Angeles County education curriculum advisor who works with teenagers at high risk of dropping out of school. On his website, www.collegeissues.blogspot.com, he has posted a well-reasoned critique of the board’s decision to build a $20-million-plus headquarters downtown with money that he alleges was earmarked for improving campuses.

Pertulla’s commitment to scrutinizing the board’s investments seems genuine, and the task needs doing. He promises to open the board to more public scrutiny, particularly in regard to its enacting of its master plan. For Office 6 of the community college board, The Times endorses Gerald Pertulla.