‘Administrative Costs of Community Colleges’

To quote Peter Finch’s character in the movie, “Network,” we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it any more.

We are referring to J.D. Hess’ letter (Oct. 12) “Administrative Costs of Community Colleges,” in which he derides the personnel of the Los Angeles Community College District’s administrative headquarters as “unneeded, overloaded, top-heavy.”

We would like to point out, as Hess already knows, that thanks to the administrative office, he, as an employee of the Los Angeles Community College District for many years, was paid promptly, had his benefits processed, his insurance maintained, his teaching and other supplies purchased and dispensed, his fine co-workers hired, his computer services provided, and all this was done in keeping with a myriad of state, federal and other laws and regulations.

To illustrate one point, let’s take the $12,939,585 central office budget that Hess cites as evidence of waste, mismanagement and unnecessary overhead. A breakdown shows how that budget is dedicated directly toward college-related services:

Computer Services $3,653,327 Payroll and vendor payment disbursements 849,738 Instructional Services 643,275 Personnel Services 514,428 Contracts Services 440,307 Public Information Services 328,000 Purchasing Services 312,958 Staff Relations (employee benefits, etc.) 229,143 Legal Services 235,000 Personnel Commission 204,653 Facilities Planning 169,928 Examinations and Hiring 140,220 Affirmative Action Services 121,000 Insurance Services 35,253 Total College Services $7,877,230 General Administration, Corporate Services, legal expenses, etc. $5,062,355

It’s always easier to take pot-shots from left field than to face the facts. But the facts of the matter are that the central offices have suffered more budget reductions than any other location. Finally, if, as Hess often suggests, the offices were dismantled and services handled by the nine individual campuses, it would obviously cost many times more than performing them at one location.

As employees of the district, we know ourselves and our colleagues to be hard-working individuals dedicated to serving the educational needs of our colleges. We resent suggestions to the contrary.

The letter was signed by 37 employees of the Los Angeles Community College District Central Office.