Budget Critical Issue Facing El Camino Head

El Camino College is not accustomed to change in leadership. Having had only three presidents in its 40 years, the nation’s largest community college must now choose a new leader for the second time in five years.

Some school officials say the transition may be made even rockier by the governor’s proposed budget.

“Some people at this institution have the attitude that some things are going to stay the same forever,” said Sam Schauerman, vice president of instruction for the school, which is in an unincorporated area just north of Torrance.

“We had the same president for 24 years and then he left and then bang, five years later, another turnover,” Schauerman said. Forrest G. Murdoch was president from 1947 to 1958; Stuart Marsee from 1958 to 1982.

“It’s going to take some work to make the transition as smooth as possible,” Schauerman said.

The college’s Board of Trustees voted last week to hire an outside firm to search for candidates to fill the presidency when Rafael L. Cortada leaves in August to take the same position at the University of the District of Columbia. The board will select a specific firm at its Feb. 17 meeting.

Cortada believes the school could be in for some rough times if Gov. George Deukmejian’s proposed budget is passed by the Legislature.

“I think the new president is going to have to take a look at the situation in Sacramento,” Cortada said. “He or she will find increasing challenges because of decreased funding.”

Enrollment at El Camino has hovered around the 30,000 mark for several years, but the number of “certificated” employees--faculty, librarians, counselors and nurses--has fallen from 352 in 1982 to 310 today. The budget provides $45 million in spending for this fiscal year, having been increased about $1 million in each of the last three years. Of that money, $27.8 million comes from the state.

Don Sorsabal, vice president of business, said that under the governor’s proposed budget, the school will not get the $1.8-million increase in state funding that it expected under a formula adopted last year. The governor has proposed only a $493,000 increase.

“That won’t even support the salary schedule to which we’re committed,” Sorsabal said.

Sorsabal said El Camino’s share of a $400-million bond issue approved by voters in November also will not be forthcoming soon.

The money, earmarked for capital improvements at public colleges and universities, will not be released until July, 1988, when the bonds have been sold. Normally, according to Sorsabal, the state’s general fund would advance the money but Deukmejian has recommended against that.

The governor has said the cuts are necessary to avoid a $900-million state budget deficit.

The budget uncertainties have put a crimp into contract negotiations between El Camino’s faculty and the board. The teachers have been working without a contract since Jan. 1.

According to the American Federation of Teachers, the board has not offered a pay increase, while the faculty has been seeking a 7% raise. An administration spokeswoman would not comment on any figures.

“Where is the money that we are going to need to increase teachers’ salaries, which is a very real issue in society today, and also bring in new technologies?” Cortada said.

Trustee Stanley Dunn agrees.

“Even though I’m a Republican, from the looks of the governor’s budget we’re going to have a hard time maintaining a quality program,” Dunn said. “This is going to be the biggest crunch for the new president when he comes on board.”

Candidates Apparent

Several people are expected to apply for Cortada’s job.

Of the college’s three vice presidents, Schauerman and John Renley, who is in charge student and personnel services, have expressed interest. Schauerman had been a candidate when Cortada got the job.

“I think that the vice presidents, by the nature of the job, have to at least consider the possibility,” Renley said. “I’ll be giving it serious thought.”

Sorsabal said he would not apply because he has been in his current position for only a year.

One prominent outsider said to be considering the job is Dale Parnell, president of the American Assn. of Community and Junior Colleges in Washington, D.C. A Washington source said Parnell, who headed community colleges in San Diego and Central California before taking his current job 10 years ago, has made inquiries about the position.

Parnell, however, said he is not seeking the job and does not expect to apply for it.

Schauerman said the job should go to someone with California experience.

“I frankly think with what is happening in California--the political climate, the kind of funding we’re receiving, the financial turmoil--a Californian might give better leadership in the short term.”

Union Leader Comments

Merrill Jones, a photography professor and chapter president of the AFT local, said a more immediate challenge for the incoming president is going to be a growing morale problem among the faculty.

Jones said the school has lost its “collegiality” since Cortada took over.

“The best way that I can describe collegiality is that it used to be that the administrators, faculty and staff would go sit down in the faculty dining room and over breakfast we would discuss informally what was going on on campus,” Jones said. “But I don’t see that camaraderie anymore.

“Now rumors are rampant. You talk to one person, you hear this; talk to another, you hear that,” Jones said. “Although Cortada established an open-door policy, some people have felt that he really hasn’t been visible on campus. He hasn’t sat in on meetings, classes or just dropped by the offices to talk.

“The open-door policy has also resulted in some people bypassing the chain of command. Instead of going to their department dean, they go straight to him. The new person is going to have to deal with the faculty in a more personal manner and talk to us in smaller groups, instead of as a big group once a year.”

Disagreement Voiced

The former president of the union representing nonteaching classified employees disagreed with Jones’ assessment, however, saying that communication between Cortada and non-teaching employees has been marked by “understanding.”

Mary Ann Fenderchuck, who led the California School Employees Assn. local for two years until her term expired Jan. 1, said Cortada has “made the classified (staff) an integral part of the campus. We are all here and have to work together.”

“Since Dr. Cortada arrived, communication with the classified employees has been brought to an extremely high level,” Fenderchuck, a laboratory assistant, said. “In the last two years, he has instituted a bimonthly meeting between himself and 29 members of the classified staff. If somebody walks into his office, the door is open. All they have to do is walk in.”

Fenderchuck’s successor, Jean Schmeltzer, a learning center specialist, said, “We need someone who has the administrative skills that Dr. Cortada has. He cares about all of the employees and doesn’t discriminate between a faculty member, an administrator or a plumber. We need that kind of fairness.”

Faculty President Quoted

Armando Ruiz, a counselor and Academic Senate president, said, “As far as the Academic Senate goes, Dr. Cortada has been very supportive. He, along with Sam Schauerman, have been very supportive of academics. (Cortada) provided released time for teachers to do committee work for the senate. He has also been supportive with clerical assistance.

One staff member, who did not wish to be identified, said some longtime faculty and administrators resent Cortada because he broke up “an old-boy network” that had existed under his predecessor--a network that seemed to slow, if not stop, hiring and promotion opportunities for minorities and women.

Under Cortada, despite the 12% decrease in certificated staff since 1982, the percentage of certificated women has increased from 30.7% of the staff to 35.2%. Minority representation now stands at 17.4%, up from 14.5% five years ago.

The increase of women in administrative positions has been even more dramatic. There are now 11 women among the 33 administrators, almost doubling the six who were in those positions in 1982.

Cortada credited the affirmative action plan implemented by the board in 1983 for the gains made by women and minorities.

‘More Diverse’ Pool

“We are getting more diverse people as applicants and we’re picking the best person for the job,” Cortada said. “You must place attention on the (hiring) process and through the process you’ll get more diverse people.”

Cortada will take over at the University of the District of Columbia on Sept. 1. That four-year school, a merged teachers college, city college and technical institute, reportedly has been plagued by a low graduation rate and allegations of financial mismanagement.

“UDC has tremendous potential,” Cortada said. “The institution gets excellent support from both Congress and the D.C. City Council. I look forward to the challenge.”

When asked what advice he would give his successor, Cortada laughed and said, “I never give advice because the person might hold you liable. I’m sure whoever it is, he or she will be a fully qualified person fully capable of determining their own agenda.”