‘Stepchild’ of 3 Colleges Looks to New Leader : Education: The Oxnard campus, stung by political infighting and budget cuts, has had a rough existence, but better days may lie ahead.

There are only 10 buildings on the campus, about half the number that was planned. Teachers make do in temporary classrooms. Some students complain that classes required for graduation frequently aren’t available.

Stung by funding cuts and political infighting, Oxnard College has had it rough since it opened its doors 16 years ago. It has been treated like the stepchild of the Ventura County Community College District, officials say.

The newest of the county’s three community colleges, Oxnard College is also the poorest and the smallest. It has the fewest students. It has the smallest budget. And campus construction projects have lagged far behind those of comparatively affluent Ventura and Moorpark colleges.

But the times are changing for the 5,516-student campus.

As the entire district ushers in what officials are proclaiming to be an era of reform, incoming Chancellor Thomas Lakin has pledged to make the expansion and growth of Oxnard College one of his top priorities.

Fifty-one percent of the students enrolled in the college last spring were minorities, and the number is expected to increase as the area continues to grow.

“That institution has the potential of becoming the premier community college that serves the predominate minority population,” Lakin said. “It’s a diamond in the rough.”

Lakin said Oxnard College is similar to Los Angeles Southwest College, where he was president from 1986 until he took over as chancellor in Ventura County two weeks ago.

Growth at both colleges was stunted by Proposition 13, the 1978 initiative, which placed a cap on property taxes.

At Southwest College, enrollment at the predominantly black two-year college had plummeted. Graffiti, trash and weeds were rampant on campus. Lakin was told to clean up or close down.

Today, he is credited with being the moving force behind Southwest’s revival. Under his direction, enrollment climbed from 2,200 to 6,000 students. He also successfully fought for $20 million in state funds for new buildings.

Lakin said he plans to fight in the same manner to improve Oxnard College.

“Without the facilities or the programs, the college will never realize its potential,” Lakin said.

There is some building under way on campus--a new child-care center and a gymnasium. But, for the most part, the 118-acre site is undeveloped. There is so much vacant land on campus that blowing dust was once a major problem.

Because of the dust, officials have landscaped much of the campus in recent years. But it is still a problem at times. Sometimes it is so bad that teachers say they cannot open windows or doors.

The construction of the child-care center and gymnasium are considered by officials to be important steps forward. The gymnasium will be built on the campus next year, the first crucial step in getting sports teams for the school.

College officials have a master plan that calls for eight more buildings, playing fields and a stadium. Temporary buildings now dot the campus.

While Moorpark College recently built a $100,000 observatory--funded with money raised by its foundation--Oxnard College has a telescope in a shed, said Larry A. Calderon, the vice president of administrative services.

“Those kinds of things are frustrating,” Calderon said.

Over the years, Oxnard College was forced to eliminate basic programs and services, while money was put into extras at Moorpark and Ventura colleges. Thus the growth of Oxnard College was stunted, officials say.

“A person would have to be blind not to see fields of weeds, lack of buildings . . . and other indications of inequity,” said Ed Robings, the former president of the college. “It gets to the basic question of funding.”

Coupled with the problems of funding from the state, the allocation of money to Oxnard College during the mid-1980s became a “political football,” said Timothy Hirschberg, the president of the district Board of Trustees.

“The college was kicked around,” Hirschberg said. “When I ran for election in 1987, it was a big issue of who was going to be pro-this college or anti-that college.”

At one point several years ago, former trustee Ruth Oren publicly suggested closing the school, Hirschberg recalled.

Trustee James T. (Tom) Ely, recently convicted of fraud and embezzlement of district funds, made it known that he supported funding for Moorpark College, located in the area he represented, instead of Oxnard College, Hirschberg added.

“Tom Ely did a lot of jawboning against Oxnard College,” Hirschberg said. “He just felt that’s what he needed to do to represent Moorpark College.”

While enrollment steadily increased at Oxnard College in the early 1980s, it later dipped sharply in the wake of continued state funding cuts and the school’s negative image. The drop in enrollment has made it hard to get state funds for construction.

“It was a kind of Catch-22,” said Gilbert Putman, the district’s director of facilities planning and risk management. “You can’t get the funding for new buildings unless you can support the need.”

Making matters worse, the district’s method of allocating money has been unfair, college officials say.

In the mid-1980s, money was distributed to the college at the discretion of the trustees. And often, according to officials, trustees did not take into account that the salaries for the top administration and other expenses were almost as much as those at the more established Ventura and Moorpark colleges, even though Oxnard College was smaller.

Thus, Oxnard College was forced to use larger portions of its funds for salaries than the other two colleges, leaving less for instruction. Selection of classes was limited.

The disparities among the colleges became more apparent over the years, and the gap triggered accusations of institutional racism by some.

Roger Boedecker, the acting president of Moorpark College, said that as the minority enrollment grew at Oxnard College, there were allegations that the school was being discriminated against because of its ethnic makeup.

If there was racial discrimination, Boedecker said, “it was more latent or even unconscious.”

If anything, Boedecker said, he believes that the reasons were more political. The most influential trustees simply favored the college in their district, he said.

Two trustees would team up for Moorpark College, and two would team up for Ventura College, Boedecker said. But the Oxnard trustee was often the lone voice for Oxnard College.

In 1987, the district adopted a model that provided a base-level of funding for salaries and then allocated money based on enrollment, putting an end to much of the politics in the budget process.

“The model was a grand gesture to resolve the politics,” Hirschberg said. “It pulled Oxnard College out of the shadow of the taunts.”

Slowly, conditions at Oxnard College have improved. More classes were added and enrollment began to slowly edge upwards again. College officials expect enrollment to reach 7,000 by next year, placing the college in a better position to get funding from the state for a science and letters building.

The college has also started a foundation to raise money for new projects.

But even though the district now uses the allocation model for funding, college staff say the model is unfair to Oxnard College because it still does not provide enough money for fixed expenses.

For example, when the model was started in 1987, it allowed for $2 million for top administrators, support staff and operating expenses at each college.

But, according to Calderon, $2 million is no longer enough because of inflation. Oxnard College spent an estimated $2.3 million on the fixed expenses last year, forcing officials to cut into the budget set aside for instruction and other expenses.

Calderon said the problem would not be so bad except for the fact that Oxnard’s total budget is only $10.9 million, about half of the budget at Ventura and Moorpark colleges.

Therefore, if fixed expenses reach $2.5 million for the 1991-92 fiscal year, Oxnard must cut into its remaining budget, taking away 6% of the budget for instruction and related expenses. But if Moorpark also spends $2.5 million on fixed expenses, it will have to use only about 2% of its budget to make up the difference.

Despite Oxnard’s complaints, district officials say the model is fair. Lakin, however, has yet to give his opinion on the subject. He said he plans to review the model to see if it needs modification.

Meanwhile, students at Oxnard College say they are having a hard time getting the classes they need for graduation.

Rebecca Kinder, the student member of the board of trustees, said she has been forced to take half her business classes at Ventura College.

“It’s frustrating to have to go from one campus to another,” Kinder said. “It’s hard to adapt.”

Gerald White, the vice president of the faculty Senate at Oxnard College, said staff members worry that they will lose students to Ventura or Moorpark colleges.

“If they go to Ventura now, they may take six or so friends with them,” White said. “If they are going for one class, they are going to take the rest of their classes there too. We can’t get funding without students. And we can’t get the students without the funding.”

But, he said, the staff has been encouraged that Lakin will make a difference.

“We are grateful that the new chancellor . . . feels that this is a priority,” White said.

Lynn Fauth, president of the teachers group, added: “We just need a little push to take off. The students are there, we just need the resources to capture them. . . . We have high hopes.”

Community College Enrollment by Ethnicity (Spring 1991) Moorpark College (10,046 students) White: 82% Hispanic: 9% Asian & Pacific Islander: 5% Native American: 2% Black: 2% Oxnard College (5,516 students) White: 49% Hispanic: 37% Black: 6% Asian & Pacific Islander: 6% Native American: 2% Ventura College (10,574 students) White: 71% Hispanic: 22% Black: 2% Asian & Pacific Islander: 3% Native American: 2% Source: Community College District Office

College District Budget (Tentative, for 1991-92)

While Oxnard College has roughly half the budget as Ventura and Moorpark Colleges, it also has about half as many students. But Oxnard officials say they have fewer disposable funds after administrative costs. Reserves: $5,150,500 Moorpark: $20,891,133 Ventura: $22,561,077 Oxnard: $10,854,934 District: $4,728,730 Source: Community College District Office