College District Trustees Delay Reform Plan

A sweeping decentralization plan for the Los Angeles Community College District was stalled Wednesday because the chancellor of the California Community College system told the board of trustees it had violated state law.

But despite yielding on the issue, two trustees lashed out at State Chancellor Tom Nussbaum, saying he was wrong to conclude the district acted outside the law by failing to consult with the District Academic Senate, the faculty governing body, before settling on a reform plan.

“From Mr. Nussbaum’s letter, it is clear that he does not understand the workings of this district and the exciting educational reform we are undertaking,” said board President Elizabeth Garfield.

Trustee Kelly Candaele also criticized Nussbaum.

“I find it disappointing this chancellor, from his perch in Sacramento, has reached down to tell us what is best for us,” Candaele said. “Just as we are bringing our colleges back to life, he says, ‘Stop.’ ”

Only trustee Althea Baker concurred with Nussbaum’s conclusion, saying his letter was “a big reminder” of the district’s obligation to include those affected in the reform process.

“You can’t move forward by breaking the laws,” Baker said.

The decentralization plan, which would grant more autonomy to the campuses at the expense of the central district headquarters, grew out of efforts to resolve the district’s fiscal crisis and near bankruptcy in the fiscal year that ended July 1.

Although Nussbaum could not order the elected board to follow his advice, he noted in his July 2 letter that he has the power to withhold state funding if he decides the violations merit such an action.

Instead of approving the reform plan at their Wednesday meeting, as they had planned, the board members said they would consult with the District Academic Senate over the summer, as Nussbaum suggested.

The board vowed to press forward with reform, however, and plans to consider the decentralization proposal again at its Aug. 26 meeting.

Several college presidents who led the study group, and are enthusiastic supporters of decentralizing district operations, warned that without such a major change the district will disintegrate from its financial problems.

“We were at the point in these last two years where we were dead and we didn’t know it,” said Evelyn Wong, president of West Los Angeles College.

To save time and avoid wrangling, the board purposely excluded the District Academic Senate from the study group that hurriedly hammered out the decentralization plan in marathon meetings over six weeks in May and June. Instead, presidents of three campus senates were put on the committee, along with three representatives of the faculty union.

Garfield said after the meeting that by including campus academic senate officers, it had complied with the law, an interpretation with which Nussbaum disagreed.

Nussbaum also rejected the board’s argument that the severity of the fiscal crisis excused it from consulting with the Senate.

The District Academic Senate had early on warned the board that it was violating the “shared governance” law that governs community colleges. When the board of trustees ignored the warnings, the district senate protested its exclusion to the state chancellor’s office.

Garfield said the district senate was passed over by the board because of its history of delays in making decisions by placing “process over substance.”

District Academic Senate President Winston Butler told the board he was bothered by members’ statements that their obligation was to the voters who elected them.

“The voters voted you into office to follow state law,” Butler said. “You have not involved the faculty in the process.”

Outside the meeting, Butler disputed the board’s contention that his group would impede reform. “We’re not obstructionists,” Butler said, “We just want to talk.”