Officials Appeal Accreditation Loss at Compton

State and local officials Friday took the first formal steps toward appealing the decision last month that threatens to strip Compton Community College of its accreditation after the summer session and potentially close the troubled campus.

Jamillah Moore, the college’s state-appointed president, filed a request for review of the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges ruling that could make Compton the first community college in state history to lose its accreditation, a standard of a school’s worthiness. The association cited financial and management irregularities at the 6,600-student school and set Aug. 19 for the end of accreditation.

However, state officials say accreditors did not pay attention to progress made since the state took over the campus last year.

“We have a lot of information that shows that some of the decisions were made on information that was a bit less than well researched, and we have a lot of additional information,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Mark Drummond. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to turn the corner on that.”

Loss of accreditation would render Compton ineligible for state funding, and its students would no longer have access to federal financial aid.

If accreditors do not reverse their decision, college officials said they would take the next step and file an appeal for a more sweeping study by the agency. Such reviews can take months, during which the school would keep its accreditation.

When the state took control of Compton College in May 2004, the chancellor’s office had been investigating it for poor accounting and failing to provide a satisfactory audit. A state study found potentially illegal practices by college officials steering contracts and jobs to relatives, although it did not list names. The school has been under federal and local investigations for possible corruption, but no one has been charged with wrongdoing.

State officials estimated it would take at least two years to remedy the problems. Cheryl Fong, a spokeswoman for Drummond, said the six months the accreditors gave the college in January was not enough.

“Some improvements were barely implemented and some had not been in place long enough to see results,” she said. “We’re saying, ‘Let’s be fair, give us the two years we asked for.’ ”

Meanwhile, in recent weeks the chancellor’s office put out calls to neighboring community college districts -- Los Angeles, Cerritos, Long Beach and El Camino -- to gauge their interest in administering classes at Compton, should it lose accreditation. Such temporary management would allow the campus to keep operating.

As of Friday, no neighboring district had given a formal response, said Steven Bruckman, executive vice chancellor of California Community Colleges.

But one neighboring chancellor said too many questions remained about such an arrangement.

“We thought it was premature for us to get involved at this point,” Chancellor Rocky Young of the Los Angeles district said in an interview. “This thing is just getting fuzzier, not clearer.”

At the Compton campus, where registration for fall classes will start Monday, several administrators have been fired or demoted. In addition, some faculty and staff have started an effort to recall three members of the college’s elected Board of Trustees. Even though the board was relegated to an advisory role after the state takeover, its interference with reform was much criticized by accreditors.

“Poor management, poor leadership, cronyism,” said Ronald Murray, a business professor and president of the college’s Federation of Employees. He is spearheading the recall against board President Gerald Burgess and members Lorraine Cervantes and Kent Swift. “The board is a big part of what’s wrong with Compton Community College.”

Last month Drummond urged the five-member board to resign, but members have refused and some blame the state for the college’s woes.

“What has happened to the institution since the state has taken over?” Burgess asked. “If you look at real accountability, you have to look at those who are given the power.”

Worried students have been assured by administrators that their course credits were secure and that summer classes would not be disrupted. Tara Bonner, the board’s student trustee, said more students were getting involved in urging all sides in the dispute to save the school.

“This is our school,” said Bonner, 48, a postal worker. “It’s not the state’s school. It’s not the administration’s school. It’s the students’ school.”