Candidate for
Member of the Board of Trustees; Los Angeles Community College District; Office 3

I am finishing my first term on the Board and I look forward to continuing the progress the Board has made in the last four years. I also believe I am uniquely qualified to assist the Colleges in continuing to provide quality educational opportunities during the current state budget cuts.

I have the background and experience to be an effective Board Member. Because I wear many hats in my professional life, I have the ability to recognize the needs of the Colleges from many points of view. As a labor leader, I understand the needs of the employees, as a faculty member I understand the needs of the students, and as a Board Member I understand the needs of the Colleges as a whole.

The most important challenge facing the Board of Trustees is to continue to provide educational opportunities to the residents in the LACCD despite drastic state funding cutbacks. Handling the budget cuts is a huge, complicated issue. In dealing with the situation we must remember the main mission of the community college: to provide academic and workforce educational opportunities for all who want to learn.

We currently do not have enough funding to provide classes for all the students who want them and now we have to find ways to maximize the number of classes offered despite the cutbacks.

These cutbacks also have consequences beyond the students. I want to try and minimize the negative impact on the faculty and staff of the Colleges as well as the community at large.

Another of my many top priorities for the district includes oversight of the implementation of the $1.2 billion bond measure passed two years ago to rebuild and modernize facilities on all nine campuses.

Education in California faces numerous significant issues and we need leaders who will take innovative approaches to solving these difficult problems. I would like to see all the stakeholders (students, faculty, staff, and the community) become more involved in helping promote positive change to our educational system.