Re-elect Warren Furutani, and colleagues Sylvia Scott-Hayes-Seat #1, Mona Field-Seat #3, and Georgia Mercer-Seat #5 to the LACCD Board of Trustees

By Warren T. Furutani

Incumbents, Furutani, Scott-Hayes, Field, and Mercer, are all experienced educators who have been providing excellent leadership for the LA Community College District.

Born in San Pedro and a product of local schools, Warren Furutani grew up understanding the value of education and public service. As a student leader he fought for equal opportunity and access for all students to California colleges and universities during the late 1960s and `70s.

Later he became an acknowledged national leader on civil rights issues and has been published and interviewed in education journals, books and newspapers. He is also featured in UCLA's January '07 campus magazine and the permanent exhibit "Common Ground" in the Japanese American National Museum.

A special policy consultant to the last four Speakers of the California Assembly on education issues, Furutani is currently finishing his second term as a Trustee on the Los Angeles Community College Board - the largest Community College district in the U.S.. He also previously served two terms as a member of the Los Angeles Board of Education. He is the only person to be elected and re-elected to both public bodies.

Now he seeks to be re-elected to a third term on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees.

During his tenure, he, along with his colleagues, have:

• Re-established the District's economic stability and it now operates with a structural surplus rather than a deficit.
• Restored the District's reputation as an exemplary and leading district in the community college community both fiscally and academically.
• Established years of labor peace and worked in partnership with the District's unions to deliver the best quality education possible.
• Passed the first community college construction bond, Prop A, in the post Prop 39 era, and passed the District's second bond, Prop AA, with a 60% approval from the voters.
• Passed an innovative Project Labor Agreement and small business procurement program.
• Established the most advanced "green" and sustainability standards for District construction projects and is the largest public agency in the nation to do so.

http://WWW.WARRENFURUTANI.ORG

FAQs:

1. How is the budget and policy handled by the Board of Trustees?

Monies are allocated through a budgetary process which we ultimately vote on. That process is managed by the Chancellor and we are a decentralized system so the campus president, administration and staff make the local decisions.

As a part time Board we have the responsibility of districtwide policy, budget and hiring of senior staff. The day to day running of the District is the responsibility of the Chancellor and campus presidents. I have found that if the policy Board micromanages the running of the campus it is inclined to become too political.

Also, as lay people who are educators, our focus should be educational in nature with the focus being on the student and student outcomes.
We do also have the responsibility of oversight.

All public institutions should be challenged on how public monies are spent. In our case on the big ticket items like construction and other areas we are at a professional disadvantage. I am not a developer, architect or capitol finance expert, consequently, I rely on the people we hire and demand a transparency relative to expenditures and accountability.

With our Construction Bond program we have had regular audits, we have a community oversight committee independent of the Trustees and our staff, our own Trustee standing committee on infrastructure, and we have done our own production audits which resulted in the Hickley Report. That report put into question the efficiency and cost expenditures of our outside management team. Based upon the report's findings our management team made some corrective actions which we are being re-evaluated. In fact, we are re-bidding the overall management contract trying to see if we can do our construction faster and more efficiently cost wise. This constant checks and balances I believe reflects the due diligence we should exercise as a board.

There are other areas particularly in the business side of the district where a part time board needs too oversee the districts actions, but not mettle or micromanage. We need to hire professional staff and hold them responsible for the success or failure of their actions.

The most important aspect of our responsibilities as board members is student achievement. In the time I've been on the board we have implemented a "student outcomes" standing committee, each campus has an education master plan and we just finished a district wide education master (strategic) plan. All speak to understanding the current challenges of educating community college students and what they need to succeed in today's society. By the way that's quite a challenge.

As you know all you have to do to attend community college is be 18 years old. We deal with students that will definately be successful, we deal with students that barely graduate, we also deal with the drop outs, those that don't pass the HS exit exam and those adults returning to re-engage their education or want and need more training. The average age of a community college student is 28 years.

The biggest challenge that I have found is that too many of our students are not "ready" to succeed academically nor do they have the adequate work skills or living skills to make it in the 21st century. To deal with this we have expanded our basic skills classes, added more programs like EOP&S (student support programs), and provide better counseling and assessment.

I, myself, have been promoting a third year in the basic two year community college program. This third year would not be on the back end, but on the front end. It will be a "college/career readiness" year where the student will brush up on their basic skills, deal with the transition from high school to college, get support and learn a multitude of "how to" skills, both academically and about life.

The students that go to community colleges today are a dynamic and exciting group. They have their challenges which we must address, but our district is a great place to be challenged and successful. We are doing a good job but must take on the responsibility to do better.

Sincerely,

Warren T. Furutani Trustee, LACCD