Board of Trustees Planning and Budgeting Committee Meeting Notes — 9/3/09

The Board committee met to discuss the college’s fiscal crisis and our response to it.

The committee recognized the gravity of the situation, which threatens District workers’ jobs and our ability to serve our students.

Trustee Ngo asked about the budget of the Office of Governmental relations and inquired about the help that office can give the college during this crisis. He also talked about potential impacts of the fiscal crisis on the achievement gap at the college, asked about student services during the summer, and inquired about other expenses at the college.

Trustee Rizzo recommended the following:

1. “Giving back” the $150,000 that the Board had designated to review its policies
2. Using the Board designated reserve as little as possible
3. Establishing a policy about the necessary student services
4. Approving  the budget in September
5. Establishing a policy about reductions to summer session

Trustee Marks asked about potential areas of increased revenue and fund raising. He also mentioned looking at the money used to support the cafeteria and the Board operations. Marks further inquired about the impact on jobs when the summer session is reduced. He talked about increasing communications to the college community, as well as the community at large, so that everyone understands the college’s situation.

Trustee Grier noted that the reason the Board wanted to revise its policies was to reduce the District’s exposure to litigation. She also talked about the importance of summer session and that we need to look at our lease agreements to make sure we’re paying a fair amount for what we’re getting in exchange.

The committee approved a recommendation to the full Board to freeze spending on the review of Board policies.

Board of Trustees Meeting Highlights — 8/27/09

The Board discussed its self-evaluation and the role of the Board vis-á-vis the roles of the college and its various constituencies. Board members and others agreed that further definition and agreement about roles would be productive for all.

Associated Student (AS) President Ryan Vanderpol gave an energetic and somewhat colorful speech to the Board, including reporting on AS activities, along with the Student Ambassadors, to help students and answer their questions as they begin the school year.

During the monthly financial report, Peter Goldstein reported that according to recent word from the state, City College could sustain an additional $2 million reduction in categorical funds this year. Next year we will probably see further reductions to categorical programs.
The college spends approximately 72% of its funds directly on classes and services for students.

Leslie Smith reported that some state legislators are talking about “reducing the focus” of community colleges to career and technical education, basic skills, and transfer. There is also discussion at the state level of continuing to eliminate and reduce categorical programs.

During the consideration of the Elizabeth Rockstroh’s appointment as Interim Associate Dean of Student Activities, Trustee Marks revealed that Rockstroh had worked for a private enterprise operated by Vice Chancellor Robinson. Other Trustees asked about the propriety of this relationship and the Chancellor assured the Board that Human Resources has verified that no impropriety is occurring. Further, the Chancellor let us know that Robinson was not involved the hiring process.
Trustee Ngo asked about institutional safeguards in place to prevent conflicts of interest and was generally disturbed by the process to hire the Interim position.
Student Trustee Josh Nielsen asked for a short timeline for hiring the permanent Associate Dean of Student Activities and for students to be more involved in that process than they were for hiring the Interim position.

The Board voted to change the name of the Alemany Camus to the Civic Center Campus. During the discussion, the Board pointed out the need for a District naming policy—fortunately, a naming policy was worked on during the last academic year and will be considered by the College Advisory Committee next week. The policy should be coming before the Board very soon (September?).

There was significant discussion of the proposed Board policy regarding Board meetings and procedure (Resolution P1). In particular, members of the public objected to the idea of recording closed sessions of the Board. After extended discussion, the Board amended the resolution to make closed sessions unrecorded, except by hand-written minutes. The Board approved the policy change with that amendment.

City Currents Column — 8/24/09

In the face of a national recession and a state budget disaster, probably at no time since the Great Depression has our college’s mission been more important to our city, our state, and our nation. We open irreplaceable pathways to better education, to better jobs, and to better lives for our students. We have the opportunity and the responsibility to provide hope for thousands of people; without it, people can become discouraged and desperate. Our democracy is founded on the rights of all people to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” on the idea that all people should have hope. We are therefore part of ensuring that our democracy continues to thrive.

At the end of last semester and into the summer, the college community came together to establish a plan for surviving our financial crisis while still serving our students and community. We are currently operating under that plan, but it needs continuous monitoring, adjustment, and input from the college as a whole in order to avoid budgetary infighting and a dysfunctional institution. We cannot retreat into self-interested separation. We are public servants and we must continue to stand for openness and discussion, for integrity, responsibility, and service. As a college and as faculty, we need to stay focused on our students. By collaborating in solidarity—faculty, students, administrators, and classified staff together—we can come through this difficult time a stronger and more connected community.

In the coming weeks and months, I will be discussing our institutional responsibilities and priorities with everyone at the college. I will also be writing about it in this space. I encourage you to contact me about our budgetary priorities and to discuss them with your other colleagues. I look forward to hearing from you.

Board of Trustees Planning and Budgeting Committee Meeting Notes — 8/20/09

The Board committee met to discuss the budget, the college’s annual plan, and the upcoming strategic planning process.

The Board asked several questions about how we measure our performance on the annual plan. They said that they would like more specific means of assessment and evaluation for the annual plan in the future. Trustee Ngo asked a question about whether there was a means of tying the annual plan objectives to administrators’ evaluations. (Currently, only the Chancellor’s evaluation incorporates such objectives.) Trustee Jackson proposed an additional developmental objective be added that pertained to supporting the satellite/community campuses.

The committee passed a recommendation to the full Board to pass Strategic Planning Timetable.

Peter Goldstein presented on the college’s budget, including a three-year projection of the situation. Goldstein projects deficits of almost $9 million on 2010-11 and over $11 million in 2011-2012.

Board of Trustees Policy Implementation Committee Notes — 8/18/09

The Board committee met to discuss potential changes to Board policy regarding the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee (CBOC). The proposed changes are an attempt to bring the committee’s conduct into alignment with the (probably) soon-to-be-adopted District Sunshine Policy. In addition, the proposed changes expand the role of the CBOC somewhat.

A message for the semester’s beginning

Last week, I was fortunate to attend the Tillery Institute for community college educators on the UC Berkeley campus, where I got to hear Dr. Uri Treisman and others from around the state and nation talk about student equity, the effective use of data, and successful interventions for students in basic skills courses. Introducing myself as Senate president to another attendee, she responded, “I’m sorry.”

I smiled. I get that a lot. But the truth is I’m not sorry to be Senate president and especially not at this time. Working at City College is the best job I’ve ever had. I consider it a great privilege to learn from and work with our students. Similarly, I have never had more dedicated, qualified, innovative, hard-working colleagues.

And we’re going to need every bit of our skill and experience, because we’re facing some important challenges in the coming year. First and foremost is of course our financial situation, perhaps the worst in the history of the college. This will be the backdrop for all our discussions and decisions in the coming year. (We’ll talk more about budget details later in the agenda.)

At the same time, ever larger numbers of students are looking to the college for education and opportunity. Last school year we saw record enrollment, in large part because faculty accepted students over caps and did the extra work to serve as many students as possible. The combination of the recession and lowered enrollments at the UCs and CSUs will keep the pressure to get into our courses high. Again, we’ll do our best to serve as many students as we can, but the reality is that many students will be forced to delay their educations, putting them at higher risk of never reaching their goals.

Now to some good news: this June our state accrediting commission formally accepted our focused midterm report on the progress of the commission’s recommendations from their last evaluation. However, there is bad news: they are also requiring us to submit a follow-up report addressing “deficiencies” in Student Learning Outcomes and Financial Planning and Stability. This follow-up report is due by March 15, 2010, and they threaten us with taking formal action if the “deficiencies” are not corrected by June 2010.

Unfortunately, in the midst of all this, the college’s reputation has been damaged by the charges against Stephen Herman, Jim Blomquist, and former Chancellor Day. The charges put questions in the public’s mind about the institution’s trustworthiness and our commitment to our city.

In the context of all these factors, we must focus on our mission as educators and public servants. It is through serving our students and our community that we can recover the public’s confidence, satisfy the accrediting commission, and come through this period stronger and more able to do our jobs.

More importantly, probably at no time since the Great Depression has our college’s mission been more important to our city, our state, and our nation. We provide irreplaceable pathways to better education, to better jobs, and to better lives for our students. We have the opportunity and the responsibility to provide that hope for thousands of people who may have few other sources of it. Without that hope, people can become discouraged and desperate. Our democracy is founded on the rights of all people to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” on the idea that all people should have hope. We are part of ensuring that our democracy continues to thrive.

Along with this responsibility comes the reward of being a part of our students’ success. Few things in my life give me more satisfaction than seeing a student achieve his or her goals and knowing that I had some small part in that process. I’m sure you’ve had this experience, also. It is a rare privilege to be able to have such impact and influence on the lives of individuals and, through those individuals, on our society as a whole.

This kind of perspective is crucial to avoid budgetary infighting that can lead to fractured relationships and a dysfunctional institution. We cannot be afraid of challenges and we cannot retreat into self-interested separation. We are public servants and we must continue stand for openness and discussion, for responsibility and service. As a college and as faculty, we need to stay focused on our students and the work we do for them. By collaborating in solidarity—faculty, students, administrators, and classified staff together—we can come through this difficult time a stronger and more connected community.

Board of Trustees Institutional Effectiveness Committee Meeting — 8/13/09

On the agenda were a discussion of:

• A proposal to create a Vice Chancellor of Legal and Legislative Affairs
• Job descriptions and responsibilities of the Associate Vice Chancellor of Governmental Relations and General Counsel
• Administrator pay as it relates to performance measures/evaluation
• Comparison of administrators’ salaries to other districts and comparable private sector work
• Process by which we determine/assess whether to reappoint administrators
• All Board resolutions in the past fours years regarding appointments and salaries of administrators
• Job descriptions for all administrators

Trustee Ngo opened the meeting by discussing his vision of the proposed position, which he sees as a way to be more efficient, both saving money for the college in terms of legal fees and doing a better job in both legal and legislative affairs. A main question: is it possible to hire one or more internal lawyers to replace some of the tasks we currently complete though outside legal consulting, with resulting savings and possible improved service?
The Chancellor, General Counsel Ron Lee, and Associate Vice Chancellor of Governmental Affairs Leslie Smith responded to the idea and the discussion proceeded in a formative manner. Including an examination of the legal costs to the district during the 2008-2009 academic year.
Trustee Ngo asked about the process for establishing priorities for lobbyists that the District hires. Specifically, he wanted to know if the Board approved those priorities. He further asked about the process for advocating once the Board identifies/approves a lobbying priority.
I expect the conversation to be ongoing at the Board and other levels.

The Chancellor gave some background regarding the number and workload of the college’s administrators and the evaluation process for administrators.
Trustee Ngo discussed the idea of possibly giving administrators bonuses based on performance. The idea did not seem to be well-received generally.
Trustees Grier and Marks both added questions and comments about administrators performance and evaluation.

The committee asked for an update on the status of the implementation for the resolution to reduce by 6% the salaries of administrators who make more than $150,000. The Chancellor explained that he has met with administrators to put together a plan for implementation. The details of the proposed plan as they currently stand:

• The cut will probably begin September 1, 2009. Ending date on the cut is still being negotiated (June or September 2010).
• No additional cuts should be made in administrators’ salaries during the time period of the cut.
• Administrators who retire during the period of the cut should be considered.
• No administrator’s salary, which is currently above $150,000, would fall below $150,000 as a result of the cut.
• Split the top three steps in the administrators’ salary scales into six half steps.
• Reduce number of work days per year for administrators from 228 to 225.

The Board would like to see a report on classes or other services restored as a result of the savings from the cuts to administrators’ salaries.

Board of Trustees Audit Committee Meeting Notes — 7/29/09

• The Board met as a committee of the whole.
• The Board discussed the resolution, referred to the committee during the 7/23/09 Board meeting, to “task the internal auditor to gather information regarding allegations of improprieties and to make recommendations for new policy changes.” They asked the internal auditor what additional resources, if any, would be needed to complete the task. The auditor suggested that the only additional resource he would want is access to an attorney. Trustee Jackson recognized the importance of the investigation and recommended not spending extra money. Trustee Berg objected to the tone of the resolution and spoke to the importance of the protecting the college. She further recommended that to do the investigation right, we need to hire an outside investigator because the work would put the internal auditor in a conflict of interest position.
  The Chancellor asked the internal auditor, Ric Jazaie, if it was possible that he would, as the result of his investigations, need to avoid reporting to the Board and the Chancellor—rather, that he would report his findings to an outside agency. Jazaie replied that such circumstances are indeed possible and that he is currently investigating two issues which may require exactly that kind of reporting.
  The conversation continued for over two hours and included many complexities of a potential investigation into the issues. The Chancellor weighed in to say that his job responsibilities were potentially being usurped in the proposed Board action. He wanted to stay in control of the people who report to him and of his responsibilities. The committee agreed.
  After several changes, the committee formally recommended the resolution to the Board.
• Ric Jazaie reported on the status of his work as internal auditor, including the status of the college’s response to past external auditors.

We take our responsiblities seriously . . .

It was with sadness that I read recent headlines and watched television news reports on charges against former City College Chancellor, Phillip R. Day, Jr., and current District employees Stephen Herman and Jim Blomquist. I am sad because of the poor light such charges cast on those individuals and the college as a whole.

Day was a superb Chancellor, a strong leader, and a visionary educator during his ten years at the college. Herman and Blomquist have also served the college for many years and have been exemplary members of the institution. The charges against them taint their entire careers of service to the college and community.

For the college as whole, the charges obscure the work of the more than 3000 other workers—administrators, classified staff, and faculty—who labor every day for our students. The good work we do for our community, the jobs for which we help student prepare, the goals we help them achieve, the lives we help change—all of it goes unseen because of the allegations. Such charges are a shame to us all.

City College has repeatedly enjoyed San Francisco’s support because we have proven our worth and shown that we will use funds entrusted to us for the good of our students and the community. We have deserved the public trust because we have done business properly. It is important to note that in the United States the charged are not guilty until proven so before a jury of their peers, and we should not jump to conclusions about these charges. Nevertheless, in the court of public opinion, City College has already lost. Even if Day, Herman, and/or Blomquist are exonerated, their reputations and the college’s have been tarnished. In San Francisco, their names will always be associated with the scandal and it will take years for the college to regain the public confidence they have shown us in the past.

Many of us become educators because we value the rewards of helping people grow and reach their goals. We also feel a duty to our society to help educate a new generation of citizens for our city, state, and country, citizens who understand that democracy means equality, freedom, fairness, opportunity, and accountability. And so as a college, we will continue to empathize with our fellow human beings, including those facing allegations. At the same time, I’m confident that the college will conduct an internal investigation, find any areas where we can better ensure against impropriety, and make any necessary changes. City College has not, should not, and will not condone impropriety for any reason, especially in the service of our community. We take our responsibilities seriously and we will move forward in the proud tradition of service and education.

Board of Trustees Planning and Budgeting Committee Notes — 7/16/09

• Report on class postponements and decision-making process
  The Chancellor described the process of meeting with each department chair to make the cuts that make sense in each department. All departments had a goal of 8% reductions. Some departments cut less than 8%, some around 8%, and a few more than 8%. The criteria used to cut classes were:
  1. eliminate retired faculty working part-time
  2. eliminate overload for full-time faculty
  3. eliminate as few part-time faculty as possible

  The Chancellor made it clear that the 8% goal was for both fall and spring semesters and that departments that hadn’t yet made sufficient cuts would be expected to in the spring. He also said that cuts were not to last longer than one year, because if these cuts continue longer than one year the college will not reach its enrollment base in 2010-2011, which means the college would lose millions of dollars.
  The Trustees initiated a dialog about the appropriate priorities for the college in the current financial crisis and for the college going forward, even in a more flush financial time when we might be adding courses.

• Update on current District budget situation
  Peter Goldstein gave an overall budget update, which in his word, “sucks.”
  Leslie Smith explained some of the maneuvers used by the state legislature to reach a budget, which still includes possible cuts to the previous fiscal year (2008-2009).
  Trustee Ngo started a discussion of CCSF’s role in local ballot measures that could help support the college—a parcel tax or other options should be considered.
  Trustee Rizzo discussed possible changes to the college’s preliminary budget, including administrator’s salaries and parking fees.
• Report on District budget processes in the future
  The Board asked for a chance to help set budgetary priorities early in the process each year, including an assessment of the previous year’s assessment.
• Public comment
  Ed Murray, from AFT 2121, reported on AFT’s work toward including the college in the proposed parcel tax that could be on the ballot in November.
  Lindy McKnight spoke on behalf of the Administrators Association, thanking the Board for the opportunity to engage in a dialog about the ways the administrators can contribute to reducing the budget shortfall in the coming year.