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Committee Staffing
Proves Troublesome
■ Faculty senate
board found that
finding members
willing to serve is a
priority.
By DANIEL ARCHULETA
Courier Staff Writer
Staffing various standing com¬
mittees, and determining if all of
them are covered by the Brown Act
were the major issues tackled dining
Monday’s faculty senate meeting.
Several senate members, includ¬
ing Ellen Ligons, president, ex¬
pressed concern about the state of
the group’s committees. Ligons’
primaty point was that too few people
are participating.
“It’s causing chaos for the faculty
senate,” Ligons said of the lack¬
luster interest in serving.
She explained that the problem
isn’t finding people to serve, but it is
their commitment to the committee.
“Some faculty aren’t doing what the
senate advises them to do, they are
doing what they want to.”
Jim Bickley, the chair of the pro¬
fessional rights and responsibilities
committee, said that he is glad that
the senate is facing the staffing issue.
He said his committee didn't reach a
quorum at its last meeting.
He added that it was partially due
to the fact that there are no represen¬
tatives from the physical education,
engineering and technology, coun¬
seling, library, music, nursing and
physical sciences departments on his
committee.
Bickley added that he hoped the
same enthusiasm that came along
with the selection of faculty to serve
on the College Coordinating Coun¬
cil would carry over to other com¬
mittees. '
The staffing problem wasn’t the
only one addressed. Ligons also
found fault with recent actions taken
by individual senate members. She
didn’t mention any case in particu¬
lar, but she was clearly dissatisfied
with some members airing griev¬
ances to other bodies without con¬
sulting the senate first.
“It doesn’t make us look good,”
said Robert Mclean, faculty senate
vice president.
He said that it is embarrassing to
the senate president when she doesn’t
have the opportunity to address a
given situation first. “Lets deal with
problems here before it goes on to
the board of trustees."
He specified that the purpose of
his request is not to stop people from
going to the trustees. He said that it
is more appropriateto havethe group
as a whole review any complaint a
member might have.
The other major issue debated on
Monday, was whether or not the
senate’s committees are subject to
the Brown Act, which states that all
public entities are to remain open to
outside observation.
The text of the Ralph M. Brown
Act defines a legislative body in
section 54952. as, “A commission,
committee, board, or other body of a
local agency, whether permanent or
temporary, decisionmaking or advi¬
sory, created by charter, ordinance,
resolution, or formal action of a leg¬
islative body. However, advisory
committees, composed solely of the
DANIEL ARCHULETA
/
THE COURIER
Ellen Ligons, along with other senate members, felt that a set
criteria may assist the board in filling empty committee seats.
members of the legislative body mittees of a legislative body, irre-
which are less than a quorum of the spective of their composition, which
legislative body are not legislative have a continuing subject matter ju-
bodies, except that standing com- Please see COMMITTEE, page 4
College Awarded Funding for Welfare to Work
“All of (the money) might not
necessarily be spent on the
classes, ”
Joyce Black ,
Vice President of
Instruction
■ Although the
amount is set,
administrators must
decide how it will be
spent.
By SID SARAF
Courier Staff Writer
The college has been awarded
$1.1 million of the approximately
$65 million that was distributed to
community colleges statewide, in
accordance with the state’s rede¬
signed welfare system.
The money has been provided to
upgrade services and to accommo¬
date welfare recipients in need of job
training.
The new system known as Cal
WORKs, hasplaceda24-month limit
on aid. According to the application
for CalWORKS funding, new re¬
cipients are limited to 18 months
unless “the county certifies that there
is no job currently available and the
recipient participates in community
services.
Funds were made available to all
community colleges who wished to
participate. A reported 106 institu¬
tions applied for funding and were
allocated money according to the
number of welfare recipients in their
respective districts. According to
1995-96 AFDC headcount, there are
2,3 1 0 in the Pasadena Area Commu¬
nity College District.
To be eligible for Cal WORKs,
students must be in good standing
and must maintain satisfactory
progress in an educational program.
Despite the additional funding,
colleges can not use the money to
establish new programs. It must be
used to “meet the new needs of
students under welfare reform.”
A 20-member committee has been
working on a proposal to determine
what PCC services will need sup¬
port.
After the committee agrees on a
proposal, the college must then meet
with the county welfare department
to discuss how services will be up¬
graded to ease the transfer of welfare
recipients to the job world.
The application for funding which
includes the college’s plans for the
money is due in the Chancellor’s
office on Nov. 14. Starting with the
Spring of 1998 the college must
provide Student data which is needed
“for reporting to the Legislature, the
Department of Finance, the
Governor’s Office, and the Legisla¬
tive Analyst’s Office.”
Joyce Black, vice-president for
instruction and Ernestine Moore,
vice president of student services,
co-chair the CalWORKS commit¬
tee, said that classes such as auto¬
motive, welding, sign art, and con¬
struction will receive appropriations.
“All of (the money) might not
necessarily be spent on the classes,”
said Black. Colleges can not re¬
serve the spending exclusively to
classes.
College
Tuition
Lowered
■ Gov. Wilson signed
bill that reduces fees at
the state’s two and four
year colleges.
By YUSEF ROBB
Courier Staff Writer
The College Affordability Act of
1997 (AB13 18) was signed into law
by Gov. Pete Wilson this month.
The Act will reduce community
college fees by $ 1 starting in the fall
of 1998. The University of Califor¬
nia and California State University
fees will be reduced by five percent
for the 1998-1999 academic year.
The 1998-1999 community college
and university fee levels will then
remain in effect through the 1999-
2000 academic year.
The state will reimburse colleges
for only lost revenue due to the fee
reduction.
The act marks only the second
time in state history that university
and community college fees have
been reduced. The last fee reduction
was in 1984.
Michael Gorzynski, AS coordi¬
nator of external affairs, said, “Such
fee reductions are critical to ensure
the accessibility of higher education
to California’s students.”
The bill was introduced by
Assemblymember Denise Moreno
Ducheny (D-San Diego).
“The skyrocketing fees of the
early 1990s had a devastating effect
on working families and our public
higher education system. We lost
more than 58,000 students,” she said.
The bill “will make our colleges
accessible for California’s working
families.”
Ducheny had introduced a simi¬
lar bill to AB1318, Assembly
Constitutional Amendment 44 in
1996.
It failed in the Assembly Reap¬
portionment and Constitutional
Amendments Committee due to what
many said was resistance by the
committee’s Republican majority.
By FRED ORTEGA
Courier Staff Writer
The CDC which specializes in
day care and early education pro¬
grams for children ages 4 months to
4 years, has seen tremendous growth
in the last two years. This year’s
budget, set at $471,000 by the Of¬
fice of Administrative Services, is
more than $30,000 higher than last
year’s.
CDC Director Nicki Harmon at¬
tributes the increase in revenue to
the growing number of children en¬
rolled in their programs. The Green
Street facility, which has a capacity
for serving up to 107 children, is
nearly full.
“ft took people a little while to
figure out where our new location
was,” Harmon said.
The CDC used to be located on
the comer of El Molino Avenue and
Del Mar Boulevard. She explained
that now that the center is well estab¬
lished at its new location, more chil¬
dren are coming in.
“The only area that we are weak
inisourafternoonkindergarten. We
could use more children,” she said.
Much of the revenue generated
by the CDC comes from fees paid by
parents whose children are enrolled
in the programs. Parents are aided in
paying enrollment fees through nu¬
merous federal, state and local grants.
Grants to parents make up nearly
half of the total CDC budget.
Harmon also mentioned outside
sources of financial assistance, such
as grants from the city of Pasadena
and the Department of Rehabilita¬
tion, among others.
“We can accept all funding
sources, because we have the district
to help support us.”
Private child care programs, on
the other hand, depend directly upon
tuition fees to offset their operating
costs, and so are limited as to the
amount of outside assistance money
they can accept.
Since the CDC’s operating costs
are covered by enrollment fees, the
only fiscal aspect that PCC is di¬
rectly responsible for is facility main¬
tenance and upkeep.
“Our philosophy is that the Child
Development Center needs to be self-
' ■"Zr*'
JOSE MANCILLA
/
THE COURIER
PCC’s commitment to child care was evident as
the college held a Child Care Fair yesterday.
sufficient,
meaning that
they should
charge the fees
to cover their
expenses,”
said Rod
Fleeman, vice
president of ad¬
ministrative
services.
“We don’t
want to subsi¬
dize child de¬
velopment out
of our general
college operat¬
ing budget.
“ W e
shouldn’t be
taking away
from instruc¬
tion and classes to subsidize child
care.”
The college does, however, pays
the lease on the CDC building as well
as utilities, which account for
$1 14,000 of the total CDC budget.
Students can also get assistance
from the Financial Aid Department
and CARE grants provided by the
EOP&S office. All of these pro¬
grams are based upon the parent’s
income eligibility. Children of PCC
students and staff have priority in
enrollment, but the CDC serves all
residents within the community col¬
lege district.
CDC is Enjoying Gains
In Attendance, Funding
Fun and Games for
Homecoming Week
■ The ICC and AS will
be sponsoring events
ranging from a ping-
pong tournament to a
pie eating contest.
By CHRISTINE GOMEZ
Courier Staff Writer
The Associated Students and the
Inter Club Council have big plans for
the Nov. 3 Homecoming week.
Clubs that participate will be in¬
volved in many types of games such
as a ping -pong tournament, a pie
eating contest, a lip syncing contest,
and a banner making contest.
Clubs will earn points for each
contest and the points will be tallied
up on Friday, Nov. 6
Vanessa Schulz, ICC president,
said, “I hope to see all clubs partici¬
pate because it will be fun and the
ICC will be able to raise money for
more activities.”
Games are not the only activities
scheduled for the Homecoming fes¬
tivities. The ICC will also be hold¬
ing a bake sale. The Homecoming
court will be announced and there
will also be a pep rally to support the
football team.
These activities will all take place
in the Quad, at noon Nov. 6.
The week does not end there be¬
cause on Saturday, the post Home¬
coming reception will be held in the
CC Lounge after the game against
San Diego Mesa.
The game will begin at 1 p.m. and
the reception will be at 5 p.m.
Coordinator of campus activities,
Nina Javan, said the theme for this
year ’ s Homecoming is uncertain, but
it will be centered on the 40s era.
Students are encouraged to dress up
accordingly.
“The game will be at Occidental
College which causes a problem with
parking.
“It’s Occidental’s Homecoming
also so they have supplied shuttles
to and from the colleges to avoid any
traffic problems,” she said.
Student activities has received
$1100 for this event, which will pay
for all of the planned activities.
“We really want people to par¬
ticipate and have a lot of fun,” said
Javan..
i
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