BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2087
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Date of Hearing: May 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2087 (Ammiano) - As Amended: April 24, 2014
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:13-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires that regulations of the California Community
Colleges (CCC) Board of Governors (BOG) regarding the
appointment of the special trustee to manage a community college
district must include specific benchmarks to indicate the
district's capacity to resume its management and standards.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor absorbable cost to the Chancellor's Office of the CCC to
develop regulations for consideration and adoption by the BOG.
Depending on the parameters of the regulations regarding
consultation, a district under the management of a special
trustee could incur costs related to conducting such meetings.
Depending on the specific requirements for consultation,
decisionmaking by a special trustee could be delayed, with
unknown fiscal consequences for the college's recovery.
COMMENTS
Purpose . Prior to the most recent amendments, this bill would
have eliminated the BOG's authority to intervene when districts
face fiscal insolvency and/or loss of accreditation. This was in
response to the BOG action in July 2013 to appoint a special
trustee to manage San Francisco City College, following notice
that the college's accreditation was to be terminated July 31,
2014. The author was concerned that an unelected trustee was
managing the district in lieu of elected district board members
accountable to the citizens of the district.
AB 2087
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Since a state-level intervention process is also in place when a
K-12 school district is fiscally insolvent, the policy rationale
for proposing to treat CCC districts and K-12 districts
differently in these circumstances is unclear, as both receive
the majority of funding from state funds. Rather than removing
the board's authority, the bill requires the board to amend its
regulation to require benchmarks for the return of local
governance authority, and clear standards that provide
meaningful consultation on the part of the appointed special
trustee with the college stakeholders.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081