BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2087
AUTHOR: Ammiano
AMENDED: April 24, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 11, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Daniel Alvarez
SUBJECT : Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the regulations that describe the
conditions under which the Board of Governors may appoint a
special trustee to manage a community college district must
include specific benchmarks to indicate the presence of
local capacity to resume management of the community
college district and clear standards that provide for
meaningful consultation by a special trustee with the
community college district prior to decisionmaking.
BACKGROUND
Existing law confers upon the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges (BOG CCC) the ability to
prescribe minimum standards for the formation and operation
of community colleges and exercise general supervision over
the community colleges (Education Code � 66700 and �
70901).
Further existing law, requires the BOG CCC to establish
standards for fiscal management practices of community
college districts (CCD) governing boards and requires BOG
to develop procedures and actions for districts that fail
to achieve fiscal ability or to comply with BOG
recommendations, including the appointment of a special
trustee to manage the district. The BOG is required to
report to the Legislature, the Department of Finance, and
the Governor regarding any corrective actions taken by the
CCD or the BOG to ensure fiscal stabilization (EC � 84040).
As such, various regulations have been adopted to
effectuate the requirements placed upon the BOG to
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accomplish these responsibilities.
ANALYSIS
This bill requires the regulations that describe the
conditions under which the Board of Governors may appoint a
special trustee to manage a community college district must
include specific benchmarks to indicate the presence of
local capacity to resume management of the community
college district and clear standards that provide for
meaningful consultation by a special trustee with the
community college district prior to decisionmaking.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author's office,
this bill seeks to address the problem of vague
language found in the Education Code that gives the
Board of Governors, an appointed body, the authority
to take away decision making power from a college's
Board of Trustees, an elected body. The BOG pointed
to a vague section of the education code in order to
exercise their right to appoint a special trustee to
City College San Francisco and "push aside" the
elected board of trustees. The language presently in
code does not limit when this appointment can happen
or when the appointed trustee must leave the school
and return authority to the elected board of trustees.
The Board of Governors and the special trustee are
unelected individuals and voters cannot hold either
the BOG or the special trustee accountable for their
actions. This bill seeks to remedy this vague power
assigned to the BOG.
2) Various regulations have been adopted by the BOG . As
previously indicated that BOG effectuates the broad
statutory requirements of exercising general
supervision, as well as fiscal management of
California's community colleges with the adoption of
regulations. A component of the regulations adopted
pursuant to BOG regulations
(5 CCR � 58312), the CCC Chancellor has authority to take
corrective actions to ensure fiscal stabilization if
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the Chancellor has determined a CCD established plans
for corrective action that are insufficient to solve
financial problems or implement sound fiscal
management; has failed to implement corrective plans;
or a college within the CCD is in imminent jeopardy of
losing its accreditation, which would create severe
fiscal problems.
Regulations also direct the Chancellor to first
utilize measures that minimize interference with CCD
operations, unless the Chancellor determines that
action is necessary to prevent a worsening of fiscal
conditions. The Chancellor is authorized to take
actions that include, conducting a comprehensive
management review of the district and an audit of the
financial condition of the district; directing the
district to amend and readopt financial and
educational plans based on the findings of the audits;
reviewing and monitoring the implementation of the
plans and direct the district to make any
modifications necessary; and, if necessary,
appointing a special trustee for the period of time
necessary to achieve fiscal solvency, implement sound
fiscal management, or maintain accreditation status.
In appointing a special trustee, the Chancellor is
required to establish benchmarks that indicate the
presence of local capacity to manage fiscal duties.
The special trustee is required to have recognized
expertise in finance. The Chancellor and the special
trustee are required to specify in writing the special
trustee's duties, which may include: reviewing and
monitoring plans, reports, and other financial
material; requiring further modifications to the
fiscal and educational plans; determining district
spending levels and priorities to further achievement
of fiscal stability; and, approving or disapproving
actions of the district which affect or relate to the
implementation of the plans.
Regulations authorize, with the approval of the BOG,
the Chancellor to authorize the special trustee to
assume management and control of the district,
including the assumption of legal rights and powers
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and duties of the governing board, as necessary to
achieve fiscal stability, to implement sound fiscal
management, or to maintain or recover accredited
status. Pursuant to regulations, the Chancellor is
only authorized to elevate the special trustee powers
to full district management for one year, unless the
BOG approves one or more one-year extensions. The
special trustee, when managing the district, is
subject to all legal requirements applicable to the
district and the governing board is prohibited from
exercising any authority that has been assumed by the
special trustee.
3) This bill codifies regulations that have not been
adhered to . In an effort to assist in providing a
transparent process for determining now and in the
future, how and when a community college district is
moving toward a position of resuming its local right
of governance, this bill would, in law rather than
regulation, require specific benchmarks for the return
to local governance authority, and provide clear
standards that provides for meaningful consultation on
the part of the appointed special trustee.
It is not clear that without this measure the
Chancellor of the CCC would provide benchmarks, unique
to any particular community college districts' issues
that can provide both local communities and governing
body's clear guidance to rectify problems and issues.
This measure is a meaningful step forward in providing
unambiguous statutory direction that whenever a
special trustee is appointed to manage the affairs of
any community college district a clear glide path or
in this instance, benchmarks that can assist to
establish areas of successful accomplishment of
specified goals or areas where additional work is
necessary prior to returning a district to local
control. Rather than removing BOG authority, this
bill, requires the BOG to promulgate regulations to
require benchmarks for the return of local governance
authority. However, given that concept of
consultation is not new in the domain of California
Community Colleges, staff recommends amendments that
(a) on page 3, line 17, strikes "provide" and inserts
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"requires" meaningful consultation, and (b) on line
18, after "special trustee" insert "or their designee"
4) City College of San Francisco (CCSF). The potential
loss of accreditation at CCSF and the necessity for
the Chancellor of the CCC's to appoint a special
trustee has spurred on numerous pieces of pending
legislation. In July 2012, the Accrediting Commission
for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) identified
numerous deficiencies at CCSF and moved the district
directly to the most severe level of sanction-"Show
Cause." The ACCJC identified numerous deficiencies
covering a range of district operations. The most
substantive findings focus on failures in the areas of
fiscal planning, fiscal integrity, governance and
administration, as well as failure to completely
address eight recommendations from a 2006 ACCJC
evaluation team. In July 2013, the ACCJC moved to
terminate the accreditation of CCSF effective July 31,
2014. Also in July, the CCCCO and FCMAT released a
second CCSF fiscal review which found overall
non-implementation of 2012 recommendations due to
"internal struggles and a general unwillingness to
make hard decisions and see change occur." FCMAT
found that "absent strong and consistent leadership,
progress will be extremely difficult to achieve."
In July 2013, the BOG voted to authorize the special
trustee for CCSF to assume the management and control
of the district. The BOG analysis found that CCSF did
not have an effective management plan, which is
necessary to effectively use available resources and
that faculty were provided an inordinate amount of
expensive faculty release time. Finally, the BOG
analysis identified as a major barrier to financial
stability that decisions with serious fiscal
implications were made without any individual having
accountability for those decisions.
Currently, according to the CCCCO, CCSF special
trustee and the recently appointed chancellor, Arthur
Tyler, are working to meet the ACCJC accreditation
standards and achieve fiscal stability, with the goal
of restoring accreditation to the college and
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returning management control to the local governing
board.
5) Related legislation .
a) SB 965 (Leno) provides CCSF three-years of
funding stabilization, as specified. This
measure was held under submission by the Senate
Appropriations Committee. However, the topic is
under discussion within the proposed 2014 Budget.
b) SB 1068 (Beall) requires the Board of
Governors (BOG) of the California Community
Colleges (CCC), by January 1, 2016, to report on
the feasibility of creating an independent
accrediting agency to accredit the CCCs and other
2-year private postsecondary educational
institutions, and to make recommendations
relative to CCC accreditation. This measure was
held under submission by the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
c) AB 1942 (Bonta), among other things,
requires the Board of Governors (BOG) of the
California Community Colleges (CCC) to establish
a task force to determine whether it is
appropriate for a community college district that
is unaccredited and seeking accreditation to
continue receiving state aid on a limited term
basis, and if so, what conditions should be
placed on receipt of that aid. This bill is
awaiting hearing in this Committee.
SUPPORT
California Federation of Teachers
Faculty Association of the California Community Colleges
Los Angeles College Faculty Guild
Peralta Federation of Teachers
OPPOSITION
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None on file.