6-22-07 Lassen Community College Trustees Refust to Release Authority

Volume 20 For Publication Date: June 22, 2007 No. 14

Lassen Community College Trustees Refuse to Release Authority

California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office asks Lassen Trustees to Surrender Authority to a System Office Consultant

Dr. Mark Drummond, Chancellor of the California Community Colleges’ System Office, has provided Lassen Community College (LCC) with a seven-point proposal, which includes a “special monitor.” What the LCC Board took offense to is the proposal pushing a consultant to “intervene and prevent the board from taking action if necessary,” before the Board has the opportunity to fully discuss and address the proposal and its impact.

As a result of LCC’s accreditation and financial status, the Chancellor’s Office put forth the proposal to assist the college. Currently, LCC is on probation with the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) and faces $1 million in apportionment sanctions. According to Drummond, the college was informed back in March that the “two governing pillars—accreditation and minimum qualifications—are in jeopardy.” Since March, the Chancellor’s Office and LCC President Homer Cissell have been working on a memorandum of understanding between the Board and the college to address the issues.

Cissell presented the proposal from the Chancellor’s Office to the trustees to review. The proposal would allow the Chancellor’s Office to hire consultant Tom Henry to serve as the special monitor to the district. Henry is the former Special Trustee to the Compton Community College District. According to the Lassen News, Board president Chris Click and the entire Board said they thought the issue should be discussed with legal counsel before the board voted on such a proposal. Another concern was that the Chancellor’s memo requires the district to pay half of the monitor’s salary. However, according to the recommendation to hire Henry, the Board and the district would pay the full expenses of his salary and the Chancellor’s Office would deduct Henry’s salary from the amount the college owes the state for its apportionment.

According to the recommendation from LCC President, Dr. Homer Cissell:

. . . it is in the best interests of the district to ensure that as the college continues to move forward in resolving the issues that have been brought to the surface by both the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges and the California Community Colleges System offices. Engaging the services of Mr. Henry will go a long way in demonstrating to all internal as well as external agencies and individuals that Lassen Community College is dedicated to exhibiting ‘best practices’ in education, governance, collegiality, fiscal and educational accountability and college community relationships. Mr. Henry will provide a sufficient level of guidance to ensure that the college continues to mark significant progress in these and other important areas.

The seven points from the Chancellor’s Office are:

Monitor will be employed by Lassen Community College to assist in solving problems associated with Title 5 compliance, Accreditation Standards, and other related issues.
Monitor will remain for at least two years.
Fifty percent of the cost of the monitor will be borne by the Lassen Community College District. Payment can be made as a credit toward amounts due under the reimbursement agreement.
Monitor will be present approximately two days per week.
Monitor will have full access to all records and staff will be expected to cooperate fully with the monitor.
Monitor will attempt to resolve issues through appropriate discussions, but the monitor will have the authority to intervene and prevent the Board from taking action, if necessary
Monitor will report to the Chancellor as necessary.

The Board asked President Cissell to continue working with the Chancellor’s Office on the proposal to resolve the challenging points on salary and authority.

—Jamillah Moore, Ed.D.