- The Los Angeles Community College District is the largest in the country. Please discuss the challenges of having a district this large.
 As a school administrator in the LAUSD, the nation's second largest school district, I know firsthand that a large bureaucratic school district impedes progress toward reaching goals. The same relationship between size and performance also applies to our Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). Bluntly, the size and bureaucratic largess of the LACCD is its primary problem. Its size impedes transparent oversight and accountability and requires that more attention and resources be directed toward managing the district bureaucracy itself instead of investing in the core mission of the community colleges, which is to provide all students a rigorous, transfer-ready, general education and/or cutting edge job-skills training.
- How do you feel about transfer rates from Los Angeles community colleges? Can more be done to increase transfer rates? If so, what? The transfer rate of 49% is simply unacceptable and must be improved. Any student who intends to transfer ought to be able to do it within two years, period. All students should be assigned quarterly appointments with college and career counselors in order to keep them on-track to achieve their goals or to help them make important decisions that meet their unique needs. Counselors should also make themselves available on a scheduled, walk-in basis, to ensure students are progressing toward their goal of transferring to a four year college or university or other post-secondary institution. Finally, students have a responsibility to set a goal and work hard to achieve it.
- Many community colleges are in need of renovation, however once the projects are underway the college can look and feel like a war zone. How can a balance be struck between the much needed renovations and creating a safe and pleasant environment for students? Safety will be my first priority as the newly elected Trustee in Seat #7. The problem with the current Board of Trustees is that they don't know how to say "No." Our Board Members, eager to get their names on a program to "pad" their legislative resumes, find it easier to build architectural "palaces" rather than invest in increasing student course offerings, vocational education and apprenticeships, and college and career counseling services. Their misplaced priorities put our students safety at-risk and impede their progress in the classrooms. I will demand strict timelines and schedules for completing all construction projects during peak and off-peak hours of instruction. While the current Board members intend to serve "nectar and ambrosia" at their palaces and retreats, I will roll up my sleeves to get our students in and out in two years!
- Please discuss your understanding of the district's budget. Where should we be spending money that we are not? Where are we spending money that we should not? Are there areas of waste that can be used more productively? Should taxes be raised, lowered or remain the same? My understanding of the LACCD's budget is that it is approximately $650 Million, with construction bonds A, AA, and the recently passed $3.5 Billion totaling an additional $5.6 Billion of taxpayer money and debt. First, we need to work within existing budgets to invest in our students. We should re-prioritize LACCD's spending habits to increase student course offerings, vocational education and apprenticeships, internships with the private sector and other sectors of the economy, and college and career counseling services. Investment in student academic programs should be the spending priority because our students should be fully prepared to transfer or enter the workforce, or both, within two years. Investing in green buildings and landscaping is a noble, albeit, misplaced priority in these dire economic times. We should not punish today's and tomorrow's students and taxpayers with crippling debt in these dire economic times when students want to get in and out of community colleges as quickly as possible and get on with their lives. I will provide 100% oversight on all spending and on all bond projects. I will not support ANY new Bond initiative until and/or unless I know specifically that there will be real value added for public consumption and I will NOT support ANY new Bond initiative until and/or unless ALL scheduled projects under Props. A, AA, and Measure J have been completed and paid for. That's right, no new bonds, period, until/unless all previous projects from A, AA, and J are completed!
- What can be done to increase vocational training programs within the district? How do you feel about industrial arts education? We can increase vocational training programs within the district by making a decision to accept the fact that not everybody wants to obtain a college degree and that learning a vocation or a skilled trade is honorable, valuable, work that is beneath nobody. I know social engineers and idealists want everybody to go to college, but that's the same stifling, one-size fits all thinking that stifles a championship caliber thoroughbred into a quarter horse lifestyle. Our job as educators is to individualize instructional programs to fit the unique needs of all of our students and many of our students flatly are dying to get to work with their hands and their minds in creative ways through the industrial arts and apprenticeship programs and create wonderful opportunities for themselves and their families, including starting their own businesses. We need to bring back industrial arts education, vocational education and the trades and we need to do it right now.
- What can be done to entice competent instructors to the district? What can be done about incompetent instructors? LACCD must offer a decent compensation and benefits package commensurate with other community colleges in the state in order to attract quality and talented instructors. I also believe that the number of part time instructors in any department should be limited to no more than one quarter percent of its full-time staff, and not increased beyond that. I also believe in increasing the period of time needed to gain tenure by one year and I believe that a process needs to be implemented that clearly defines a procedure for removing incompetent and/or unethical instructors, some of whom enjoy hiding behind a "cloak of invincibility" called tenure to abuse their positions of power and influence. Such a performance evaluation system might include yearly performance evaluations by a committee of faculty and administration from various departments and that allows for a quantitative audit of student performance and instructor lessons, as well as a qualitative interview and professional portfolio that each professor or instructor is required to maintain each year. Other ideas include providing specific assistance and guidance and clear expectations, peer review and feedback, and progressive discipline.
- Do you favor the breakup of the District into smaller units each with their own elected Board? Why or why not. Yes, I favor breaking up the LACCD into 3 smaller, independent Community college districts, each with its own, independent name, operating budget, and governing board of trustees. The smaller size will result in more responsive oversight and improved internal and external customer service with our students, faculty, families, businesses, and taxpayers.
- Do you favor passing additional bonds to improve the campus facilities? If no, why do you not favor a bond? If yes, how large of a bond do you favor? What priorities do you have for the added funding assuming the bond passes? (i.e. where would you like see the money spent). No. I don't favor passing additional bonds for the improvement of campus facilities, until/unless all previous monies from A, AA, and recently passed Measure J are COMPLETED. In the future, I want bond initiatives to reflect LACCD's re-prioritizing its efforts to increase student course offerings, vocational education and apprenticeships, internships with the private sector and other sectors of the economy, and college and career counseling services. Investment in student academic programs should be the spending priority because our students should be fully prepared to transfer or enter the workforce, or both, within two years. Investing in green buildings and landscaping is a noble, albeit, misplaced priority in these dire economic times. We should not punish today's and tomorrow's students and taxpayers with crippling debt in these dire economic times when students want to get in and out of community colleges as quickly as possible and get on with their lives.
- What educational offerings would you like to see the District add to its curriculum? What offerings are no longer needed? I want to see an increase in the number of course offerings that translate into immediate jobs or internships. Language training programs for government agencies is a huge and untapped market and our war on terror demands we respond with human intelligence capabilities in areas that require our ability to speak Spanish, Farsi, Russian, Chinese, French, and more. I also want to see more vocational and trade course offerings because our labor force is outsourcing jobs to people who know how to make and fix things, while we sit, soft and fat, not knowing how to fix anything. I will demand that we END ALL IDENTITY-POLITICS college courses of study and SEPARATE BUT "EQUAL" GRADUATION CEREMONIES. I will DEMAND that we reinstitute and re-instill courses and values in American History, American Patriotism, American Citizenship, and Financial Literacy Programs. Now.
- If elected, what do you intend to do or hope to accomplish during your time on the College Board? I will go directly to the people to put pressure on our current board members. If other like-minded members are elected, then we'll fast-track legislation/motions to implement decisions that reflect common sense and responsibility.
- What qualifications do you bring to the job of Governing Board member that you will used to strengthen the Community College district? 1. School administrator and former teacher. 2. small business owner 3. former U.S. Navy Officer (Hon. Discharge after 10 years/1 day. 4. former lecturer at LA Pierce College, CSUN, and College of the Canyons. 5. test preparation lecturer for over ten years (SAT 1 and CBEST). 6. former LA Pierce Student/Athlete (Baseball) 7. Currently, I teacher Money and Investment Basics and Public Speaking Basics through LA Pierce College Extension and Glendale Community College Extensions. I AM THE ONLY CANDIDATE IN THE RACE FOR SEAT #7 WHO WORKS FULL-TIME IN PUBLIC EDUCATION!
- What are your thoughts about military recruiting on campus? I support military recruiters on campus 100%!
- What are your thoughts on the teaching of intelligent design? I believe in separation of church and state. I believe the teaching of creationism, evolution, and/or intelligent design must be done, if at all, in an objective manner that allows students to make up their own minds about how to respond. Any instructor who preaches, bullies, or prosyletizes will be disciplined, up to and including suspension and/or expulsion.
- What is your political philosophy, and which politician(s) do you think best reflects this philosophy and why?
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