October 28, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Four candidates seek two seats on college board

by Alexandria Rocha

The four candidates vying for two seats on the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees have a fair number of issues to tackle, including severe budget, personnel, and facilities problems.

The one incumbent, Paul Fong, and three newcomers, Laura Casas Frier, Julia Miller and Bruce Swenson, bring an array of experience and interests to the upcoming election. Such diversity has led to very disparate opinions and solutions to the district's problems.

They all agree on at least one thing: There is a gloomy forecast for California's community college districts. Although the state's 109-campuses serve 2.5 million students, making it the largest educational system in the world, it is losing funding to the state universities. According to a 2004 study by the Public Policy Institute of California, the state's two-year colleges are among the most poorly funded in the country. In 1999-2000, the state ranked 45th out of 49 states in revenue spent per community college student.

The campuses are funded through a combination of local property taxes and state allocations. While the average amount community campuses spend per student in California is $8,000, Foothill-De Anza spends $4,000 per student. The skimpy budget is largely attributed to the student population. At 44,000 students, it's one of the largest in the country, meaning it's property tax base is spread thinner than smaller districts.

Fong, 53, a Cupertino resident and political science professor at Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, has been on the board for 12 years and is running for a fourth term. He said "complacency got us to the bottom," explaining that there hasn't been enough lobbying at the state level to secure funds. (The other incumbent, Edward "Sandy" Hay, has decided not to run after six years as a trustee. There are no term limits.) The candidates have all said they're ready for more lobbying.

The legislature supported a plan to equalize community college funding over three years, according to Foothill-De Anza's Chancellor Martha Kanter. The first phase was funded in 2004, she said, securing the district $3.3 million.

"There was a clear expectation that the governor and legislature would continue funding over the three-year periods to achieve the long sought after goal of equality," Kanter said earlier this year in a speech to the Assembly Committee on Higher Education. Frier, 50, a Los Altos resident of four years, has experience lobbying the capitol for community college funds. She said at one time the local district employed a professional lobbyist, but with shrinking budgets the job has been left to students, board members and volunteers such as herself. As a community representative under Kanter's legislative team, Frier heads to Sacramento two to three times a month and sometimes twice a week.

"I've made it a mission in life to have access to education available for those kids where community college is their last opportunity," she said.

Frier attended law school, but never practiced law. Instead, she worked as a negotiator of wrongful death and serious injury claims for an insurance company. She says her legal skills would be useful on the board.

Miller, 62, a Sunnyvale council member and former mayor, refers to herself as a product of the community college system. She received her degree, in fact, from De Anza College. She said her background in public service has afforded her a wide range of local, regional and state contacts that would help lobby for more funding.

"I think I have a lot to offer the district. I bring the experience of an elected official," said Miller, a Sunnyvale resident who was also a 34 year Lockheed Martin employee.

If it comes down to budget cuts, Miller said she would look to the electives first.

"The most important programs are the core curricula that students need to find a job in the valley or transfer to other schools," she said. "Stop offering trips to Rome, basket weaving and calligraphy and get down to the general education requirements."

Frier said she wouldn't know where to start if budget cuts were necessary.

"We're really bare bones right now," she said. "You're not going to save very much by cutting tennis. If there is fat, of course we'll cut it."

Swenson, 62, said he would look at low-enrollment duplicate courses first for the chopping block. Swenson was the vice president of finance for the district for six years, a position that one opponent said could be a potential conflict of interest. However, Swenson retired from that post six years ago and he's "confident there is now enough distance" between himself and the district's daily administration. He was also a math professor at Foothill for 18 years.

Besides its financial woes, the district faces making a large number of layoffs every year before the state budget comes out in the summer. If the budget is higher than expected, the district rescinds the layoffs, which Swenson said causes "turmoil and angst" among the staff. Swenson, who lives in Palo Alto, said to battle the layoff issue, the district should set aside a one-year funding reserve. He said he needs to outline the details of that plan. Miller said the district needs more fiscal accountability.

Fong added: "This is not a good way to do this. I have to figure out a better way to do it."

Frier is also concerned about the increasing costs of benefits for retired employees. In the next decade, that cost will likely grow to a $15 million to $18 million expense without a funding source. Frier suggested offering new retirees cash upfront to opt-out or paying the premiums with the cost-of-living increases from the state.

"The money has to come from somewhere and the pot is very small," she said.

In addition to the district's budget dilemma, there is the question of whether the board will put a new bond measure before the voters to continue upgrading the two campuses. In 1999, the district passed a $298 million bond measure with 72 percent of the voters' approval. The campuses are still in need of technology upgrades, including software licensing and electrical systems, as well as building contents, such as desks, tables and new computers. The figure that has so far surfaced for a new initiative is significant.

"I'm going to go after the $400 million bond measure," said Fong.

Swenson said that may be too much. Miller said she would like to review the amount and see if it could be lowered, while Frier is willing to analyze the proposal in detail.

"If $400 million is the magic number or not, I don't know," Frier said.

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