Community Colleges Enrollment

A move to double the salaries of Los Angeles Community College District trustees has been quashed, board President Wallace Albertson said Tuesday. The proposal, introduced by Trustee Arthur Bronson last week, called for raising the pay of the seven trustees from $1,000 to $2,000 a month. Bronson, a retired executive, said trustees deserved the increase because they are spending more time on district matters than in the past. Bronson could not be reached for comment.

More than 10,000 students who are now eligible under state law to enroll at the University of California would be turned away in an effort to encourage more Californians to attend community colleges, under a plan nearing approval by the Commission for the Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education.

A revised blueprint for California's public colleges and universities that recommends significantly expanding the role of community colleges is expected to receive formal approval today by a state commission. Among the key changes proposed is a requirement that the University of California gradually reduce the percentage of freshmen and sophomores in the undergraduate population to 40% by 1996 in order to encourage more transfers from community colleges.

The Los Angeles Community College District enrolled 102,912 students this fall, nearly even with last fall's figure of 103,336, district officials said Wednesday. "This is good news," said district spokesman Norman Schneider. "Two years ago we were worrying about 10% to 30% enrollment declines. This marks the third straight semester that enrollment has not fallen."

When the trustees named Thomas Lakin president of Los Angeles Southwest College in March, 1986, they attached "acting" in front of the title. It underscored a widespread belief that he--and the institution--might not be around very long. Enrollment at the predominantly black two-year college had plummeted to 2,900 students--a 64% loss in five years--making it the smallest in the nine-campus Los Angeles Community College District. Waiting for the End Programs and staff had been cut.

Two community college bills that passed with acrimony in the Assembly slid through the Senate with barely a murmur Wednesday as the upper house adopted measures to continue tuition charges for the two-year schools and to loosen restrictions against students attending junior colleges outside their home districts. Both bills must be returned to the Assembly for final action before being sent to Gov. George Deukmejian.

Gov. George Deukmejian on Friday signed, as expected, two major bills overhauling the state income tax system to align it more closely with the revised federal law and reduce taxes for an estimated 70% of the state's taxpayers. The governor also signed into law legislation to: - Allow community college students to attend the school of their choice, regardless of where they live. The measure was nicknamed the "free flow" bill.

Enrollment at Orange County's community colleges this spring is expected to remain virtually unchanged from last spring when enrollment dipped to a five-year low, school officials said Tuesday. Officials at the county's four community college districts, which include eight schools, say last spring's enrollment decline numbers, as much as 6% at some colleges, will remain the same. The drop in enrollment coincides with a statewide tuition hike for students who already have a bachelor's degree.

Enrollment dropped a combined total of 1% on the first day of spring classes Monday at the Valley's three community colleges, but administrators expected to eventually surpass 1999 figures. If lines at bookstores and registration offices at Pierce, Valley and Mission colleges were any indication, it will happen. "I didn't register for classes until today," said Francis Dean De Mira, 21, of West Hills, who consulted the list of open classes at Pierce with about 10 other students.

Struggling with a swelling deficit and dwindling enrollment, the Los Angeles Community College District begins its fall semester today with students and administrators alike hoping for a turnaround. The nine-campus college district, the nation's largest, is often viewed by students and critics as a system in disarray.