Community Colleges

In assuming the reins of California's community colleges system, Brice W. Harris takes over at a pivotal time of long-range budget uncertainty, fluctuating goals and ever-intensifying pressure to educate a sizable portion of the state's workforce. Harris became chancellor of the nation's largest two-year system Nov. 6 when voters approved Proposition 30, the tax hike measure that avoided a $338-million cut to the colleges. Instead, the system will receive about $210 million more in state funding and is poised to serve 20,000 additional students this spring.

As Jon Foote walked through the tidy grounds of Moorpark College, one student after another called out his name. To one, he offered directions to a new classroom; to the next, suggestions on an essay about faith; to another, a high-five on a calculus test score. He is 33 years old, not so unusual at a community college - "my only chance," as he puts it, "at a second chance. " Foote arrived at Moorpark determined to show his gratitude by investing in campus life and the school's 14,500 students.

The race for three Los Angeles school board seats — and an expected showdown between the teachers union and its opponents — began to take shape Saturday with the deadline for candidates to announce their plans to run. Depending on who wins, the Board of Education could change course on a new teacher evaluation system, on its dealings with charter schools and even on the future of L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy, one of the nation's highest-profile district administrators. Deasy's aggressive policy push has prompted the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, to oppose the school district in court.

Re "Caught in a bind," Nov. 3 The article on cutbacks to rural community colleges hit an emotional nerve. After high school, I went to Imperial Valley College. In this rural farming community, the college was the only place to experience culture. Thanks to the school, I was exposed to Ray Bradbury, saw my first Shakespeare play and went on a field trip to Los Angeles to see a Tutankhamun exhibit. In addition, I met many older lifelong learners who inspired me. How less rich my life would have been without this.

Re "Teen in girl's slaying to be tried as adult," Oct. 31 Austin Reed Sigg, 17, is accused of committing a horrendous crime, and he should pay the price if convicted. This is not denied. What is difficult here are our inconsistent laws that allow some minors to be tried and treated as adults in a court of law. Yet while they can be treated as adults in courts of law, they cannot have the rights of adults - namely the right to vote, to smoke, to consume alcohol and to be contractually obligated.

The cartoon on the Nov. 6 Op-Ed page asks, "Which is the most powerful place in America?," and selects the voting booth from among four choices, including Capitol Hill, the Pentagon and the White House. The cartoon reflects a quaint, naive view of contemporary American politics. A truer view is reflected in the diagram elsewhere in the same paper that shows the flow of money into the campaigns for California's ballot initiatives. The "most powerful places" are now corporate boardrooms or the offices of the Koch brothers, who pour tens of millions of dollars into races to get results that increase their profits.

This is one in a series of occasional articles about the challenges facing California's community colleges.

In 1971, I was a high school graduate without much money and even less of a plan. A community college campus seemed like a good place to try to figure things out, so I enrolled at Diablo Valley College in the San Francisco Bay Area. In two years there, I accomplished two things. I got halfway to a college degree at very little cost, and I decided I wanted to be a journalist. I then transferred to San Jose State, graduated two years later, and began my career as a sportswriter at the Davis branch of the Woodland Daily Democrat.

UKIAH, Calif. - On a recent evening at the Mendocino College Center for the Visual & Performing Arts, a cast of 35 belted out boisterous voice exercises before running through a dress rehearsal of "Inherit the Wind. " About half are community members taking the production course for personal enrichment - not pursuing degrees or planning to transfer to four-year theater programs. Some are veteran actors, who elevate the learning environment. Met with a rave review in Ukiah's daily newspaper, the production speaks volumes about how central this school is to the region's cultural life and community spirit.

Opponents of Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed tax increase are doubling down in their latest commercial , offering not one but two whoppers about what Proposition 30 would do. The measure would increase the state sales tax by 0.25 percentage points and raise the income tax by 1 to 3 percentage points on individuals earning more than $250,000 (and couples earning more than $500,000), generating about $6 billion a year. The money would go into a special fund for public schools and community colleges.