The Board will be considering a revised meeting schedule for the remainder of the 2011 calendar year.  The reason for the proposed change is to allow Trustee James Ramos the ability to represent us on the State Board of Education, (a role he was appointed to by Governor Jerry Brown) while still meeting his obligations as SBCCD Trustee.

All meetings begin with the Closed Session at 4:00 p.m and the Open Session at 5:00 p.m..

January 27 - Study Session on Accountability/Student Success and Budget

February 10    17                                Business Meeting

March 10  17                                       Business Meeting

April 14  21                                         Business Meeting

April 28                                               Study Session (Budget)

May 12  19                                          Business Meeting

May 26                                   
 

 Study Session (Safety)

June 9  16                                          Business Meeting

July 14  21                                          Business Meeting

August 11                                           Business Meeting

August 25                                           Study Session (Bond Program)

September 8   15                                Business Meeting

September 29                        
 

Study Session (Accreditation)

October 13 20                        Business Meeting

November 10 17                               Business Meeting

December 8                                        Business Meeting

At an all-day budget retreat last Wednesday, Chancellor's Cabinet hammered out the framework of a budget for 2011-2012 that addresses the Governor's recommendations both with the continuation of temporary taxes and without.  This information will be the topic of the Board study session this Thursday, January 27th.

As we grapple with a best case scenario that cuts $3.5 million from our operating budget and a worse case scenario that cuts $7.3 million, we worked with several common ground rules.

1. Maintain the integrity of our instructional programs.
2. Avoid layoffs, if possible, of full-time/part-time contract employees.
3. Avoid reductions in the salary or benefits, if possible, of our full-time contract employees.

Our discussions led to some likely actions:

1. Reductions in class sections to meet available resources.
2. Not hiring in select vacant positions at all locations.
3. Balancing staff between all District locations.
4. Suspend contributions to the retiree benefits fund for two years and stay on a "pay as you go" plan. This will not change benefits to retirees just extend the funding of our long-term liability.
    
5. Reduce unspent "growth" funds from 2010-2011.
6. Use some prior-year savings from SERP and early purchasing cut-off (already added to reserves).
7. Other options to be explored.
    

Charlie Ng, is working with the collegial consultation process and presented these ideas to the District Budget Committee for input.   

While these potential budget reductions are the worst I've seen in any given year, I feel confident in our ability to work collaboratively to develop budget.   

Vice Chancellor Ng will be presenting the budget update to the Board of Trustees this Thursday, January 27th at 4:00 p.m. Also on the agenda is an update on student success as measured in the state-mandated accountability reports. 

I have established a new, email address where you can contact me with issues or concerns that are not the usual correspondence. While I do not accept anonymous communication, I will keep confidences and respond to you.  I will consider any mail sent to this address to be of an urgent nature so it will get my attention quickly.

This semester we are creating a project titled An Experts Guide for the Media. This document is designed  to facilitate media relations on behalf of the colleges  and the other district sites.

The Expert's Guide eases the hassles encountered by  reporters when they are trying  to figure out with whom to  speak about a story on a specific topic. This Guide is beneficial for reporters; it allows us to introduce our faculty and staff to the local community and to any members of the public surfing our website; and it provides a research source for our students. The Guide will be printed for members of the media, and updated regularly.

An Expert's Guide is a  publication that offers faculty, staff, and administrators to the media as possible "talking  heads" - quotable sources - on specific topics that the press  may need on short notice. For instance, if there is an earthquake, they may want  to talk with an engineer.  People participate voluntarily. They are included based on their area of expertise, which includes languages they are fluent in, since the press often is looking for someone who is fluent in a foreign language and/or culture for comments. Many CSUs and UCs use Expert's Guides, as do many CCCs. These are best printed and distributed to the media so the reporters have them on their desks for easy access, but they should also be on the college and district websites.
 

Our Public Relations staff from the District/Crafton, Alisa Moore and from Valley, Craig Petinak are heading-up this project.