California Community College Governors Approve Emergency Powers For System Chancellor
By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
Published Mar 16, 2020 4:26 PM
East Los Angeles College is among the state's 115 community colleges. (Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist)
Our June member drive is live: protect this resource!
Right now, we need your help during our short June member drive to keep the local news you read here every day going. This has been a challenging year, but with your help, we can get one step closer to closing our budget gap. Today, put a dollar value on the trustworthy reporting you rely on all year long. We can't hold those in power accountable and uplift voices from the community without your partnership.
The California Community College Board of Governors unanimously voted on Monday to give Chancellor Eloy Oakley emergency powers to keep classes open at the 115-college system during the coronavirus epidemic.
The resolution’s supporting comments said last week’s decision by community colleges to move classes online generated questions “concerning the appropriate process for approving such transitions.” The resolution notes that existing emergency powers address keeping the public safe or financially protecting college districts during emergencies, but they don't address how to keep education going if campuses are shut.
The resolution gives Oakley the power to issue executive orders, and sidestep the board of governors’ own regulations and rules adopted by the local boards of trustees that oversee California’s community colleges.
The move is one example of extraordinary steps public administrators are taking to ensure public institutions continue to provide services during the coronavirus crisis.
“It is not good governance to give unlimited power for a significant period of time,” said Community College Association President Eric Kaljumagi in a question submitted via the online meeting. "I am concerned that student, staff, and faculty positions will be unknown when important decisions are made.”
The California Community Colleges system enrolls about 2 million students at 115 colleges. It’s the largest higher education system in California and the nation.
The emergency powers were granted for as long as California is under an emergency declaration, or six months, whichever comes first. The Board of Governors may still call for an emergency meeting in response to any actions taken by the chancellor.
Fentanyl and other drugs fuel record deaths among people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County. From 2019 to 2021, deaths jumped 70% to more than 2,200 in a single year.
