Progressive Direction of LA Community Colleges Dependent on Forthcoming Election
Laurence Zakson
May 06, 2007
California community colleges are the economic engine of California’s economy, and they need experienced and progressive leadership to help them live up to this potential.
Hundreds of thousands of California students start their college education in our community colleges. Hundreds of thousands of other Californians obtain important career skills, including critical skills for the jobs of the future in such industries as health care and animation.
The Los Angeles Community College District is the largest community college system in the state and sets the standards by which other community colleges judge themselves. In recent years, the Los Angeles Community College District has made great strides in outreach and has brought a larger number of students who thought college was outside their reach into our post-secondary education system. While much still remains to be done, this significant progress has been possible because of a shared commitment and passion on the part of our seven Community College Board Trustees. They include: Georgia Mercer, Kelly Candaele, Mona Field, Warren Furutani, Nancy Perlman, Sylvia Scott-Hayes, and former Trustee, Michael Waxman.
On May 15, 2007 in an election in which experts predict only 3% of the voters will be voting, educator and incumbent College Trustee Georgia Mercer stands for re-election in a runoff with former peace officer Roy Burns.
Mercer has the experience, drive, and background as an educator necessary to help our community colleges continue down the path toward success and opportunity, which Angelinos have experienced in recent years. In contrast, Burns, a conservative Republican, hopes to use his spot on the Community College Board to launch ideologically driven failed GOP education experiments, which lack a proven track record and which would divert our community college’s limited resources from their important tasks.
Under Mercer’s leadership, the physical facilities of the community colleges are being renovated for the first time in decades. In addition, we have begun to see the positive results of the community college programs, which provide individuals who have not graduated from high school with high school proficiency skills necessary for their success. Such programs cannot help but improve our economy and ensure that Los Angeles has a population ready to perform the more demanding jobs that our economy requires.
For these reasons and many more, it is essential that Los Angelinos confound the experts and turn out in record numbers on election day to support the reelection of Georgia Mercer to the Los Angeles Community College Seat #5.
Hundreds of thousands of California students start their college education in our community colleges. Hundreds of thousands of other Californians obtain important career skills, including critical skills for the jobs of the future in such industries as health care and animation.
The Los Angeles Community College District is the largest community college system in the state and sets the standards by which other community colleges judge themselves. In recent years, the Los Angeles Community College District has made great strides in outreach and has brought a larger number of students who thought college was outside their reach into our post-secondary education system. While much still remains to be done, this significant progress has been possible because of a shared commitment and passion on the part of our seven Community College Board Trustees. They include: Georgia Mercer, Kelly Candaele, Mona Field, Warren Furutani, Nancy Perlman, Sylvia Scott-Hayes, and former Trustee, Michael Waxman.
On May 15, 2007 in an election in which experts predict only 3% of the voters will be voting, educator and incumbent College Trustee Georgia Mercer stands for re-election in a runoff with former peace officer Roy Burns.
Mercer has the experience, drive, and background as an educator necessary to help our community colleges continue down the path toward success and opportunity, which Angelinos have experienced in recent years. In contrast, Burns, a conservative Republican, hopes to use his spot on the Community College Board to launch ideologically driven failed GOP education experiments, which lack a proven track record and which would divert our community college’s limited resources from their important tasks.
Under Mercer’s leadership, the physical facilities of the community colleges are being renovated for the first time in decades. In addition, we have begun to see the positive results of the community college programs, which provide individuals who have not graduated from high school with high school proficiency skills necessary for their success. Such programs cannot help but improve our economy and ensure that Los Angeles has a population ready to perform the more demanding jobs that our economy requires.
For these reasons and many more, it is essential that Los Angelinos confound the experts and turn out in record numbers on election day to support the reelection of Georgia Mercer to the Los Angeles Community College Seat #5.
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