Big union win

Unions Win Fee Victory as Supreme Court Ties 4-4 (NYT)

     …When the case was argued in January, the court’s conservative majority seemed ready to say that forcing public workers to support unions they had declined to join violates the First Amendment.
     But the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February changed the balance of power in the case, which was brought by California public schoolteachers who chose not to join unions and objected to paying for the unions’ collective bargaining activities on their behalf….

Colleges Spending Millions to Deal With Sexual Misconduct Complaints (NYT)

     …Recently, the dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley, resigned when it became public that he had been disciplined for sexually harassing his executive assistant, yet he had been allowed to remain on the job. The dean apologized, though he later disputed the circumstances of the case.
     And the captain of Yale’s basketball team was expelled in February after a confidential school proceeding found that he had nonconsensual sex with a female student, according to his lawyer. But the lawyer said that the former player maintained that the woman had consented….

Why I’m Sticking to My ‘Noncompliant’ Learning Outcomes (Chronicle of Higher Ed)

     …My chairman initially offered me several sets of "compliant" student-learning outcomes from genetics-laboratory courses at other institutions: "Manipulate the fruit fly as a genetic research organism, perform hands-on laboratory skills such as gel electrophoresis, graph data in excel software." I could easily have pasted any of those sets of bullet points into my syllabus and been done with it.
     But such trivialities are not learning outcomes toward which I teach, and it would have been a misrepresentation of Genetics 305L at the College of Charleston to imply otherwise. Woodrow Wilson and I understand higher education to be, well, higher.
     In the liberal-arts tradition, our business is to impart the right thought of the world, not drill our students in bullet-point lists of banalities….

The March meeting of the SOCCCD Board of Trustees: it's all about GALAs!

 

Be chirpy. Be not unchirpy

[Please see also Tere's Board Meeting Highlights.]

6:29 - The meeting begins.

Board actions during (prior) closed session: nothing to report 

Invocation/pledge

No requests for public comments [Perfect]

Board reports -- or "GALA GALA GALA!":

     Trustee TJ Prendergast: attended OC School Board Association dinner; informative presentation on “what students are thinking.” He mentions a "state basketball game": “I’m starting to feel I’m bad luck,” he says. It's a meeting motif. (I gather that Prendergast's presence is bad luck for "our" team.)

     Trustee Barbara Jay: Thanks somebody in Saddleback Theater Arts. She thanks various others for their “excellent work.” Thank U, Thank U, Thank U. Attended Saddleback gala, which was “outstanding.” Thanks various people. [She initiates the board practice of referring to Saddleback College events as though they are the district's events. Accordingly, IVC doesn't exist.] She attended board of governors meeting, she says. Celebrating Excellence awards dinner is coming up. [Good Lord.]
     [In my mind: "Tell me this. How come you renewed Gary Poertner's contract? I mean, what does that man even do anymore? TRUSTEE: "shuddup, young man! The purpose of board meetings is to praise the college, its personnel, its students, and to issue endless prizes and awards. Donchoo know that?!"] 
     (I should mention that, according to Tere's Board Meeting Highlights, "Trustee Jay congratulated classified employees of the year Mark Peterson, Michelle Jackson, Betty McClelland, Dan Johnson and Steven Gross.")

     Trustee Terri Whitt: also attended the “gala.” A “wonderful night.” Attended Saddleback Foundation meeting. Wunnerful, wunnerful, wunnerful. Offered some… [I was distracted by wi-fi techical difficulties.]

     Trustee Marcia Milchiker: [Continued difficulties]…attended a presentation on “social” and “economic” situation in Cuba. It was just swell!

     Trustee Dave Lang: pleased to see articles in recent press about articuation with partners, e.g., UC. I want to acknowledge our college teams re -- [something, I didn't catch it]. Congrats to blah blah blah. We take great pride in our forensics and our sports teams. Blah, blu blah. (He thanks various parties for making this "one of the best community college districts in the state.")
     [In my mind: ME: "have you seen the district climate survey? It's pretty goddam negative. You blowin' that off or what?"
     TRUSTEE: "Shuddup! You're just the few and the disgruntled, that's who YOU are!"]

     Trustee James Wright: was interviewed by Kenny G of Laguna Woods TV. I represented the district, he said. Thanks Tere Fluegeman. Men's basketball team ... blah blah blah. (Talks sports for a while. I can hardly stand it. He next thanks "our young men" who participated [in something, something about sports, I think)..... "They exhibit grace, and make no excuses. Great guys." He also attended "the gala," and greatly appreciated that. [Wright actually mentions IVC for once!] Attended memorial service for an employee who passed away a week ago.
     Trustee Tim Jemal: thanked everyone for awards dinner. Wunnerful, wunnerful, wunnerful. Will attend something at IVC this weekend. Wanted to mention "the stadium." [Was he talkin' to me?] I'm personally very much in support of building a fancy schmancy stadium at SC. [Did someone suggest otherwise? Was it me?] But process is important. I implore the college and the district to work together on this. But fiscal issues are important as well. We need to do this in a way that makes sense. "We need to do it the right way, you all know that."
     Golly.
     Student Trustee Momand: blah blah blah (if that)
     Chancellor's report (Gary Poertner): student success scorecard of state chancellor's office has a "new aspect." There's been information that's been missing on these scorecards. Not all students come to us with a goal of having one of those outcomes such as gettin' a certificate or a degree. They're called the "skills builders" group: getting skills to get a promotion, that sort of thing. Not a certificate, not transfer. We'll get the report in June. We'll get a presentation in July. [Hot fun.] This new aspect is a big step forward in making the scorecard more meaningful (said Gary). [Gosh, I thought he wanted to retire years ago. But he's recently accepted a new three-year contract! What gives? How can this board be satisfied with the administrative status quo, tell me that!?]

     SC College President Tod Burnett: blathers about the SC foundation. Blah blah blah about Rickner, doners, et al. We did better than last year, extremely successful gala. GALA, GALA, GALA. Parking sucks though.
     OK.
     IVC College President Glenn Roquemore: Trustee Jay mentioned what's coming up. This year we'll be at the Marconi Auto Museum for our gala (?). Remember slot cars? They have a slot car track! I nearly peed my pants when I first heard tell of  it. It's an awards event (natch). Please come, you'll enjoy it. We'll be issuin' prizes, praising everybody under the sun! That's all we do! [In my mind: "but we always make a point of ignoring actual scholarly or academic achievement!"]
     ASG, Saddleback College: farewell to somebody. Gala was an "amazing event." GALA, GALA, GALA. Had a great time, enjoyed meeting "all these people." Survey on campus food services. What do students think of the cafeteria. The two ASGs have a great relationship. We'll have a match with those IVC bozos (volleyball?) soon. They don't have a prayer. LGBQRST [I forget the exact letters] event. Free food!
     ASG, IVC: Jonathan Ford: I'm representing student government at IVC, standin' in for somebody. "Awareness Day" was a success. Informing students what student government does. Did survey. Students want better wi-fi, better places for chillin'. Budget and finance committee is having hearings. Students are very interested in how things are funded. Diversity committee has hosted great events. Etc.

Board requests for reports. None.

No discussion item this evening.

Consent calendar. Any pulls? 5.2. (Wright) They move the balance. Unanimous vote, yes.

5.2 - IVC curriculum revisions. An error in the reports, typos, but there were replacement pages. IVC Senate Prez Schmeidler: can get you those pages. Somebody was "mortified" that errors were made, but we have the corrected pages available. No biggie.  Motion to approve. Prendergast: we can't vote on something we can't see. Voted to table. Ramifications of postponing for a month? Schmeidler: there will be a "fair amount" of paperwork if we table this. Craig: ramifications are "quite minimal." Table: vote. Unanimous.

General action items:

6.1 - Emergency operations plan. In event of major emergency, we would be eligible for reimbursement for money spent. But you have to be in compliance with certain standards. (He mentions the various standards.) This plan will make us eligible for reimbursement, under those standards. Motion to approve. Lang: Why are only two cities mentioned, Mission Viejo and Irvine? What about all the other cities of the district? Also, "insuring continuity of government." No consultation with the BOT? Seems like an ommission IMO. Bramucci answers: This thing doesn't mean to leave any city out. Cities shouldn't feel hurt. Blah blah blah. Whitt: item says, we will review this plan on an anual basis. What do you mean? Blah blah blah. --They vote on motion. Unanimous.

6.2 - CCCT board of directors, election 2016. Lang nominates Prendergast. Prendergast appreciates that, but would rather we nominate five people, including P. [He's Captain Humility.] Apparently, he did not campaign for this thang. But has received support. Wants to put forward various names, just not his own. Mentions several people from a list. (Four, I think.) Plus Prendergast, so that's five names. Wright concurs with those names. Marcia: yes, I've marked the same names. Golly, great minds think alike. They put forth five names as nominees. Unanimous.

6.3 - Barranca entrance project at IVC, etc. Brandye comes up to explain. A typical request, she says. Wright: Balfour Beatty Construction - have we used them before? B: no. But we've asked about them, checked 'em out. Wright: a pretty large contract, so we'd better be careful. Were they the low bid? B: no. Motion by Prendergast. Seconded. Prendergast: BB built Beckmann High, and "it's still standing." Har har. Vote: unanimous.

6.4 - SC Sciences Project change order. Increase of $655,000. Lang: there's information here about who requested the change. Is that the new status quo? Brandye: we've added categories for clarification. Lang: we've allocated some basic aid to cover the project. Is the project still winthin that amout? B: Yes. Lang: if the college wanted to make lots of changes to the contract, increasing the amount, would the money come out of the budget, not basic aid? B: Yes, that's what happens. Passes unanimously.

6.5 - SC Techno and Applied Sciences project. Motion, unanimously approved.

6.6 - Cloud software. Not to exceed $500,000. Motion, unanimous approval.

6.7 - Hewlett Packard contract. Fitz explains. Jemal: why do we have to go through state of Minnesota contract? Brandye: we are piggy-backing on their contract. We won't follow contract blindly, we'll compare with other services. State of Cal approves. Minnesota was the originator of the agreement. Joining this saves us money. Motion. Unanimous approval.

6.8 - Authorizatin to join the Cal public entity pension stabilization trust. This concerns foreseen great rate increases (discussed at last meeting). Fitz explains. Recommendation to join. Blah blah blah. Jemal: motion. Yes. Prendergast: a joint trust with other schools? Fitz: 15 other community college districts bringing this item to their boards. All over the state. Vote: unanimous "yep."

6.9 - Board policy revisions - various, for review and study (not approval). Wright: couldn't find the "student fees" policy. Fitz: it's not in my packet either. Wright: thank you. Blah blah blah bli blu blah. They amend the motion. [I noticed that Bugay now sports a beard! Wow.] Bugay yammers about policy about hiring relatives. Jemal: do other districts do what we do? Bugay: I doubt if other districts are as careful as we are (I think that's what he was sayin'). We are careful and diligent. We legally can't keep relatives from applying. The problem concerns employees being managers of relatives. Discussion of hiring/search committees, disclosure forms, etc. Poertner discusses past trustees and their "special concerns" (he used some such phrase) about nepotism. [Har har] This has produced unusual practices that never went away. Unanimous approval of this darned thing.

6.10 - More board policy revisions (for approval). Fitz: blah blah blah. Prendergast: discusses discrepancy about lowering maximum dollar amount. Lang: I was concerned about not rubber stamping contracts. Lots of gamesmanship played with multiple contracts and that "concerns me already." I preferred the lower limit ($100,000 rather than $150,000). Jemal: me too. Motion approval. Unanimous.

6.11 - Authorization of payment to absent trustee. (They approved, as always. Wright abstains--no doubt because he is the trustee gettin' the bennie.)

6.12 - Academic Personnel Actions. Wright: mentions that, in one case, employee's degrees are "all in civil engineering." He concerned, it seems. Schmeidler gets defensive, annoyed: I wasn't on the hiring committee, she says, but the process is such that only those qualified are invited for interview. (I.e., "who do you think you are, dude? We didn't just fall off a turnip wagon!")  (There's some tension between Schmeidler and Wright. Schmeidler isn't happy with Wright's concern. She would be loathe to override discipline experts, she says. Wright is concerned that candidate has had "advanced courses in math." [Micromanagement? Wright has that tendency. He seems often to think that others are screwing up and he can enter the picture, making things right. Obnoxious, that.]  We have policies and processes that give to discipline experts the say.) Bugay enters the fray. Wright repeats: "just bringing up a concern, that's all." [Emily Litella?] Prendergast adds his two cents: she's qualified, dude. Chill. Vote: unanimous.

What happens when Republicans are put in charge of colleges?
Shit happens.

6.13 - Classified personnel actions.  Motion, unanimous approval.

6.14 - Full-time faculty hiring amendment, IVC. Bugay explains, blah blah blah. Motion, unanimous approval.

6.15 - Same for Saddleback College. Motion to approve. Unanimous.

REPORTS:

7.1 - Speakers. No discussion
7.2 - Basic aid report. No changes, says Fitz.
7.3 - Monthly financial status....
7.4 -
7.5 -

7.6 - Facilities plan status report (current construction projects). Lang: a few questions. Brandye appears again. Blah blah blah (not that there's anything wrong with that). Lang: match of funds, 17.5 millions, stadium project? Fitz: getting proposals back, they're due on the 19th. When we have more info, we'll bring back report on stadium project. Jemal: we'll get an update in future? Yep. Lang: chat briefly about the "gateway project." Brandye: We've allocated very little basic aid to that. Not a good chance of state money. Lang: help me understand. Brandye [good hair]: two year window for this project. Been in this status since 2007. We keep waiting for state funding. (I didn't understand what she said next. He body language implied that she was setting everybody straight, dang it, but whadoo I know. Lang is still mystified. Something about points scheme.) Brandye: decisions made by state are "very objective." They count up these points, you see. Talks about how points are allocated. Blah blah blah. She sounds pretty damned compelling, given that I have no idea what she's talking about. Did I mention that her hair is nice? She's still talking. Must be pretty good, everybody looks kinda satisfied. Brandye's smile prevails, as it generally does. (It's prodigious.)  Lang still has that nasty bone in his mouth. He won't let it go. Something about "current enrollments." Blah blah blobbedy blah. "OK," says Lang. (Not sure why.) Wright: something about item 4. All deficiencies for that project addressed? Nope. Something about equipment shut-off. Improving the exhaust of a machine. Gosh, that Brandye gets down there with the nuts and bolts, I guess. We're working diligently. That's it, I guess. Whew!

Reports from governance groups:

     OK, that's it for me. I can stand no more.

gratuitous salty vids

Hilarious, as usual. And all true.
Quite possibly, Cruz is actually worse than you-know-who.

I love this guy. Profane as heck. Yet so inspiring! Plus songs!

I loved this band during my high school days.

We sailed for parts unknown to man,
Where ships come home to die.
No lofty peak, nor fortress bold,
Could match our captain's eye.
Upon the seventh seasick day,
We made our port of call.
A sand so white, and sea so blue,
No mortal place at all.

Chancellor Gary Poertner buries the climate survey results in an obscure email

That's no way to treat a
"key performance indicator"!

     Our chancellor, Gary Poertner, is a sneaky guy.
     Did you know that he recently “promulgated” the 2014 District-wide Climate Survey results?
     You remember that—the survey, I mean. It was conducted from October 24 to November 14 of 2014. The results have been available at least since June of 2015.
     But, for some reason, Gary waited to do his promulgatin' 14 months post survey—last month, in an email sent on the 10th, late in the afternoon.
     That email’s title was pretty uninviting: “A Framework for Planning and Decision Making.”
     C’mon! Who in their right mind is gonna interrupt their busy day to read that?
     Buried in the communication is a link to the survey results. It's in the third paragraph. Check it out:

Dear SOCCCD employees, 

     In a multi-college district, the task of planning is a shared one. Over the past two years the District-wide Planning Council has overseen the redevelopment of the District-wide Strategic Plan. Many meetings were held to discuss shared priorities for our district, our community, and our students. The District-wide Strategic Plan 2014-2020 and District-wide Planning and Decision Making Manual 2015-2020 were approved by the Board of Trustees and are posted on the district’s website here.
     The plan has four major goals: 1.) strengthening our district’s environment; 2.) supporting student success; 3.) advancing our region’s economic and workforce development; and 4.) planning for long-term fiscal health, efficiency and effectiveness. The plan outlines 13 major objectives and identifies key performance indicators (KPI) for assessing our progress. The district-wide planning and decision making manual outlines the district-wide processes and organizational structure for informing these plans.
     In goal one, the district-wide climate survey is referenced as a major KPI. The results of the 2014 District-wide Climate Survey are posted on the district’s SharePoint intranet site here. [HERE!?]
     Thank you to the many faculty, staff and administrators from Saddleback College, Irvine Valley College and District Services for their contributions. This strategic plan should provide a strong framework to support the diverse needs of more than 40,000 students and 900,000 residents in our service area. 

Sincerely,
Gary L. Poertner
Chancellor

     Golly. It’s pretty obvious that Gary doesn’t want us to find the survey results.
     As you know, I “promulgated” the survey here on DtB, nine months ago (in June). I hope you read them then. (See SOCCCD Climate Survey 2014 – results [June 13, 2015] & "Animosity": written comments on the November 2014 SOCCCD "climate survey" [unedited, unabridged] [June 16, 2015].)
     I’m guessin’ that Gary and the board are worried that members of the SOCCCD community will read the survey results and will thereby be reminded of their and others' staunch disgruntlement and harrumphitude. Awareness of what district personnel actually think about the SOCCCD and its leadership might create some embarrassing moments for everybody come the Accreditation visits.
     Well, I say, This is no way to treat a key performance indicator!

I'm your top prime cut of meat, I'm your choice,
I want to be elected,
I'm your Yankee doodle dandy in a gold Rolls Royce,
I want to be elected....

'36 Days': The possibility of Cal State University faculty strike grows
CAL STATE FULLERTON FACULTY READY FOR A HISTORIC FIVE-DAY STRIKE NEXT MONTH

Samantha Bee

IVC: Tuesday pics

 It was High School Preview day today. A big success, evidently. I took some pics.
(Click on graphics to enlarge.)

So, what else is new?

 The new "Liberal Arts" Building has finally been uncovered, and it's looking pretty good.

Architect's preview