Policy changes at City College

The Board of Trustees of any community college district uses its policy decisions to direct the administration to act. At both the August and September 2008 meetings of the College Board, my colleagues approved (at the required second reading) policies that I authored.

The one that we passed just tonight goes a long way to correcting a long-standing problem in how the College Board operates. For years now, it has bothered me that we have no minutes of our Closed Sessions. Instead, our General Counsel makes notes for what he reads out at the Open Session about any actions taken in Closed Session. The Board never reviews these notes for accuracy or completeness. Unlike our Open Sessions, our Closed Sessions are not audio- or video-recorded. The arguments have been that recording will either dampen candor or it can be used to reveal legal strategies to an opposing side.

Unfortunately, there have been too many instances either where we can cannot agree on what we decided in Closed Session, or where the College Administration may interpret "the will of the Board" on a variety of subjects. Until tonight, we did not require any documentation. That is now changed.

Here is the text of the amendment to Policy Manual Section 1.05 – Meetings (thanks to Trustees Anita Grier and John Rizzo for co-sponsoring):

"To ensure an accurate record of the Board of Trustees’ decisions and the direction it gives to the Administration and to avoid future confusion and uncertainty, every “action” (see following definition) by the Board of Trustees must be by a documented vote on a written resolution or other document.

The meetings for which this applies include, but are not limited to: worksessions or committee meetings, open session, closed sessions, special meetings, and retreats.

“Actions” include, but are not limited to: written resolutions, direction given on labor negotiations, legal actions, real estate matters, and personnel issues as well as on programs, projects, and plans that are presented for Board review, comment, and feedback.

At its subsequent worksession, committee meeting, open or closed session, the Board of Trustees will approve the accuracy of the written record of the immediate past meeting of a similar nature (i.e. open session and next open session, closed session and next closed session). Following a special meeting or retreat, the Board of Trustees will approve the written record at its next open or closed session as appropriate."

I am very pleased by the passage of this resolution.

At our August 2008 meeting, the College Board passed another policy change to Policy Manual Section 7.26 7.27 – Commitment to the District’s Small Business Enterprise and Small Local Business Enterprise Programs. Prior to the passage of this policy change, City College did not use past performance on agreed to small business participation in the recommendation of awarding new contracts. Whenever we approve a contract for some construction project, there usually is a 15-35% small or small local business participation goal. Unfortunately, there seems to be limited oversight of these promises made by contractors to, at least, try to include local businesses. I am standing strongly behind the principle that the San Francisco Community College District should do whatever it can to keep local dollars within our community.

Thanks to Trustees Anita Grier and Julio Ramos for co-sponsoring this policy change:

"The Board of Trustees directs the District, when evaluating firms seeking contracts with the District, to include in its consideration, to the extent permitted by law, of past performance towards Small Business Enterprise and Small Local Business Enterprise goals in previous contracts with the District in recommending future contracts to the Board of Trustees, and The Board of Trustees requires that, in any resolution where the recommended contractor has had prior contracts that included Small Business Enterprise and/or Small Local Business

Enterprise goals, resolutions for future contracts list all past Small Business Enterprise and/or Small Local Business Enterprise contractual goals and performance towards those goals so that the Board of Trustees can consider, to the extent permitted by law, the past performance(s) in awarding a new contract."

Another successful meeting!