Citing Progress Toward Goal of Restoring Compton College, State Officials Announce Transfer of Governing Authority Back to Locally Elected Board

February 14, 2017

Paul Feist

Office: 916.327.5353

E-mail: pfeist@cccco.edu

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley today announced that governance of the Compton Community College District will be returned to the district’s elected board of trustees, saying the move signals impressive achievement toward creating an independent, accredited college within the Compton Community College District (CCCD).

“This is a sign of remarkable progress and we congratulate faculty, staff, administrators, students and the community on the hard work that has led to this,” Oakley said. “It is an important step toward the ultimate goal of seeing that Compton College once again operate as an accredited institution under the sole control of Compton Community College District.”

Through Assembly Bill 318, a special trustee was appointed by the state to oversee the district 10 years ago after administrative failure and fraud led to Compton College’s accreditation being revoked. Thanks to a partnership with El Camino Community College District, the Compton Center, operated by El Camino College serves students within the Compton Community College District.

“Returning control of Compton Community College District to the elected board of trustees has been a top priority of ours,” said Cecilia V. Estolano, president of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. “We will do everything in our power to help Compton achieve that next milestone of accreditation and full independence.”

Assembly Bill 318 provided that the CCCD governing board authority would be returned  when the governor, the director of the state Department of Finance and the state chancellor agreed that the district has for two consecutive years met a comprehensive set of requirements detailed in its recovery plan. The CCCD board of trustees authority is returned with the assistance of a special trustee who will have significantly reduced responsibilities, in the form of stay and rescind authority.

"The Compton Community College District Board of Trustees is very pleased to receive concurrence from the special trustee, state chancellor, Governor's Office, and the Department of Finance regarding the return of our local authority. Our commitment to represent the interests of the communities we serve will continue to be a priority as we continue moving forward," said Andres Ramos, president of the Compton Community College District Board of Trustees.

“The El Camino Community College District is fully committed to continuing its partnership with the Compton Community College District, to ensure that accredited programs and services are available to the residents of the Compton District,” said Kenneth Brown, president of the El Camino Community College District board of trustees. “The return of local authority is an important milestone in the path to accreditation of an independent college in the Compton Community College District.”

Compton Community College District encompasses about 29 square miles, making educational services available to residents of Compton, Lynwood, Paramount and Willowbrook, as well as portions of Athens, Bellflower, Carson, Downey, Dominguez, Lakewood, Long Beach and South Gate. Next steps for the Compton Center and Compton District include a four-step process to achieve accreditation and full independence, which officials say could come as early as 2020.

Chancellor Oakley also praised the support of Gov. Jerry Brown, Finance Director Michael Cohen as well as state legislators representing the two college districts: Senators Ben Allen, Steven Bradford, Ricardo Lara and Holly Mitchell; Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Assembly members Autumn Burke, Cristina Garcia, Mike Gipson, Al Muratsuchi and Sebastian Ridley-Thomas.

The California Community Colleges is the largest system of higher education in the nation composed of 72 districts and 113 colleges serving 2.1 million students per year. Community colleges supply workforce training, basic skills education and prepare students for transfer to four-year institutions. The Chancellor’s Office provides leadership, advocacy and support under the direction of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. For more information about the community colleges, please visit our website.