Occupation: retired educator, two-term Glendale Community College trustee, consultant in organizational management and educational administration
Family: husband, two daughters, two grandchildren
Vrej Agajanian
Glendale Community College is struggling through a time of financial uncertainty. What expertise and perspective will you add to discussions about budget cuts?
I am a businessman and professional engineer, not a public relations executive. You need a board with a broad set of different skills. But with PR executives (Tartaglia, Gas Company; Gabrielian, phone company; and Ransford, Glendale Community College PR department) and no true business persons, Glendale Community College will be focused on creating nice-sounding press releases instead of seriously dealing with financial issues.
How can the college cut costs so as not to be forced into reducing its class offerings in the event of future budget cuts?
With less money and increasing enrollment, the only way not to reduce class offerings is to increase class size. But I agree that class offerings need to be reduced. We should prioritize to preserve the more important academic classes and cut recreational and P.E. ones. We need to spend the revenues on classes that are targeted toward jobs, transfers and degrees, such as calculus and vocational courses. A February 2009 California legislative analyst office (a nonpartisan group) recommends that the state pay community colleges the smaller non-credit amount for all PE classes and a few other enrichment courses. It would save California $120 million. Under this proposal, students would still earn credit for the classes even if funding were reduced. In addition, this would provide an incentive for them to focus more in the area of academic courses in these difficult economic times.
Cuts aside, what are your suggestions for generating more revenue for the college?
