SANTA MONICA COLLEGE FACULTY ASSOCIATION
REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY

May 22, 2008  

Members present: Dianne Berman, Espy Bolivar-Owen, Sandra Burnett, Rebecca Curtis, Gail Edinger, Dennis Frisch, Martin Goldstein, Patricia Halliday, Ben Jimenez, John Kennedy, Suzanne McDonald, Colleen McGraw, Melissa Michelson, Mitra Moassessi, Sue Moisin, Dana Morgan, Pauli Peter, John Quevedo, Jenny Resnick, Lisa Saperston, Lantz Simpson, Eleanor Singleton, Howard Stahl, Michael Strathearn, Kathy Sucher, Nina Theiss, Joy Tucker, Odemaris Valdivia, Alicia Villapando.

Excused: Fran Chandler, Kym McBride, Eric Oifer, Susan Sterr, Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein, Edward Wilkinson , David Zehr.

Members Absent: Diana Aghabegian, Maria Alvarado, Vini Angel,  Jill Assadi, Rory Barnett, Chuck Brinkman, Tom Chen, Gwen Dophna, Lawrence Driscoll, Tracey Ellis, Don Emery, Ron Fitzgerald, Donald Gantner, Richard Goldenson, Jeff Gordon, Michael Gougis, Toby Green, Veronica Herrera, William Hogan, Richard Lavallee, Peter Lee, Ed Markarian, April Mizuki, Fereshteh Mobasheri, Brenda Ness, Jeffrey O’Connell, Jim Pacchioli, Nick Pernisco, Dave Phillips, Franklyn Phillips, Tom Peters, Guadalupe Ramos, Elaine Roque, Elisha Shapiro, Jennifer Schofield, Mario Semere, Tara Shima, Sumy Takesue, Gary Todd, Esau Tovar, Frank Turner, Sal Veas.
 
Special guest: Bill Hewitt, President of FACCC.
                                                                                                                                 
I.      Approval of Minutes –Dennis Frisch made a motion to approve the minutes from April 24 and May 8, 2008; Motion seconded by Michael Strathearn, approved unanimously.

II.     President's Report:

Kathy Sucher announced that community activist Maria Loya has invited a couple of FA members to attend the Pico Youth & Family Center’s (PYFC) First Annual Hope and Unity Awards Banquet to be held Saturday, June 7, from 6-9 pm, at St Anne’s Church in Santa Monica, at 20th street and Colorado Blvd.  If you are interested in attending, please email Kathy Sucher.

Report on Prop. 98/99: There are two similar eminent domain initiatives on the up-coming June ballot.  Educators and progressives support Prop 99, and do not support Prop 98. 98 is a Trojan horse as it addresses the eminent domain issues, but it contains provisions that end rights for tenants in California.  Renters rights groups in Santa Monica, support Prop 99, as it addresses the eminent domain issues only.  If both pass, the one with the most votes will become law.  For more information, check the website: www.noprop98.org.   Or you can volunteer for phone banking at Fran Pavley’s headquarters -- 900 Wilshire Blvd. -- 576-2090.

Basketball coach: The FA is undergoing talks with the administration concerning how to hire a full-time basketball coach, and we are discussing making that coach a project manager instead of a faculty member. Any agreement would be non-precedent setting

Mitra Moassessi reported that the collective bargaining agreement was signed May 1. The contract is now on-line at www.smcfa.org

III. Consultation Council Report:  Dennis Frisch and Bill Hewitt, president of FACCC, explained that the Consulation Council is a group of 25 people acting as an advisory council to the Chancellor.  It looks like Prop 98 will be fully funded next year in spite of the problems with the budget, and that is good news.  The governor is not proposing an increase in student fees. There will be some be money for growth and restoration, which will help SMC as we rebuild our enrollment.  Funds for the community colleges will come from the back fill property tax law from k-12. There is concern over the decrease in categoricals: basic skills, part-time equity, parity, medical benefits, office hours, financial assistance, etc.  The governor proposes granting more discretion, however, to the colleges for categoricals.  The governor’s budget will have a lot of opposition.

IV.    Motion from the Executive Committee recommends that the Representative Assembly allocate on or after October 1, 2008, $35 per member to the SMCFA-PAC for the 2008-09 fiscal year, passed unanimously.

This dollar amount will only be used for Board elections.
The opt-out form for this allocation will be available in the fall, September first.

V.     Motion from the executive committee to approve the following reassigned time for Fall 2008:  President 80%;  Vice President 60%;  Chief Negotiator 80%;  Political Director 40%;  Editor 20%;  Governmental Relations Director 60%;  Website Director 20%;  Part-Time Committee Chair 20%;  Benefits 20%;  Secretary 20%;  passed unanimously.

VI.      Endorsement of Julia Brownley for reelection to State Assembly.  Martin Goldstein made a motion to endorse Julia Brownley for reelection to the state Assembly in the fall;  Melissa Michelson seconded the motion.  Passed unanimously.

Julia is running un-opposed in a Democratic district.

VII.    For the Good of the Order:

Mitra Moassessi announced she would not be running for re-election for the position of Chief Negotiator.  Lantz reported Mitra has been an indomitable force as Chief Negotiator, and the faculty is indebted to her for her leadership, her expertise, her humor, and her grace under fire. She has earned the respect of the entire SMC community. She will continue to consult with and support the next Chief Negotiator. Congratulation to Mitra, who has recently been elected to the FACCC Board of Governors.

Dennis Frisch has recently been elected to the position of FACCC Vice-President. Congratulations to Dennis for his leadership at the state level.

Respectfully Submitted,

Rebecca Curtis
SMCFA
Recording Secretary