The Abridged version:
- Torence Powell, the Los Rios Community College District’s new chancellor, defended a proposed $1.1 billion bond initiative, saying the eye-popping figure addresses about a third of the district’s overall facility needs.
- Trustees previously limited voting on and paying for the measure to residents of Sacramento and Yolo counties. The district’s other three counties, including a large portion of El Dorado, were carved out.
- Powell has been in the top role for a little over a month. He is a Sacramento native, former Cosumnes River College student and administrator.
Torence Powell’s first meeting as chancellor of the Los Rios Community College District featured a livelier and longer discussion than usual.
Trustees of one of the state’s largest community college governing bodies were scrutinizing a potential $1.1 billion bond measure. A large sum to ask from taxpayers, yet staff said their most recent facilities study showed a need almost three times that amount.
The board ultimately approved putting the bond measure on November’s ballot in a 5-2 decision.
Powell, exactly a week into his new job at that point, said little during the early-July meeting. The conversation among board members largely carried on around him.
But in a recent conversation with Abridged by PBS KVIE, the chancellor and Sacramento native threw his full support behind the measure.
“Just as a private citizen and someone who has personally benefited from the community college system, I would say that this is something that is very worthwhile that I think warrants the full support of the community,” Powell said.
One month in
Powell’s last job was superintendent and president of Napa Valley College. Before that, he spent 12 years working in the Los Rios system, including administrative roles with Cosumnes River College.
He was also once a Cosumnes River student.
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Now, Powell sits in the top position overseeing a district that spans Sacramento, Yolo and El Dorado counties, plus small slices of Solano and Placer counties.
A month in, Powell already faces the test of shepherding Los Rios through a marquee political challenge.
Leaky roofs, better classrooms
Critics of the bond measure, including board members, have balked at the amount.
“There’s no compelling evidence that we need $1.1 billion,” said Trustee Robert Jones, one of two no votes in July.
Powell acknowledged the large price tag.
“I would want folks to keep in mind that we’re a pretty large district,” he said.
Los Rios is the second largest community college district in California by student population. There’s an extensive list of fixes and upgrades needed across the four main campuses and additional satellite sites, Powell said.
That includes repairing leaky roofs at Sacramento City College — the district’s oldest campus — constructing a science facility at American River College and replacing HVAC systems at Folsom Lake College.
“We’re really at a point now where the life cycle of some of these facilities are just, they’re up,” Powell said. “Or they will be within the next several years.”
Powell said he saw that need firsthand in his last role with Los Rios as associate vice chancellor of instruction, workforce and economic development. Some of the needs he noticed several years ago are still on the to-do list, he said, such as renovation of Cosumnes River’s library.
More of a menu than a punch list, the district has a full list of projects the $1.1 billion would go toward.
Controversial subdistrict
Aside from the dollar amount, another chief criticism of the district’s proposal involves whom it leaves out.
Earlier this year, trustees approved the creation of a subdistrict, carving out voters in El Dorado, Placer and Solano counties. Under the smaller boundaries, only Sacramento County and Yolo County residents would vote on and pay for improvements from the bond measure. Only facilities within the redrawn subdistrict — which includes most district facilities — would be eligible for the funds.
Jones, the outspoken trustee, and others accused Los Rios staff of excluding voters from conservative-leaning areas less likely to favor a new tax.
Powell, in an interview with Abridged, echoed Mario Rodriguez, vice chancellor of finance and administration for the district, who said last month the decision was practical not political.
“Why would someone on the west shores of Lake Tahoe want to pay for an improvement that we have at our Davis Center?” Rodriguez said at the July meeting. “That makes no sense.”
Advocating in his off time
Powell is barred from using his official position to campaign for the bond initiative. Any work he does on the clock, he said, is limited to informing people about what the measure includes and the upcoming election process.
But in his off time, Powell said he can — and will — advocate for support.
“It’s not just because I’m the chancellor,” he said. “It’s because I’m a proponent and believer in the community college system.”
The bond measure will appear on November’s ballot and needs 55% support to pass.
