By Tim Persyn
The West Valley-Mission Community College District will largely go hungry when Prop. 203's $3 billion worth of spoils are handed out.
The college district is currently scheduled to receive only $128,000 from Prop. 203, the bond passed by voters March 26 to fund school construction projects, even though its Mission College campus isn't complete.
Yet the nearby Foothill-De Anza district, with facilities more complete than Mission, could receive as much as $6 million. Notably, the West Valley campus will be financially unaffected by the bond.
How the West Valley-Mission district arrived at the point where it will get so little funding from Prop. 203 is a complicated story. The projects that will receive funds from the bond were all submitted at least five years ago, when the district did not have the resources to pursue state funding the way it needed to.
For instance, in the past, the district may not have put enough money in public relations. It just hired its first spokesperson in several years, Public Relations Director Ruth Carlson.
District Chancellor Rose Tseng explained the significance of politicking in getting the colleges' needs met.
"Our district didn't think public relations was important, but to compete and justify your case, you need to promote," Tseng said. "We don't tell people about our needs and how good we are."
In comparison to West Valley-Mission's single public-relations employee, Greg Parman, assistant director of human resources at Foothill-De Anza, said his district employs six people in the marketing/public relations field.
Board of Trustees member Karen Dowdy added that she thinks the way in which Prop. 203 money was allocated was very unfair. "We believe they should reassess the whole range of needs for community colleges and not go off a five-year-old list," Dowdy said.
Deanna Walston, vice chancellor of business services for the West Valley-Mission district, said that in the late 1980s, when projects that would eventually be funded by Prop. 203 were entering the state approval process, the district did not put enough emphasis on developing connections with Sacramento.
"For the district, it wasn't a high priority to be going after funding," Walston said. "Those districts that got projects in the early part of the pipeline are getting funding from Prop. 203."
She added that, in her opinion, the process of receiving bond allocations has not been without its politics.
"Some districts have focused on lobbying the state chancellor's office. I think there has been politics, but I think they are working on developing appropriate criteria.
"For instance, they are working on stricter definitions for the categorization of projects in terms of priority for funding, and they've tightened up on making sure buildings are needed."
Dallas Lawrence, associated student body president at West Valley, said he has personal experience with the political process involved in receiving state funding. Lawrence related an instance when he asked the state chancellor of community colleges about how the funding decisions for Prop. 203 were made.
"The chancellor said the allocations were based on five-year-old proposals and that districts that can afford to hire consultants and do public relations get money," Lawrence said. "The haves continue to have, the have-nots continue to have not."
Kyle Orr, spokesman for the state chancellor's office, said he had no knowledge of politicking being an important part of the allocation process. "There's a formal process that colleges go through to get funding," he said.
Nancy Rucker, a member of the West Valley-Mission board of trustees, commented on the need for the district to be more visible.
"The wheel that squeaks the loudest gets the grease. We need to make appointments with legislators, go to Sacramento, and write to newspapers," Rucker said.
Walston said the district is working on building better connections with the state. For instance, Mission College President Michael Rao is currently serving on a statewide facilities committee.
"You have to have connections to the state," Walston said.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, April 10, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved