Priorities

The problem: LACCD spends billions of taxpayer dollars every single year, yet the vast majority of that money leaves local neighborhoods instead of supporting small, local, and worker-owned businesses. Highly skilled graduates walk out the door with real talent but hit a systemic wall because the district lacks structured pathways to transition them into local entrepreneurship or government vendor procurement.

Proposal:

· Establish a district-wide Strategic Partnerships and Revenue Generation Department to monetize underutilized campus spaces during off-hours (e.g., hosting open-air weekend vendor markets, opening empty computer labs as paid testing centers, and renting out media infrastructure like Content Creator Hubs).

· Expand East LA College’s successful business incubator model to all nine campuses to launch "Undocu-Startups" and immigrant-led business ventures. All non-taxpayer revenue generated will bypass administrative bureaucracy and be legally earmarked to fund paid, on-campus student jobs and student scholarships.

The problem: Many of the nine campuses are situated within intense urban heat islands, leaving students to face extreme heat waves with inadequate shade and poor air quality. Meanwhile, LACCD's massive engineering assets, including over $100 million in subterranean stormwater capture systems, operate invisibly and sit completely decoupled from direct, on-campus career certifications and hands-on student learning.

Proposal:

· Mobilize Measure LA infrastructure and sustainability funds ($5.3 Billion) to strip away non-essential asphalt and install high-density native tree canopies, transforming concrete campuses into community climate sanctuaries.

· Integrate hidden water infrastructure directly into the curriculum by partnering with utility unions to launch rapid-credential workforce certificates in solar operations and advanced stormwater management.

· Partner with local agricultural organizations to build student-led urban farming co-ops that use captured greywater to supply fresh, free produce directly to campus basic-needs pantries.

The problem: LACCD regularly schedules its critical Board of Trustees meetings during standard working hours (typically Wednesdays at 1:00 PM or 3:00 PM), which structurally prevents working-class taxpayers, students, and campus staff from participating. Combined with dense, untranslated bureaucratic language, this effectively locks out the public. Furthermore, the $9.9 billion budget is routinely decided behind closed doors, forcing student groups, campus workers, and labor unions to rubber-stamp decisions after they have already been finalized.

Proposal:

· Establish the Public Access Standard to guarantee true democratic oversight. This policy shifts major legislative and budgetary voting sessions to accessible evening or weekend hours.

· Mandate that all official board paperwork, upcoming policy changes, and major budgetary agendas be fully translated into the district's primary languages and distributed well in advance of a vote.

· Build a proactive, inclusive budget-voice process giving student governments and labor unions a structural seat at the table before budgets are finalized.

The problem: Students cannot focus on higher-level academic skill-building or complete their degrees when they are passing exams on an empty stomach, facing housing insecurity, or forced to drop out due to a lack of childcare. When vulnerable students do look for help, they are routinely bounced from office to office, leading to administrative exhaustion. Meanwhile, millions of dollars in existing relief funding sit underutilized in district portfolios.

Proposal:

· Develop a centralized "No Wrong Door" Student Services Model across all nine campuses, ensuring a single-entry point where staff comprehensively handle academic, financial, and basic needs on the spot.

· Establish on-campus legal workshops with advocates specializing in housing rights, wage theft, immigration defense, and credit protection.

· Implement and publicize the district's existing $3.89 million in basic needs funding, $356 million in financial aid, $8.62 million in childcare center funding, and $11.44 million in CalWORKs allocations to extend childcare center hours into weekends and evenings.