(Nov. 21, 2007) -- LBReport.com posts in full below the response of Long Beach Community College District President/Superintendent Eloy Ortiz Oakley to a Nov. 12 LBReport.com article on public money spent by public entities that support the privately run Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, a not-for-profit entity whose activities include advocacy on City Hall, School District, County, State and Federal issues.
LBCC was the first (most prompt) public entity of respond to parallel Public Records Act requests that we directed to multiple public entities that the Chamber identified as table sponsors at a Nov. 1, 2007 Chamber fundraiser (marketed by the Chamber as a "State of the County" address by Superivor Don Knabe.
Since LBCC responded first, our story on them appeared first. LBReport.com has stories coming on other public entities that have spent public money to support the privately run Chamber, including the Long Beach Water Department, the Long Beach Parks & Recreation Commission, the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority...and the office of L.A. County Supervisor Knabe.
We thank LBCC and President/Superintendent Oakley for the response below:
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November 21, 2007
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your recent article. I want to share some additional information about Long Beach City College, its mission and our relationship with the Greater Long Beach Chamber of Commerce with your readers.
One of the five main missions of the California Community Colleges is Economic and Workforce Development. In fact, it is the only system of higher education in the State with that mission. Long Beach City College has one of the largest Economic and Workforce Development programs in all of California. We provide more job training for people in this community than any other institution - by a long shot. That training takes many forms: the traditional model where students come to one of our campuses to enroll in classes for credit - and some non-traditional ways as well.
Long Beach City College contracts with employers in the area - including Boeing and the City of Long Beach - to provide education on jobsites, during work hours. This allows our faculty to develop specialized training programs for workers at their jobs. In addition, LBCC is the lead operator of eight Small Business Development Centers for the U.S. Small Business Administration in three counties - Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara. These are just two examples of the many services we provide directly to businesses.
Business and employers pay LBCC directly for many of these services, and it is these and other special funds that the Colleges uses to purchase its membership in the Long Beach and other Chambers of Commerce. Our only interest in doing so is to further our mission of helping businesses by providing workforce and economic development. I play an active leadership role in the Long Beach Chamber because it is essential for the College to reach out to the businesses in this community.
However, I am also very aware that the College has a fiduciary responsibility to be a good steward of all of the funds under our control. Earlier this year - my first year as President - I began and internal process for developing a district-wide policy for memberships to Chambers and all other non-profit organizations with which we partner. I expect this new policy to be in place by the end of this academic year in time for implementation next year...
Sincerely,
Eloy Ortiz Oakley
Superintendent President
Long Beach Community College District
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