Share: After an agreement had been made to bring back the winter intersession for the 2023-2024 academic year, the college and the on campus Faculty Association (FA) have yet to come to a settlement number for legal fees and lost wages for the last couple years, according to a FA email sent in late May. This is the first time that PCC has had the winter intersession on the academic calendar since 2021. The Faculty Association has accused The District of negotiating in “bad faith” …
PCC chooses interim superintendent-president, will start in mid-July
Share: At the June Board of Trustees meeting, the Board selected Dr. Jose Gomez as the interim Superintendent-President while conducting the process to search for a permanent Superintendent, according to PCC Spokesperson Alex Boekelheide. The acting Superintendent-President who will serve from June 22 to July 23 is Dr. Laura Ramirez, who, under Dr. Erika Endrijonas, served as the Assistant Superintendent-President, according to Board of Trustees President Sandra Chen Lau. Dr. Gomez will begin serving at PCC following the ratification of his employment agreement in mid-July, …
Superintendent-President commits to new President’s job at SBCC
Share: According to a press release from Santa Barbara Community College (SBCC), Dr. Erika Endrijonas has been selected as their new Superintendent-president. Her employment is pending contract negotiations with the SBCC Board of Trustees, where a formal contract will be presented and voted on at their BOT meeting on June 15. Ongoing contract negotiations between the PCC Board of Trustees and Endrijonas spurred the job search, as accusations about the Board President attempting to invalidate the contract resulted in high legal fees, The Courier previously …
Let’s Talk Episode 5: BTS on the PCC Board Debacle
Share: On a special episode of the podcast, David and Sol are joined by news editor Seamus to discuss the behind the scenes on recent reporting by The Courier on the recent divides on the PCC Board of Trustees over the Superintendent’s contract and issues other PCC groups are bringing to the Trustees. The two stories that are referenced in this episode: https://www.pcccourier.com/main-story/board-president-accused-of-attempting-to-terminate-superintendent-president.html https://www.pcccourier.com/main-story/superintendent-presidents-contract-negotiations-cause-board-division.html Follow:
Altadena community opposes proposed Poly sports complex
Share: In what is likely to be one of the biggest LA County land disputes in 25 years, the community of Altadena and Pasadena private school Polytechnic, are at odds over a 78-acre property. The property has been owned by world famous Nuccio’s Nursery, for almost ninety years and is now where Polytechnic has publicly presented plans to build a sports complex and environmental facilities. Local Altadena group, AltadenaWILD, began in early 2023. As the community that lives closest to the disputed property, they rallied …
Superintendent’s contract negotiations divide trustees
Share: The PCC Board of Trustees is divided over the retention of additional legal counsel and the potential extension of Superintendent-President Dr. Erika Endrijonas’ contract. Endrijonas’ current contract, which extends through 2024, was verified by Resolution 761 in a 5-2 vote on Feb. 15. A contract verifying the employment of Endrijonas for the 2024-2025 academic year remains unconfirmed, leaving her future at the college in question. The resolution aims to cure potential Brown Act violations surrounding the evaluation of the Superintendent-President which occurred in closed …
PCC student who was arrested for knife incident in library expelled in unanimous board vote
Share: Jul. 19: The student who was arrested for wielding a knife in the PCC library in late April faced the PCC Board of Trustees (BOT) in a public disciplinary hearing at the July BOT meeting and was subsequently expelled in a unanimous vote in closed session, according to PCC Spokesperson Alex Boekelheide in a text to The Courier. Boekelheide added that he would not have any further comments on this situation and the expulsion of PCC student Zhuowei Liao. Apr. 29: In an update, …
Board President accused of attempting to terminate Superintendent-President
Share: Former PCC Trustees and the Management Association voiced concerns about Board President Sandra Chen Lau’s alleged attempts to overreach and terminate the current contract of Superintendent-President Dr. Erika Endrijonas at the joint Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting with Associated Students on April 19. Following the election of new trustees Steve Gibson, Kristine Kwong, and Alton Wang and the promotion of Chen Lau to Board President in June 2022, the Board did not formally extend Endrijonas’ contract another year, former PCC President Jack Scott said …
PCC Library closes briefly due to police investigation
Share: Early Monday morning, PCC released an email to the campus community stating there was police activity at the library concerning a threat. “The PCC library on the Colorado Campus is closed this morning due to police activity,” the email read. In a statement from PCC, spokesperson Alex Boekelheide said that there had been an anonymous threat received against the library, with PCC police and the LA County Sheriff’s investigating the threat this morning. “The Sheriffs and PCC PD investigated the library today and determined …
Let’s Talk Episode 3: Nashville, Narcan and Academic Senate
Share: Published April 5: In the third episode David and Sol welcome news editor Seamus, and talk about Trump’s indictment, Narcan, the tragic Nashville shooting and mental illness, and the latest PCC Academic Senate debacle. Follow: