Chosen President on 6th Ballot : Community College Panel Elects Encino Physician

After six ballots, the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees on Thursday elected Encino physician Monroe Richman as its president.

The election required so many votes because the six board members repeatedly split, 3 to 3, on their selection for president. The panel’s seventh seat is empty because former member Rick Tuttle resigned after being elected Los Angeles city controller last month. That position is now vacant.

Richman and fellow board member Lindsay Conner were nominated for the presidency. Both received three votes on the first five ballots.

Vote Switch

It wasn’t until Wallace Albertson switched her vote from Conner to Richman that the tie was broken.

Richman, 59, said he will push for a balancing of the district’s budget, which he said is $6.8 million in the red this year, and try in the long term to develop a cash reserve.

“This next year is going to be particularly critical for us, and all of the board members are acutely aware of our problems,” he said.

Richman said he will try to cut the district’s budget, possibly by eliminatingathletic programs.

Richman was first appointed to the board in 1971. He was elected to the board in 1973 and served as president twice during the 1970s. Richman takes the helm again at a time of crisis within the district.

Dwindling Enrollment

Enrollment is dwindling and there is talk of closing a small, adjunct campus near Los Angeles International Airport.

Last month, the district received a $5-million emergency loan from Los Angeles County to enable the community colleges to meet their payroll. The district then asked the state for another $5-million loan, to be used to repay the county. But Gov. George Deukmejian this week vetoed the loan, citing what he said was poor fiscal management by district officials.

Deukmejian, however, said he would approve the loan if the district would agree to support a “free-flow” policy, under which students could attend community colleges outside their district.

The Los Angeles district, which now allows only a limited number of its students to attend community colleges in surrounding areas, opposes free flow because the district has discovered that it loses more students than it gains with such a policy. State funding for community colleges is based on the number of students who attend each school, and Los Angeles district officials say they cannot afford to support the free-flow concept.

Student Representative

In another action Thursday, Suzanne Spillane, a 21-year-old student at Pierce College, was sworn in as the student representative on the board.

Spillane this spring was elected vice president of Pierce’s Associated Student organization. A Woodland Hills resident and a history major, Spillane said that, after graduation from Pierce, she plans to continue her education at a University of California campus.