HUNTINGTON PARK : East L.A. College Satellite Plan Delayed

The dream of an East Los Angeles College satellite that would serve Southeast Los Angeles County has been delayed while the City Council studies other social programs that may need funding.

Council members voted 3 to 2 last week to delay approval of a college satellite until they have weighed other needs. Mayor Ric Loya and Councilman Raul R. Perez opposed the delay.

The proposal is to use about $300,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant money over the next four years to rent a 34,000-square-foot area on the second floor of the Pacific Bell Building, 2675 Zoe Ave. The city’s financial support would allow Huntington Park residents to attend the classes free or at a reduced tuition rate.

In addition to traditional academic offerings, the curriculum would include classes in job training, parenting and other areas that specifically address the needs of Southeast area residents.

Advocates of the project had hoped classes would begin in January. Loya said he fears the delay will kill the proposal. “It would have been a golden opportunity for . . . the business community and a resource for residents,” Loya said.

Councilman Luis Hernandez, an alumnus of East Los Angeles College, led the opposition, saying the city could use the federal funds to address other pressing needs. “Child care would have an immediate impact,” Hernandez said. “We have not seen what the benefit (of the community college) will be.”

Councilman Thomas E. Jackson called establishing a community college satellite “a grandiose idea.”

“We are not in the arena of educating people,” Jackson said. “That is not what little cities do. When we have money, we should spend it on things that are within our realm to do.” But Sylvia Ruiz, president of Tierra Concepts, a Los Angeles-based urban planning firm that is conducting an economic development study for Huntington Park, said a local community college could meet many of the city’s long-range needs.

In a city where 26% of the population is 18 to 24 and 70% of all adults have not graduated from high school, a community college “is probably the single greatest investment you could put into the economic development” of the area, Ruiz said.

Assemblywoman Martha M. Escutia (D-Huntington Park) said she would rally support for the college. “The constituents will take up a call to arms to bring a community college to our area,” she said.