Candidate seeks re-election for LA Community College District seat.
The Los Angeles Community College District is among the largest districts in the country. It draws from a population of over 10 million, represents over 250,000 students, has nine community colleges, and serves students from 40 cities. The District oversees a $5.8 billion budget. About half of all LACCD students report their incomes at, near or below the poverty line.
Elected in 2015, Andra Hoffman, a candidate for re-election, has been employed for more than 20 years at Glendale Community College. She oversees the Career and Transfer Center, where students are helped to complete their degrees and receive job placement services. She is an advocate for legislation to improve access to quality higher education for all students, including undocumented students.
Currently running unopposed, LNP caught up with Hoffman at a recent fundraiser event sponsored by the National Women’s Political Caucus of San Gabriel Valley and the East Area Progressive Democratic Club. In 2015, when other endorsements failed to materialize, she credits her election success to endorsements from the Democratic clubs.
“In my first campaign in 2015 I won by just under 1100 votes,” she states. “Four years later, I was the number one vote-getter with over 886,000 votes, and then I served as the President of the California Community College District, which means that I was President of the Board of Trustees across California.”
“You can’t phone bank; you can’t go door-to-door.” – Andra Hoffman
“To get my message out to millions of voters takes a lot. I literally need to raise $250,000 to run in a race like this, which is crazy because you think, oh, you are running for assembly or state senate to serve five million people. You can’t phone bank; you can’t go door-to-door. To get the message out, I need to make a ballot statement. A written statement like that costs more than $40,000.”
Hoffman addressed the issues of access for all.
“We like to say we enroll the top 100% of students. Our doors are open. It doesn’t matter if you speak English, it doesn’t matter what color your skin is, it doesn’t matter if you’re documented or undocumented. We take anybody who wants to get an education. We’ve got so many great programs.”
“We like to say we enroll the top 100% of students.” – Andra Hoffman
We asked Hoffman about Proposition 2: Public Education Facilities Bond Measure on the November 5 ballot, a proposal to borrow $10 billion for school construction. This ballot bond issue gives $8.5 billion to K-12 schools and $1.5 billion to community colleges for construction and modernization. A “yes” vote supports issuing $10 billion in bonds to fund the construction and modernization of public education facilities. A “no” vote opposes this action.
“This bond measure is really important,” she said. “We have over $9 billion in bonds in Los Angeles, but we would still benefit from a state bond. There are so many community colleges that need that bond, and there is still so much more to be done. A state bond would absolutely help a community college like Glendale Community College. There are lots of our community colleges that got hit really hard during COVID-19. They lost enrollment. A state bond would be really helpful to K-12 school districts as well. You have to get on a list to get projects and buildings approved. And it takes a really long time. I’m really glad that the state decided to move on this measure.”
What other issues are important to your campaign?
“Housing is a huge issue right now. We passed a bond measure in 2022 of $5.2 billion. Most of that money was to give our colleges a facelift. And we want to try to build affordable student housing because some of our students are suffering. Students want to learn. They want to attend school full-time. But even though our fees are very low, and a student can come for the first two years for free through our College Promise Program, the cost of living in LA far outweighs getting free tuition,” she said.
“Even providing free tuition, free books and free transportation, the cost of living is outrageous. We have students who are homeless, and we have students who are hungry. I’m making sure that we’re looking at affordable housing for our students. Right now, we have five housing partners who can provide a bed, meals, and tutoring, but that’s temporary. Students need housing so that they can be with their families; 35% of our students are parents.”
“If we’re really serious about uplifting people out of poverty, then we need to be more inclusive, and we need to make sure community colleges are well-positioned to offer these degrees.”
Her advice for high school students? Dual enrollment.
“I would say the number one thing that every high school student should do is get enrolled in a college class while in high school and get involved early. They should also make sure that when they get to community college, they meet with a counselor regularly and that they go to the Transfer Center. At Glendale, we have Transfer Thursdays. We put a counselor out on the quad with their computer so students can actually get Transfer Counseling on the spot.
What percentage of students who go to community college actually transfer?
“It’s hard to quantify that. If you look at the statewide average, it’s 40%. It takes cooperation with our partners. It takes the UCs and the CSUs to recognize who our students are. UCLA has taken more transfer students this past season than ever before, which is a step in the right direction. But we would like to ensure our students are all transferred in a reasonable amount of time – not six or seven years. But when 70% of our students are part-time because they can’t afford to be full-time students, it is a real challenge.”
