Recommendation to request City Manager to work with Long Beach City College (LBCC), the Long Beach Department of Economic Development, Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network (PGWIN), and North Long Beach higher education experts and advocates to explore the feasibility of establishing a higher education center in North Long Beach.
Thank you. Motion carries item 29, please. Communication from Councilmember Richardson. Councilmember Pearce. Council Member. Stronger Councilman Austin. Recommendation to request City Manager to explore the feasibility of establishing a higher education center in North Long Beach. Thank you, Councilor Richardson. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We have an opportunity tonight to address an incredible need, North Lawn Beach, and provide an opportunity to help our community college. The the motion before us tonight is to engage the necessary stakeholders in evaluating the short term and long term possibilities of expanding higher education uptown. As many of you know, the lobby City College has been experiencing a declining enrollment which negatively impacts their budget. According to a 2017 Long Beach labor market report, the 90805 zip code was identified as the area with the most potential increase enrollment and strengthen and strengthen the college's revenue. And this was a study commissioned by Lobby City College. So here's a few facts on why. So number one north on beaches, the nature of its diversity. The ethnic ethnic makeup is predominantly people of color. And North Lombard is also very young. 50% of the population is under the age of 30 years old. Uptown, the median age is four years younger than the rest of the city and almost six years younger than the county. And looking at the numbers, North Long Beach has the most adults who can benefit from a community college. There are over 44,000 adults and the 90805 community with some college or less as their highest level of education. This includes adults who have completed some courses without obtaining a certificate, certification or degree. Adults who have completed high school, attended high school, obtained less than a high school education. And that said, adults with these educational attainment levels and education and limited English language skills have the most potential to benefit from community college classes in basic skills, careers, technical education and courses such as English and a second language. From an economic impact standpoint, community colleges confer more certificates than any other sector of higher education. As workforce programs help fill labor gaps, which is which fuels our local economy by 2020. And when now we're talking workforce readiness by 2020, 65% of all American jobs will require some form, some form of postsecondary degree or credential. By 2025, California is projected to face a short shortage of workers with post-secondary education less than a bachelor's degree. And there are two employment projections, which will exclude many of our uptown residents from the workforce if we choose not to address our higher education ease now. So here's the opportunity, because community colleges are the primary institution for our workforce development and an affordable pathway toward higher education. We want to ensure that distance is not a barrier. So it's been ten years in the since the inception of the college promise. I think we can all attest to the importance of aligning public institutions, the important that the impact has had on our community and on our education system. Establish establishing a North Miami education center will be no different, and timing is key. With new development and construction projects happening on the Atlantic Avenue corridor, such as private retail that we know is coming out and part community center modernization improvements to the North Long Beach Health Department facility. The ongoing modernization of Jordan High School, North Long Beach. Is it all of these things aligning tells us that it's it's time to explore additional potential partnerships on the private and the public side to help help with this this the improvements this corridor. And so by by collaborating with lobby City College Pacific Gateway and those who are excited about this could mean that the community could mean for the community. I'd like us to explore identify both short term options which can be retrieved within a year. And I'd like us to identify a long term plan which is assessed, which assesses the sustainability, the ongoing sustainability of anchoring a higher education center in North Long Beach. And so tonight, Lobby City College is considering a similar direction to partner with the City of Long Beach to explore feasibility. So I want to thank Lobby City College, particularly more specifically trustee input for this partnership on this proposal. And then I want to thank the council members who signed on to this motion, Councilman Austin Pierce and U ranga as well. And I look forward to our conversation and moving forward. Thank you. Okay. Thank you very much, Councilmember. Councilman Austin. Thank you very much. I was happy to sign on to this very innovative item. I want to thank our Councilmember Richardson for bringing it forward. And and I just want to be be clear that that, you know, I think our city is is actually known for its collaborative partnerships with our educational partners. Long Beach Unified, as well as Long Beach City College and Cal State, Long Beach. You know, this is the the home of the college promise. And I think exploring opportunities to expand the community college experience is something that we should definitely support. I was community college student, I'll just tell you. I think most people go to community colleges because they are convenient and where they go to community colleges that are most convenient for them to attend. And so when I was a community college student, I was it was close to my my place of employment. So I could just walk across the street and and be at Long Beach City College. And it was a great experience. And so I think others should certainly have that opportunity. I just want to make sure that we're clear on who's leading this this this feasibility study. Is it Lumbee City College or is it the city of Long Beach? The question for me this so so the idea here it's a good opportunity. The hope here is that we're going to assign dedicate some staff is excited to work work on this on our site and they put some folks on their site because there's two different things need be evaluated. So they're going to do some internal sort of evaluation and we're going to look at some of the opportunities with some of our public public investments as well as some of the private retail. So released two focuses and the hope will be some sort of a joint task force that that sort of explores this feasibility. Well, I'm happy to support Long Beach, Long Beach City College's efforts to expand their their their footprint in the city of Long Beach. I think they definitely have a footprint in the east side of Long Beach and I would say the other east side of Long Beach in the central area. And so northern beaches, if they can do that and expand that model is something I certainly support also would just just make make suggestions that, you know, since we do have a college promise that we engage other educational institutions in this as well, like Columbus Unified because, uh, well, I'll just, just say this, that they are brick and mortar public institutions that are already in existence that may require just a joint partnership agreement to, to, to make things happen. And so and to to increase access for for folks in North Long Beach. I think there's a whole I don't I don't think we should have to limit our scope. We should look at all possibilities. And so happy to support this. Thank you. Council Member Pearce. Yes, I am also was really excited to see this. Also as a community college student, I went to three community colleges before I graduated at Cal State Long Beach, so definitely making sure they're accessible. They often have classes that are different times than a university and so having access to them is critical. I think our partnership with the community college, I know that often we talk about partnership and that sometimes it's, you know, we support each other. But actually being at the table together with skin in the game on both sides is where we're going to see the most change for our community. So I was happy to sign on to this. Thank you, Councilmember Supernova. Thank you. I just have a comment or a question on one part of the report here. A sentence caught my eye that says the average bus commute from Jordan High School to Albuquerque campuses. Our campus takes 2 hours. The fact if it takes 2 hours to go 5.6 miles. Maybe that's a different problem that we can address along with this report, because that seems. Outrageous to think you. Absolutely so. I mean, in the conversations, there's a lot of benefits. I would just say transportation access is going to be a part of that, hopefully will be a part of that ongoing discussion. And there and we were, you know, we think there is opportunities for other agencies, not just lobbies unified, but, you know, the number one the number one matriculation campus for Jordan High School for Community College happens to be Compton College. Number two is Cerritos College. Number three is Lobby City College. Right. And so we come third in terms of matriculation for law for these students. So I think this conversation, once it begins, we're going to find how many different opportunities there are for higher education. And there's also, since it became public, Cal State Dominguez Hills reached out and said, hey, we consider North Palm Beach in our service area. So I think it's a huge opportunity for us to really just talk about the point of higher education. North Palm Beach. But thank you, Councilman Rubino. Thank you. Any public comment on this item? Mayor Roberto, go here. Sure. Yeah. I'd like to also chime in. Being a former communications trustee. I think that any opportunity that we have to expand the footprint of the Green College within the language community is wonderful. I want to thank, of course, the Cosmo Rich to bringing this forward and to working with our community college trustee. Would like intact from City College in bringing this forward. It would be my expectation and hope that we look at like a satellite campus. I think that is what we're going towards, that we would also include areas such as West Palm Beach, which has the the same basically demographic in regard to being away and not not a center for people to go to get to go get an education there as well. The real high school is there. Many of our career high school students go to City College, but the commute is can be quite extensive going to our PCC campus or to the east campus. So having one in our town, it would provide an excellent opportunity for choices in where to choose to continue education. But at the same time, I'm hoping that whatever comes out of this feasibility study that we look at the types of programs and the kinds of educational opportunities and options that might be available for students who want to enroll in a in a satellite like campus. So I would look I look forward to working with that. I look forward to that cooperation in coordination with our Albuquerque counterparts, as well as working with the Long Beach State to get their ideas on what would be a real good program that would provide unique and successful opportunities for students to participate in these colleges. Thank you. Thank you. Let me go to public comment now. Please come forward. Hello once again. My name is Maricela de Rivera. I am a ninth district resident. Live within walking distance of Highland Park and the beautiful and much used Michelle Obama Library. This is a absolute welcome conversation and agenda item. I am here half an hour past bedtime. That's how important this is to me. Higher education is the cornerstone for everything. At the Latino Economic Summit that I attended earlier today, I think it was clear that educational opportunities for all of our residents and that doesn't just mean a four year college. Right. Or even an associate's degree, but some sort of post-secondary education is really going to make a difference in the future success of Long Beach when we ensure success for Long Beach residents, particularly in north Long Beach and West Long Beach, where we see less economic development and investment. As a North Long Beach resident, I'm very excited about the things that are coming along the Atlantic corridor, the Artesia corridor. I see this is really good timing because when you bring in college students, when you bring in the additional economic benefit of any sort of satellite campus, I mean, I love that this is not being pigeonholed into one type of thing, but we're really open to whatever best serves my new community. People are going to want to eat. They're going to want to go to a bank. They're going to want to shop, they're going to want to go places. And we already have that peace in motion. So this feels like really good timing. I would also like to just take a moment as a board member for Long Beach Transit, a city commissioner, to address the issue, we recently conducted a very comprehensive star initiative is what we called it. It was basically a complete system review and there is a lot of room for redoing our routes, our systems, our timings. Of course, all of that takes money like everything. And so I would just say that while I have personally talked with our CEO or our deputy CEO who are really engaged and really concerned about equity, about getting people the places they need to be. And this review came after, I think it's been 12 years since the last one. And so people are different places. People have congregated in different places and need to get different places than perhaps they did 12 years ago. So this is something that Long Beach Transit has really taken as a top priority for us. And so I hope that that is something we can say we're addressing very soon. There were many, many different things that came out of that study as recommendations and so service to North Long Beach and West Long Beach. I hear you. Councilmember Urunga is is really paramount to us at Long Beach Transit. Thank you. Very good. You Clercq has to address the need for improvements in that across the board in the ninth district. So obviously they need now they need not be discussed. I think that this approval and complete aid is the resignation of council in Austin and Richardson. For their championing of the deviant Snoop Dogg. That the. Police department. A number of years ago rated as. Long Beach is number one thug. But more disturbing is their championing of the individual Snoop Dogg. With his deviant position relative to how women should be treated. In this day and age. That is a that is so obviously that should not be discussed. And anybody championing it them has no business in any leadership position there. And it speaks very poorly of the community that the community would support those with deviant minds. And they would support people that had those views. Toward women, period. Thank you. Hi. My name is Robert Bonow. Um. I am currently a senior at Jordan High School and it is time for senior go. We do that. We all, we all play for colleges. So most recently play college for every student will be obviously at the community college. And so. For students it's it's. Like a problem to have transportation from north damage. All the way to east side. Long Beach for obvious. You see, transportation is always the main problem. Um. Mostly, uh, students. Also apply for like cause. They see you, you see. And so. For us students. It's, um, it's difficult for us to get there. Other students decided to go to, like, Dominguez or Compton College. But if you live in if you were born in Lombard, you get a lot of promise. One year free education. Of college. So if. You go to college. You wouldn't be able to have that. Opportunity as other. People and Long Beach. So I do believe that it would be, uh, an amazing idea to have like a. Um. A site in, like, North Long Beach of Albuquerque. So easier for kids. At least have a walking distance or take a bike. Instead of taking like an hour or two hour bus ride to get. Some education. Thank you. Excuse me. I thought you. Go ahead. Oh. Um. At a school. What they do, they also have a career center. So have many students apply for college at different colleges. Most are part of the YMCA. I am alumni. We also do also help students apply for colleges as well. So I haven't had a couple calls of the mind, obviously. So we always. Will be the first opportunity. First up because I applied for Boston, decided I wanted to play for. Um. Going to college Hollywood, which does more for media and stuff like that. We just look at. An L.A. ballpark. We decided to do a year free of community college. At least it's because I believe that it's. Better to have one. Year of college instead of having no year at college at all. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Next. Good evening. Members of the City Council. My name is Anita. Ravi and I am a K-12 education leader, a Long Beach resident of seven years and a parent. I live in the fifth District. And I currently work in the ninth District. I've spent my whole 24 year career expanding access to college for students of color across the country. As a teacher and a school district leader, my work has focused on empowering teachers and school leaders with the resources and knowledge to ensure more students have. A rigorous and relevant K-12. Education that prepares them for college. Research shows that four years and research shows that two and four year degree. Attainment remains the best. Pathway out of poverty. Four year degree attainment is linked to higher wages, higher job satisfaction, and a higher sense of overall well-being. In addition, families that make 75,000 or more per. Year are twice as likely to vote as those. Making less than 75,000 per year. Access to second says to higher higher education in college. And attainment of a college degree is therefore vital to a functioning representative democracy. With the shift to the Common Core and career ready standards, we in the K-12 space are aligning our efforts to prepare all students for college. Our standards and the teaching and learning that go with them are meant to provide all students with the skills, knowledge and practice they need to be successful in college and beyond. However, academic preparation is only one piece of this puzzle, albeit the most important. Students also need to be able to envision themselves. On college. Campuses and in. The many careers they can access via a college degree. They need to physically be on these campuses, utilize their facilities, and see peers from their own communities there. One strategy to increase access to higher education in the communities. Where students most. Need it is to bring it to them. North Long Beach is one of these communities where the current rate of four year degree college attainment is just 13%. Given that 80% of Americans live their entire lives within an 18 mile radius of where they were raised, this means that a majority of young people living in North Long Beach may not currently have family members or neighbors with college degrees. Councilman Richardson's proposal. Backed by some of. You all to bring higher education, access to a community that most needs it will greatly enhance what we're trying to accomplish at the high school level. By showing students the way and providing increased access for all. As the founder and. Executive director of. We the People High School, a new public charter high school coming to Long Beach next year. I strongly support this effort and this proposal. Our North Long Beach students and their. Families deserve access to the same high quality options that other communities here in Long Beach currently have. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next. Thank you, sir. My name is Reverend Leon Wood. I am not longtime resident of Long Beach. I'm also a former upper bound and talent search director at UCLA back in the sixties and early, early seventies. And I wanted. To say that Councilman Richardson and the rest of the team here. What you've done. It's begin to change the attitude and the spirit of the people who live in North Long Beach. The Michelle Obama Library and now with the coming of the college into that area is going to reduce crime. It's going to it's going to increase high school retention. It's going to stop. It's going to enhance the racial relationships in that area. It's going to give people a sense of hope. And you will see in the area you'll be able to feel the change for what you're doing and what you're going to do. You're going to see and feel the change of the people in that area. And we're going to have a better Long Beach because of it. And the north Long Beach area is going to thrive and grow, and it's going to be unrecognizable in the next few years because of the investments that you're making right now. So I think this is a wise idea, very sharp idea and much needed. And I congratulate you all for doing it. And thank you very much. Thank you so much. General public comment. Constitutionally true. With this? Yes. Thank you. Fine. Go for the vote. Councilwoman Gonzales, Councilmember Pierce, Councilwoman Price, Councilmember Superhot. All right. Councilwoman Mongo. All right. Vice Mayor Andrews, I. Councilmember Urunga. Hi, Councilman Austin. Councilmember Richardson. Ocean carries.