Re-elect Mark Takano
to the RCC Board of Trustees

Mark Takano's Accomplishments at RCC
• Students feel the economic pinch of rising fuel prices especially hard. Fortunately, RCC has a wide array of online courses offered through its Open Campus. No matter where a student lives in the District (or even outside the District), RCC's online courses provide convenience and transportation savings.	Providing the highest value to student and taxpayer alike	• Fiscal conservatism and fiscal responsibility are the foundation of trust between the District and the voters.
• As the economy slows, keeping the opportunities available at RCC is especially important. As the politicians in Sacramento try to reach an agreement on the state budget, RCC enters the 2008-09 academic year with general fund reserve of greater than 10%. This strong financial position will help to minimize any state reduction in funding. The Board has been fiscally responsible and the public will benefit when laid off workers can retrain and retool.	A Focus on students	• Mark Takano joined the RCC Board in the midst of a recession in the early 1990s. He stayed the course during many lean years in that decade.
• RCC expanded its reach into unincorporated western Riverside County, establishing The Rubidoux Annex on the campus. The dream of a college education is within the reach of even more people. To the people in Pedley, Mira Loma, Jurupa, and Rubidoux, a RCC education is even easier to access.	Meeting their needs	• The District has been aggressive and entrepreneurial in seeking alternative sources of funding and grants.
• Early College High Schools have produced very promising results. Students at RCC's Gateway to College Early College High School and Rubidoux Early College High School have performed among the highest in Riverside County on standardized test score. Especially noteworthy about Gateway ECHS students is that they were dropouts facing grim prospects. Rubidoux ECHS students were chosen from a general population of students. They, too, performed exceptionally well. Successful innovation continues at the Riverside Community College District.	Providing students with more choices	• Its legislative advocacy in Sacramento and Washington D.C. have been particularly effective.
• The Middle College in Moreno Valley and the John F. Kennedy Middle College High School in Norco are an alternative high school programs with phenomenal a success rates. High school students enter community college early and graduate with substantial amounts of college credit as well as high school diplomas. Nearly all the students in this program move on to college. Programs such as this offer important choices to parents and students. They are designed to meet the needs of students. RCC is focused on better ways to meet these needs.	Inviting students to learn new skills at any age	• RCC is known for completing its capital construction projects on time and under budget.
• Mark Takano supports a strong institutional research function at RCC in order to anticipate the needs of employers and the interests of students. This is essential to planning new programs that are relevant to trends in the marketplace. He supports a strong liberals arts and sciences core for transfer students. He supports innovation that offers more opportunity and choice for students.	Serving opportunities in bite sized chunks	• Mark is committed to providing the best value for taxpayers and students. • This means keeping the trust with taxpayers so that RCC can continue to innovate and meet the needs of a growing population.
• Passport to College and Gear-Up are programs designed to raise the college going rate of our local students through early awareness of planning for college. Fifth graders from all of the District's feeder schools were promised scholarships to RCC if they maintained a "C" average or above. Private money was raised by the RCC Foundation to make good on this promise. These fifth graders have graduated from RCC! The dream of a college education has come true for thousands thanks to this effort.
• The Weekend College in Norco allows adults to work during the week and upgrade their education with high quality instruction at low costs. Again, RCC is looking to meet the needs of students first, adjusting to make a high quality and low cost education available whey they need it.
• High-end vocational programs that train Physician Assistants and high tech auto mechanics (the Ford ASSET program) are examples of "bite sized" education. These two programs were added to RCC's renowned Nursing Program during Mark's tenure. These are highly paid vocational opportunities that provide students with options in addition to the core liberal arts and sciences transfer pathways. The rewards are more immediate and they provide an educational focus that many students need. For many students, higher education is easier to consume in "bite-sized" chunks.
• The voters and taxpayers trust RCC with their money. Because of the District's sound fiscal management, they approved a $350 million capital construction bond in March 2004 with nearly sixty percent (60%) of the vote. Bond money will be spent in phases over the next eleven years. Mark pledges that this money will be spent prudently, in accordance with sound institutional planning and research. He is committed to providing the highest value for student and taxpayer alike.
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Re-elect Mark Takano to the RCC Board of Trustees

Mark Takano's Accomplishments at RCC

Re-elect Mark Takano
to the RCC Board of Trustees