This document is based upon Charles A. Ratliff's perspective on California community college governance. It was originally published in the journal, "Insight Into Student Services" in May 2003. Mr. Ratliff discusses the historical emergence of the California community college as a system and the major external pressures that have been…

Drawing largely on data from Los Angeles, but with reference to other cities where appropriate, this paper attempts to clarify the distinctive positions taken by advocates of community control as opposed to proponents of administrative decentralization. While community control is essentially a political demand, oriented toward citizens influencing…