BOARD OUSTS ITS PRESIDENT.

Byline: Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writer

Althea Baker, president of the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees, was dethroned unanimously by her peers during a heated and emotionally charged meeting Wednesday.

``I believe this is the saddest day in the history of this district, and I've been here for 21 years,'' Baker said, sobbing, just before the vote. ``Not just for me, but for all of you who are being railroaded.''

Baker will remain on the board, but will no longer serve as president. Board trustee Beth Garfield was elected president and trustee Gloria Romero was elected vice president of the board.

At the standing-room-only meeting, more than 20 district employees and critics had blasted the board for trying to oust Baker. The motion on the agenda included another item to allow the board to circumvent its own policies that require prior notice before removal of an officer. The motions also failed to state a cause for removal.

``You don't suspend the rules to amend the rules,'' said Henry Ealy, president of the district's Black Faculty and Staff Association. ``If you are displeased by the leadership, there should be an investigation. There should be a trial.''

In interviews before the meeting, board member Kelly Candaele and board Vice President Elizabeth Garfield said Baker was holding the board back from reform. At the March 18 meeting, Baker made what seemed like a last-minute back-down against voting for layoffs and the transfer of 17 district office clerks.

Baker's decision contradicted her vote on the same item during that day's closed session, setting the tone that ended in the motion's eventual defeat, Candaele and Garfield said.

Adding to their troubles, earlier this week an expert on open-meeting laws criticized the board for voting on layoffs in closed session, saying it violates the Brown Act, the state's open-meeting law.

The proposed layoffs were part of a district scramble to close a projected $13 million year-end deficit, now estimated at $4 million. On Wednesday, board members recast their votes on eliminating clerical jobs, this time on a 5-0 vote reducing the number to 16 clerks. Baker abstained from the vote.

Candaele and Garfield said the motion to remove Baker was a call for new leadership to reflect the board's urgent quest for change, and to effectively move toward downsizing the central district office and shifting control and resources to the nine campuses, including Pierce, Mission and Valley colleges.

``The board is very interested in making some changes . . . (and) the board president is the official spokesperson for the board,'' Garfield said. ``My hope is we will be able to put together a real reform and restructuring plan before the next fiscal year.''

But Baker called the attempt to remove her an unprecedented political move in the district's 30-year history, one fueled by Garfield's own desire to take the helm.

She added that while she supports transferring control to campuses, she voted against issuing layoffs without a broader reform plan .