Vica Conference

Schools Assailed at VICA Conference
Business: Speakers at Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. session say
students aren't prepared for jobs.

By KAREN ROBINSON-JACOBS, Times Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS--While numerous indicators
point to a San Fernando Valley economy on the
rebound, the failure of schools to adequately prepare
students for jobs in the next century remains a dark
cloud on the horizon, speakers at a business conference
said Friday.
"Educating the Workforce in the Coming Century"
was among the most popular, and spirited, sessions at
the 11th annual Business Forecast Conference,
sponsored by the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn.

"Only the public schools will allow our society to
move forward," said Ron Unz, whose controversial
campaign to end bilingual education in schools led to
the passage last year of Proposition 227. "We need to
find out what the problems are, and boldly face them
and fix them."
Yvonne Chan, principal of Vaughn Next Century
Learning Center in Pacoima, which serves 1,200
low-income elementary school students, believes the
Valley needs to form its own school district. She also
called for more parental involvement.
During a keynote address, Los Angeles Mayor
Richard Riordan called the current public school system
not only dysfunctional but "evil" and called for a
"revolution in our schools."
Rocky Young, the new president at Pierce College
in Woodland Hills, cited the responsibility of the
community college system for turning out tomorrow's
workers.
"We have the responsibility of correcting whatever
has not worked in the past," said Young, who assumed
his post this year.
He called for more assistance in that task from the
business community, saying "the business community
cannot sit idly by and let us make mistakes."
Business needs to offer more internships and
programs designed to integrate students into the
workplace before graduation, he said.
The conference at the Warner Center Marriott
began with a review of a 66-page report on the Valley's
economy, produced by the San Fernando Valley
Economic Research Center at Cal State Northridge.
The report, officially released Friday, showed the
Valley area is home to 630,000 private-sector jobs
with an annual payroll of more than $23 billion.
James P. Dow Jr., an assistant professor of
economics at CSUN, said the economic ups and
downs of the Valley have, in general, closely tracked
those of Los Angeles County.
He said, however, that by some measures the Valley
lagged the county. For instance, the proportion of
residents receiving Aid to Families with Dependent
Children increased much faster in the Valley than in
other parts of the county during the early part of the
decade. In recent years, AFDC rates have decreased
in both the Valley and the rest of the county.
This year's conference attracted a record number of
participants--nearly 500.
Irene Tovar, executive director of the Valley-based
Latin American Civic Assn., came to hear the CSUN
report and stayed for a session on the Latino
community and its growing impact in business and
politics. Tovar said she was happy to see the business
community address the importance of this growing
group.
"For the first time, we're addressing in the business
establishment what many of us have known for many,
many years," Tovar said. "That there is a vibrant
community that has never been fully recognized."
Scott Campbell, a district manager with
Glendale-based Public Storage Inc., said he came to
the conference for opportunities to expand his contacts.

"I think it's important for us to be able to network
with other people from industry and to try to get ideas
and share ideas," Campbell said.
Providing opportunities for networking was one of
the goals of the conference, according to Martin
Cooper, head of Woodland Hills-based Cooper
Communications. Cooper served as chairman of the
event, which was sponsored largely by the Los Angeles
Times Valley Edition.
"I wanted to share as much information and
background with as many business and political leaders
as I could," Cooper said. He said the attendance figures
showed he had accomplished that goal.
Another goal, he said, "was to show as many
business, elected and media people as I could how
vibrant and important the Valley business community
is."