Davis Stalls Plan for College at Historic Bakery Building

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gray Davis on Wednesday slowed plans by the Los Angeles Community College District to open a small branch campus at the former Van de Kamp’s Bakery in Glassell Park north of downtown Los Angeles.

State Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) had pushed to insert $4 million into the state budget to create the campus in his district, bypassing normal routes for creating satellite college campuses.

Davis signed several education spending bills Wednesday. But the governor used his line-item veto power to pare back some items, including $1 million of Polanco’s request.

In his veto message, Davis also said he is blocking the district from spending the remaining $3 million until it obtains approval from the California Postsecondary Education Commission and convinces the Department of Finance of the need.

Patrick McCallum, lobbyist for the Los Angeles Community College District, said approval can take up to two years, although given Polanco’s interest in creating the satellite campus, the process may be accelerated.

McCallum said the district envisions creating a small campus that would focus on job training, instruction in English for people who are not native speakers and literacy training.

“He’d like to see it on an expedited basis, no question about it,” said a spokesman for Polanco. “Those hurdles are not insurmountable.”