ACC board approves Nov. 5 bond election date

"We've come to the conclusion that the likelihood of doing a May election is very tight and that we would prefer to do it in November 2013," Kaplan said. "We need to go on our timeline, and the timeline to me looks like November 2013."

ACC President Richard Rhodes said he also supports the November date.

"I am relieved to have more time to engage communities that need to participate in the direction of this. I know it's doable," Rhodes said.

Mary Hensley, vice president of college operations, said that between April 2009 and November 2012, the board has held 292 meetings to discuss the need for a bond election to fund a capital improvement program.

In addition to setting the bond election date, the board approved a continuing education certificate course for dialysis technicians and elected a new chairman, vice chairman and secretary.

The continuing education course will focus on preparing students for entry-level positions in the hemodialysis field, according to the board's agenda. There are no new costs for the course, as the program will use existing equipment, facilities and faculty. The need for the certification has been expressed through both the local and national labor market data, according to the agenda.

The board of trustees elected Jeffrey Richard as its new chairman, Villarreal as vice chairman and Guadalupe Sosa for secretary. The board held a swearing-in ceremony for new member Betty Hwang, Place 8, and the recently re-elected Barbara Mink and Kaplan.

"I'm ready to get to work," Richard said.