A study was conducted to compare the job expectations of community college trustees in California before they were first elected or appointed with their perceptions of the realities of trustee service. Questionnaires were sent to the chief executive officers at each community college district in the state for distribution to the trustees. Study findings, based on responses from 247 or 47% of the state's 527 community college trustees, included the following: (1) 68% of the trustees were men, 53% were over 55 years of age, and 47.6% had served from 6 to 16 years; (2) with respect to their aspirations in running for the board of trustees, 95.1% wanted to serve the community, 45% wanted to improve district efficiency, and 44% wanted to improve district management; (3) 28% had expected to encounter no personal expenses as a trustee, 37.1% had expected expenses of less than $500 per year, 14.3% had expected between $500 and $1,000 in expenses, while 21% expected expenses of more than $1,000 per year; (4) two-thirds of the trustees had expenses equal to their expectations, while the most commonly cited unexpected expense was that of social activities; (5) before assuming the trusteeship, 50% expected to spend 5 hours per week on trustee affairs; however, after assuming the trusteeship, 38.4% estimated that they spent 5 hours or less each week on trustee service, 41.7% spent 6 to 10 hours, and 20% spent more than 11 hours; and (6) the trustees expressed most interest in planning and goal setting, with board meetings running a close second. (AAC)