Letter to my colleagues and friends

For the past 18 years I have faithfully served on the Delta College board and given my life for the betterment of Delta College.

My family and I have been deeply involved in education for many years, and I continue my commitment to making the Delta College system a better place for students to receive their education.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my many supporters, who have contacted me over the last several days with their support and kind words. Since the recent death of my husband, and my own medical problems, I have received so much support and kindness that I am deeply moved by the outpouring of emotion. Needless to say, you have all made these difficult times more bearable.

I look forward to spending time with my family and supporters over the weeks and months to come. I am forever grateful and am truly humbled by the outpouring of emotion, especially from Delta College students. I wanted to take this opportunity to publicly thank all of my supporters and family for their continued support, kindness and prayers.

Maria Elena Serna
Lodi

Source

New Delta board owes taxpayers due diligence

Written by Shelon Arbuckle
Friday, 26 December 2008
The decision to build a college campus in Mountain House raises questions.

San Joaquin County Supervisor Leroy Ornellas said nobody put a gun to the head of the San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees in regard to the college’s decision to build a campus in Mountain House.

That’s probably true, but with a board member (Maria Elena Serna) who was willing to compromise her reputation and ethics for $1,600, future payoffs would have been negotiated and promises made behind closed doors.

Dean Andal, who ran for Congress and lost in November, has a stake in future revenues at Mountain House. Thanks to the voters, he didn’t beat out Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton.

The only ones now pointing guns at the new board of trustees seems to be Ornellas and Mountain House developer Gerry Kamilos, and now they’re pushing the new Mountain House Community Services District board members to load theirs.

What’s in it for them? Property values.

What’s in it for the taxpayers? Future commitments involving more bond elections to complete the project and more money to establish public transportation in that area.

I hope that before anything else is done at Mountain House, in reference to the south county Delta College campus, the new board will investigate everything before making any final decisions. The taxpayers made a decision and voted in November to eliminate the old board for the bad choices made in regard to this potential white elephant (the south campus called Mountain House).

There are so many unanswered questions: Where are the portables and on whose land will they be placed? Who will receive rent, and for how long will they get it? How much is the rent? Is it, as Ornellas and Delta President Raul Rodriguez have said, too expensive to move out of Mountain House? Where are the binding contracts, what contracts can be relocated and what is just another threat of pending lawsuit by Kamilos?

The Mountain House land purchased may not be good in today’s market, but it can be sold by the college when the value returns.

We should let our new board members have the time to have every question answered and every rock turned over. They will have to justify this bad decision with truthful facts, not threats, if they continue down this same path.

They owe this to the people — the taxpayers and the students — not the few who had and have hidden agendas for this monstrosity of waste.

•Shelon Arbuckle is an 21-year resident of Tracy and has been self-employed for 18 years as a printer repair technician and toner supplier. She lived in Alaska for eight years and served on a parks and recreation commission.

Source

Maria Elena Serna's lawyer says charge is a technicality / He also 'thinks there are political issues involved'

By Maggie Creamer
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Updated: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 12:36 PM PST

A day after Maria Elena Serna resigned from the San Joaquin Delta College Board and pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor offense of doublebilling the college, her attorney characterized the charge as a technicality and said it may have been politically motivated.

Serna, 67, received three years probation in San Joaquin County Superior Court on Monday. The Lodi resident "double-dipped" by asking and receiving reimbursements from Delta and the Community College League of California for travel costs and other expenses. The total amount of the reimbursements were $1,642.10.

Her lawyer, Al Ellis said the case was a technical violation of the law.

"She never had any intention to cheat anyone. ... This is the same woman to march with Cesar Chavez, and after he died, she started a scholarship named after him for the college," Ellis said.

During the time Serna received double reimbursement, Ellis said she was dealing with her husband's death and recovering from back surgery.

He also said the college's decision to take the case to the authorities may have been motivated by politics.

"I think there are political issues involved," Ellis said.

Contacted at her home, Serna declined to comment and directed all questions to Ellis.

In her resignation letter, Serna said she is resigning on the advice of her physician.

She thanked the students, faculty, administrators and other board members for her 18 years on the board.

"I look forward to observing the 'ideals' that I have espoused being carried out by our new board," she wrote.

Serna is the latest departure of veteran trustees from the board. Several incumbents lost their bid for re-election in November, and Dan Parises, one of the longest-serving trustees, opted to retire rather than seek re-election.

On Monday, Parises praised Serna for what she has done for the school, including her work on the Cesar Chavez Community Leadership Award.

"I've known her for 18 years; she has high integrity and is honest ... maybe she wasn't paying attention," he said.

Delta spokesman Greg Greenwood reiterated on Tuesday that the college sent the case to the Stockton Police because the college will not tolerate elected officials pocketing money, no matter how small.

"From the college's perspective, this wasn't an accident," he said. "This is the college trying to ensure we are being responsible to the community."

The board has 60 days to either make a provisional appointment or hold a special election to replace Serna. Greenwood said that he did not know how much an election would cost. The board meets today to swear-in the four newly elected trustees. Its meeting on Dec. 16 is the first board meeting where the group will be able to vote on action items.

According to a report by the Stockton Police Department, questions first arose about Serna's reimbursement claims when Valerie Stewart-Green, an administrative assistant in the president's office, said Serna said she received a reimbursement from the league. Stewart-Green thought this was odd because reimbursements from the league are supposed to go directly to the college. She called the league and found out that Serna specifically requested the reimbursements be sent to her home address.

Other incidents that raised questions at the college were also detailed in the report.

Delta College Trustee Janet Rivera recounted when she and Serna attended a conference in San Jose in November 2007. Rivera was driving herself and Serna to the conference when Serna asked her to not tell Delta College officials they were riding together. When Rivera said she already told Delta President and Superintendent Raul Rodriguez, Serna reportedly said, "Oh shoot, I was going to claim the mileage."

In another incident, Reen Perez, an administrative assistant in Rodriguez's office, said Serna tried to collect money for a meal Rodriguez paid for with his college credit card.

At the Delta Associated Student Body Government office, Navid Shaghaghi, the president and chairman of the interclub council, said he thinks the way the administration handled the problem is reflective of its inability to work with people on campus.

"They didn't want to solve the problem. They just saw a great opportunity to get rid of this person," he said.

Source

Serna resigns from Delta board / Trustee pleads no contest to charges she took double reimbursements

By Alex Breitler
Record Staff Writer
December 09, 2008 6:00 AM

STOCKTON - Longtime San Joaquin Delta College Trustee Maria Elena Serna resigned from the board Monday moments before pleading no contest to a charge that she claimed reimbursement twice for several business trips dating back to 2005.

Serna's letter of resignation, which her attorney handed to board President Janet Rivera in the hallway at San Joaquin County Superior Court, cited Serna's health.

"On the advice of my physician, I can no longer fulfill my obligations with the college, and due to personal reasons, I will be having this resignation effective immediately," the 67-year-old Serna wrote. She declined further comment.

---

Past problems

Police reports say former San Joaquin Delta College Trustee Maria Elena Serna had past problems with travel expenses and reimbursements:
• An administrative assistant at Delta said Serna asked to be reimbursed for meals that President Raul Rodriguez had already paid for on a college credit card.
• The same assistant said Serna once became "belligerent" when she learned she would not be receiving a full travel allowance for a conference in San Jose, even after she was told the conference would be providing meals.
• When Rodriguez and Serna took a business trip to Washington, D.C., in February 2007, Rodriguez paid for a cab ride and a meal at a Brazilian restaurant; Rodriguez learned later that Serna tried to claim reimbursement on both.

---

Serna, a Delta trustee since 1990, was accused of claiming nearly $1,650 from both Delta College and the Community College League of California, which held conferences attended by Serna in San Francisco and Sacramento. The money has been paid back, prosecutors said.

"It's not the amount of the money. It's the audacity of the conduct," said Deputy District Attorney Stephen E. Taylor. "When people do that in public service, they have to leave."

Delta administrators noticed inconsistencies in Serna's reimbursement records and contacted prosecutors, who sent the case to Stockton police. A criminal complaint was filed Friday following a two-month investigation.

The case was set to go before a grand jury today before the last-second plea deal was arranged, attorneys said.

The single felony charge levied on Serna could have resulted in up to three years in state prison.

But Judge Richard J. Guiliani said the court viewed the case as a misdemeanor and sentenced Serna to three years' informal probation, requiring that she obey all laws.

Delta President Raul Rodriguez, who sat in the first row at Monday's arraignment, said the college has long struggled to help Serna understand how reimbursement works.

"It's a shame we've come to this," he said. "But a trustee should know better."

One example: According to an internal Delta College memo, Serna attended a meeting of the nonprofit college league June 20-21 in Sacramento. Delta College used a $179 credit card payment to reserve her room at the Hyatt Regency hotel; Serna wrote up her own reimbursement for the same amount and filed it with the league.

So she was paid by the league for an expense the college had already covered, the memo said.

Overall, the league reimbursed Serna $1,642 for expenses already covered by the college dating back to 2005, the report said. Serna signed reimbursement forms stating that no more money would come from any other source.

Serna's attorney, Albert Ellis, called this a "technical" violation of the law and said Serna's intent was not to defraud anyone.

"This is a horrible thing for someone to have to go through after so many years of distinguished service," he said. "This is the type of woman they're normally talking about naming schools after."

Serna, a retired Bear Creek High School social science teacher, had represented the Lodi area on the Delta board since 1990; she was the first Latino woman elected in San Joaquin County, according to a Delta College news release earlier this year.

She is also the sister of Joe Serna, who served as mayor of Sacramento from 1992 until his death in 1999.

Maria Serna was part of the board majority that favored building a south-county campus in Mountain House, a decision derided by new board members. She recently had back surgery and was not present for some key decisions about how trustees should divvy up a dwindling pool of bond money.

Her resignation means just two of the seven previous Delta trustees will be returning to the dais. Two others did not seek re-election in November, and the last two were ousted by challengers. Only Rivera and Ted Simas will remain on the board.

State law says Delta must either order an election or appoint someone to fill the vacancy. The organization of the new board will be discussed at a special meeting Wednesday night.

Prosecutor Taylor accused Serna of "felony conduct" and said the case was treated very seriously because Serna held public office.

Ellis, her attorney, questioned whether the case would have been filed at all had she been an ordinary citizen.

In a memo to the campus community Monday, Rodriguez said Serna's resignation and other recent negative news - such as allegations of overspending by student government - are "not random or accidental events" but are part of an ongoing effort to "correct longstanding problems, to ensure that we are abiding by laws and regulations, and to bring about necessary and positive change."

Said board President Rivera, after court: "We're cleaning house."
Source

Letter about Serna's Crimes.

Former Delta trustee getting special treatment

Regarding the resignation of Maria Serna from the San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees, there are questions that need answers:

If she pleads no contest and resigns, does she still receive lifetime medical and retirement benefits?

Who pays for the investigation?

If she were an ordinary resident, would Ms. Serna not go to jail, not post bond, not defend herself at her expense at trial, not be able to resign and keep medical and retirement benefits? Or have a school named after her?

I'll answer the last one. No, if she were treated like an ordinary person, she'd go through all the above and not retire with benefits or get a felony plea bargained to a misdemeanor or have a school named after her.

Now could a representative from the District Attorney's Office or Delta College answer the first two questions? Transparency is needed.

Ms. Serna has done many good things for the community. However, in this instance the public is the victim, not Ms. Serna.

George Kininmonth
Stockton

Source

President Rodriguez Issues Memo on Serna's Resignation

CAMPUS MEMORANDUM
Office of the President

Date: December 8, 2008
To: Campus Community
From: Raúl Rodríguez
Re: Trustee Resignation

As the Superintendent/President of Delta College, one of my responsibilities is to inform the campus of serious events. Today I have the difficult responsibility of informing the campus community that at approximately 1:30 this afternoon at the San Joaquin County Courthouse, Trustee Maria Elena Serna pleaded no contest to a charge of submitting fraudulent reimbursement requests for travel related expenses dating back to 2005. Under section 72 of the California Penal Code, this is a felony offense with potential penalties of prison time, monetary fines, loss of professional credentials, and loss of the position of elected official. However, the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor in consideration of Trustee Serna’s resignation from the board. Board president Janet Rivera and I received Trustee Serna’s resignation letter and filed it with the County Superintendent of Schools this afternoon.

While this may come as a surprise to most of you, this matter has been under investigation since early October. After I was made aware of the possibility that Trustee Serna had been submitting fraudulent reimbursement requests, I asked my staff to gather the evidence, which was then reviewed and confirmed by Vice President of Business Services, Dr. Jon Stephens. His analysis confirmed what my staff had discovered, i.e., a disturbing pattern by Trustee Serna of submitting requests for and subsequently receiving reimbursement from Delta College for travel and then receiving a duplicate reimbursement from the Community College League of California (CCLC) for the same trip.

I turned the results of our investigation over to the Stockton Police Department who performed their own investigation and quickly turned the issue over to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office. The District Attorney’s office then filed charges against Trustee Serna. On October 17th and again on November 6th, Trustee Serna made restitution to the CCLC for duplicate funds she received illegally. Those funds have since been returned to Delta College.

There is however a much larger concern. As the Superintendent President of this college, I am deeply aware of the string of events that have fueled a negative perception in the media. Obviously, this event and other recent revelations, such as the ASBG flea market problems and the out of control spending by the ASBG, may further damage the reputation of this college. However, please understand that these difficult revelations are not random or accidental events. They are part of an ongoing and concerted effort by the college’s administrative team to correct longstanding problems, to ensure that we are abiding by laws and regulations, and to bring about necessary and positive change.

While I realize that recent events have been painful and often discouraging, I urge you as a campus community to join me in viewing all of this from a much larger perspective. Specifically, we are at a pivotal place in the history of this great college. The work we are doing is complex and often contentious, but that is to be expected when the stakes are so high. We must however always be cognizant that not all learning at Delta happens in classrooms. As we move forward, it is important for all of us to model the type of behavior we expect from our students. Principles such as honesty and integrity can not simply be words, but must be reflected in both our individual and collective behavior.

I look forward to the days ahead with a renewed sense of purpose, determination and a great deal of optimism. We have a tremendous opportunity for a fresh beginning with the newly elected Board of Trustees. I hope that each of you will join me in rallying behind our Board of Trustees and in shifting our focus back to the multitude of positive actions that occur on this campus every single day.

Reason for hope

S.J. Delta College, too essential to fail, is unlikely to lose its accreditation
By The Record
November 20, 2008 6:00 AM

Good news for San Joaquin Delta College, an important asset in this area that has endured its share of bad news in recent months.

Likely the college will not lose its accreditation.

Although not official yet, it is "very unlikely" accreditation will be pulled, according to Brian King, president of Cabrillo College in Aptos, who was at Delta this week representing the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

A complete report is expected from the association by February, and it should spell out what the college has done that pleases WASC representatives. But King, speaking at a public forum after meeting with college officials, said, "A lot of things have changed since the (last) time we were here."

There probably was no actual danger that the college would lose its accreditation. Losing accreditation would make degrees from Delta afterward worthless in the eyes of many, including schools where students might transfer. Accreditation is so important that school officials would be expected to do anything possible to keep it. And apparently they did.

When the accreditation team first visited, it voiced concern about a number of issues, including the lack of a trustee ethics code, the lack of stability among the district's leadership ranks, the lack of planning and the perception of bias on campus.

Delta officials put together a 250-page response, which took issue with some of the accreditation team's findings but also said the college was moving aggressively to make improvements.

That kind of quick, positive response is refreshing and noteworthy. A highly critical grand jury report and an equally critical state audit chastised college officials for the way a $250 million bond was handled. Grand jurors also questioned the district leadership, especially the Board of Trustees for its bickering and lack of unity.

The college's responses to the grand jury report and the audit showed more interest in defending district practices than in improving them.

And in response, voters on Nov. 4 ousted two incumbent trustees and found replacements for two others who did not seek re-election.

But the series of critical reports has prompted change, according to English instructor Sam Hatch.

"A lot of institutional denial has broken down, and people are willing to go to work to make things better," Hatch said at the public forum.

Let's hope. Delta College is too incredibly important to this area to be allowed to fail.

Source

Delta College flea market under investigation

Ex-student activity chief also focus of criminal allegations
By Alex Breitler
Record Staff Writer
November 22, 2008 6:00 AM

STOCKTON - San Joaquin Delta College police are investigating allegations of fraud, embezzlement and sexual harassment in connection with the college's weekend flea market, a fundraising staple for student government and clubs.

Delta's former supervisor of student activities is one, but not the only, subject of the ongoing investigation, according to a police memo obtained by The Record.

The memo says the supervisor - who is not named in the document - knowingly hired flea market employees with criminal records, ranging from property crime to murder. Some were students, a college spokesman said.

The supervisor allegedly spent $600,000 in personal funds over five years for the student government and was reimbursed by the college, allowing large sums of money to be spent without prior approval. The report also says that cash receipts and documents were shredded, as noted by an outside auditor hired by the college to investigate.

The supervisor "failed to provide positive leadership to the students in regard to spending," the report says. Travel expenses for student government exceeded college policy, and an "inordinate" amount of money was spent on clothing, luggage, scholarships, expensive meals and hotel suites, the report says.

Delta College officials released the document to the Associated Student Body Government earlier this week after students criticized new and stricter policies governing spending.

Students and club advisers have for weeks paraded before the college's Board of Trustees protesting the new policies, which require pre-approval of minor purchases among other safeguards. This is not always practical, students and some advisers argue.

Delta spokesman Greg Greenwood said the report about the ongoing investigation was released to explain these new policies.

"We want to make sure the (student government) understands why we're placing all of these controls on them," Greenwood said.

The college plans to implement 14 new procedures to ensure accountability, he said.

The state Education Code says community college boards already "must provide for the supervision of all funds raised by any student body ... using the name of the college."

Greenwood said the flea market, which brings in about $500,000 a year, has been scrutinized at times for more than a decade. The new investigation suggests a "much more severe" situation, he said.

The money in question does not belong to the college. In a 2003 interview with The Collegian, Delta College's student newspaper, President Raul Rodriguez questioned student-body government expenditures for admission to Disneyland as well as a $546 meal at Le Bistro.

These may not be illegal purchases, Rodriguez said at the time, "but it's a matter of appearances and ethics."

Student Body President Valerie Novak acknowledged Friday that the flea market needs management. "We recognize there is a problem and that it needs to be addressed," she said.

But, she added, the current student government inherited the problem.

"It's not us," Novak said. "The problem was not the students. It was the adviser."

She defended current student government spending. Yearly trips to a Washington, D.C., community college convention are valuable networking opportunities, she said. Some students need help with dress or luggage to be able to make such a trip.

Novak said delays in clearance from the administration have forced students to book pricier hotel rooms.

She said the student government would get professional help to audit its own books, but she continued to argue that pre-approval of all expenses for many clubs is not practical.

As for the criminal investigation, Greenwood said the case would be forwarded to county prosecutors if the evidence confirms the allegations.

The five-page report contained no specific details on the allegation of sexual harassment.

Source

Delta President Delays Seating New Board Members

SJDCwatch Exclusive.

In case you missed it, the voters recently elected four new board members at Delta College. Since there are a total of seven seats on the board, we have a new board. So, why is President Raul Rodriguez doing everything he can to delay seating the new board? Why should the college administration be allowed to push through business that is against the stated views of the new members?

-President Up To His Same Old Tricks-
Even as voters spoke loudly for change on the Delta board, President Rodriguez is working to thwart their will by delaying the seating of the new members until long after the first day that they can legally be seated (Friday, December 5).
In a recent e-mail, Rodriguez claims that "we plan to swear in the new trustees, hold an organizational meeting to select the new board officers, and then transact any business that might be before the new board" on December 16, 2008.
Rodriguez defends his idea on the dubious premise that this is the "normal schedule of holding board meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of the month."
Rodriguez does not seem to appreciate the historic nature of the recent election. Voters rose up, like never before, and demanded change. Four incumbents were either voted out or chose not to run on their record.
In a time of such unprecedented change, the President must honor the will of the electorate.

-Never Missing An Opportunity... to Miss An Opportunity-

There was a window of opportunity in the first week after the election to contact the new trustees, work with the old board, and synchronize calendars. There should have been at least a sketch of a plan for welcoming and installing the new members before the election. We doubt anything was done.
As things stand now, even with a measure of goodwill and competence on the part of his subordinates, we doubt Rodriguez could arrange for the new board to take office before Dec. 9. Under the law, the old board has full authority to continue to make decisions until the new board is sworn in and installed. It would show some self-restraint and respect for the voters if the old board conducted nothing more than routine business after Dec. 5.

-What To Do Now?-

Cancel the December 2, 2008 board meeting.
Seat the new board on December 5, 2008.
Hold the meeting on December 16, 2008 with the new board.
Start conducting the District's business in a transparent manner.

-SJDCwatch

Hardly a 'hit piece'

State auditors find disturbing practices at Delta College

By The Record
November 16, 2008 6:00 AM

In the words of a San Joaquin Delta College spokesman: "It's a hit piece."

More precisely, a politically motivated hit piece, according to spokesman Greg Greenwood, reacting to yet another highly critical assessment of how the college has handled the $250 million bond approved four years ago.

And our response: So?

Who cares if the audit was politically motivated (it came at the urging of state Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden)? What district taxpayers should care about is what state auditors say they found. And they found plenty, just like county grand jurors did last summer.

In pushing Measure L, Delta officials made pie-in-the-sky promises about satellite campuses and sprucing up the main campus. What did college officials do? They built athletic fields and bought electronic message boards - check them out the next time to drive by the campus on Pershing or Pacific avenues - instead of fixing leaking roofs, faulty electrical wiring, upgrading existing buildings or building new ones.

The excuse offered up earlier by Delta President Raul Rodriguez: "It was important for people to see the visual results of bond spending."

Huh? Really? They didn't even start pushing dirt around for the new athletic facilities until last year, three years after Measure L was passed. And the idea that most district voters associate improving higher education at a community college by building athletic fields is absurd on its face.

To most people, especially those who for years will be paying off the $250 million bonds, what comes to mind are things like biology labs and classrooms and updated library facilities and more classes available to the far-flung reaches of the college district.

There's not a lot to show for $250 million, not a lot of "visual results".

State Controller's Office auditors did find that in addition to spending millions on athletic fields and message boards, the college also spent $283,382 in bond on a new financial information system that included sending college staffers to 18 campuses around the nation.

Only later were those expenses shifted out of the bond account and to the college's general account.

"Not one penny has been charged to the bond," Greenwood said, adding that there has been "an enormous amount of scrutiny on this (bond) money."

Not everyone agrees, especially state auditors who called the Citizens Oversight Committee "passive, perfunctory and ineffective." At least one member of that panel argues that auditors didn't understand the committee's job, and besides its authority is limited by state law.

And the question that statement begs is: if true, why have an oversight committee?

College officials promised a point-by-point rebuttal to the audit, and last week the 10-page answer was sent to Jeffrey V. Brownfield, the chief of the division of audits in the Controller's Office.

The college's response was somewhat similar to its answer to the blistering grand jury report last summer.

Among other things, jurors said the college had essentially lost about $30 million in bond money on its Mountain House campus project in the south county by delays and plain old bad decisions.

The district's answer to jurors: yeah, we could have done better.

The district's answer to state auditors: on five specific points auditors raised, the college disagreed with four, and agreed with one (that the college could have done better retaining oversight committee members).

The college awaits the auditors' final report, to which the district rebuttal will be attached.

Before that, college officials will face Dr. Brian King, head of the recent accreditation team that visited Delta College earlier and placed the college on warning status. He will be at Delta on Monday for a follow-up and plans a public town hall meeting in the Tillie Lewis Theatre at 3 p.m.

Accreditation is imperative. Without it Delta College becomes a high school with fees. Students wanting to transfer to four year colleges will have more trouble.

This storm of reports and continued controversy goes a long way toward explaining why two long-term trustees did not seek re-election Nov. 4 year and two others were thrown out of office by voters.

A new board majority is promising a new attitude, more oversight of the taxpayers' money and more engagement with district residents.

No matter how energetic this new crop of trustees they can't get back the millions squandered and the time wasted.

They can set in motion the actions to see that things change, that it doesn't happen again.

Source

Area 1 Outcome Still Undecided...

C Jennet Stebbins and James Grunsky are in a near tie, with many mail-in ballots yet to count.

Grunsky, the SJDCTA endorsed candidate, may still have a chance to win the Area 1 seat on the board. After vote totals were posted late Tuesday evening or early Wednesday, showing Grunsky trailing Stebbins by 1,348.

But, there are still MANY ballots to be counted:

--23,000 vote-by-mail ballots
--12,500 provisional ballots
-- 5,400 damaged ballots

Over 40,000 votes uncounted in San Joaquin County alone. There must be at
least a few thousand more from Contra Costa and Calaveras counties.

The outcome is far from certain!

The SJCROV is shooting for final totals and certification before Thanksgiving.

SJDCTA Appreciates Election Success

A Message from the SJDCTA Organizing Committee and DeltaPAC

Here are the results of the Delta College trustee raises as of Wednesday morning (11/5/2008). Both incumbents were defeated and 3 of our 4 endorsed candidates were elected to the board. (One race, Area 1, has yet to be certified. Our endorsed candidate is in a virtual tie for first place.)

We hope this election is the start of improved leadership for the college and a better relationship between the board of trustees and the faculty. Our candidates ran thoughtful, energetic races, and Delta College faculty helped them to succeed.

Our PAC will not go away. We’ll debrief, take a breather, and start thinking about our strategy for 2010. If you know of possible candidates for the next election cycle, please send names and contact information to Lynn Hawley, Lisa Perez, or me.

Thanks,
Sam Hatch

DELTA COLLEGE TRUSTEE AREA NO. 1 (NOT YET CERTIFIED!)
C JENNET STEBBINS 50854 38.04%
JAMES GRUNSKY 49506 37.03%
ANTHONY E. BUGARIN 32914 24.62%
Write-in Votes 403 0.30%

DELTA COLLEGE TRUSTEE AREA NO. 2
DAVID RISHWAIN 43329 32.13%
MOTECUZOMA PATRICK S 18187 13.48%
THOMAS LABOUNTY 9350 6.93%
MARY ANN COX 56755 42.08%
GREGORY BENIGNO 6961 5.16%
Write-in Votes 289 0.21%

DELTA COLLEGE TRUSTEE AREA NO. 5
AL LENNOX 39112 30.35%
STEVE CASTELLANOS 89313 69.31%
Write-in Votes 440 0.34%

DELTA COLLEGE TRUSTEE AREA NO. 6
GREG MC CREARY 36798 28.81%
CAROLYN GAMINO 34415 26.94%
TERESA R. BROWN 56076 43.90%
Write-in Votes 451 0.35%

Tracy Press Endorsements: Board Needs a "New Dose of Blood"

Written by Press editorial board
Tuesday, 28 October 2008

San Joaquin Delta College has not used the $250 million Measure L bond wisely, and we think the board could use new administrative leadership.

Without a doubt, San Joaquin Delta College is in trouble after its gross mishandling of the $250 million Measure L bond, a scathing grand jury investigation and threatened loss of accreditation. The dysfunctional board needs new blood, and the first order of business should be to find new administrative leadership that can work with the new board to rebuild trust in the institution’s governance.

The good news is that two of the rooted incumbents aren’t running for another term, and in the other two districts having elections, the incumbents are not running unopposed — for the first time. So change is coming.

Voters throughout the community college district will choose one trustee for each of the four district seats out of a total of 13 candidates.

Eleven out of those 13 attended our candidate forum Oct. 22, and we’ve had numerous conversations with members of the Delta community about which candidates to endorse. Here’s our take:

• For Area 6, which has three candidates from Tracy, Greg McCreary — 70-year-old businessman, former New Jerusalem Elementary School District superintendent and 12-year board member — is the only incumbent we’ll back.

If elected, he’ll serve as president of the board.

McCreary has often been at odds, for good reason, with his fellow board members. He pushed for a satellite campus in Tracy, and at the very least, he wants to stick it out for one more term on the board to make sure we don’t lose the campus at Mountain House.

He’s out for our best interest on the board.

One of his challengers, Teresa Brown, is a program developer at the CSU Stanislaus-Stockton Center. She’s a smart and articulate newcomer who impresses us, and we hope she’ll still be interested after McCreary serves his last term.

• For Area 5, we endorse Steve Castellanos, an architect from Valley Springs who has been an outspoken critic of the Delta board. He would offer a unique perspective with his experience as a former state architect whose responsibilities included reviewing community college construction projects.

• Mary Ann Cox is our choice for Area 2, the district with the most competition in this race. Cox is a retired Delta dean who brings an insider’s understanding of the school and its problems. She’s a passionate supporter of education who said she believes it’s not too late for Delta to put a campus in Tracy.

• In Area 1, James Grunsky is an energetic trucking company owner and boxing promoter who is our choice to unseat 16-year incumbent Anthony Bugarin. Grunsky, 26, is a former Delta student who would bring thoughtful, fresh energy to a board that needs it badly.

Source

One Teacher's Take on the Candidate's Forum....

Random thoughts on last night's [Oct 23, 2008] forum for the candidates for San Joaquin Delta Board of Trustees...first, PIPELINE, its members, and the faculty (Jeanne-Marie Velickovic and Peggy Scully) who organized the club are to be congratulated on their stellar efforts. It is important to personalize the Nov. 4 election, and the many students in the audience last night received a lesson that could not have been taught in the classroom.

I was impressed that 10 of the 13 candidates were present and acquitted themselves in a professional manner. I would have been doubly impressed if all of our current Board of Trustees were present. The forum was well-moderated by Record editor Kevin Parrish, and the questions developed by the panel covered the bond, student services, fiduciary responsibility and administrative oversight. There were also questions taken from audience members, who were given index cards with their program and even a second or third card if needed. (There were no questions about improving "education" or "teaching." On numerous occasions the faculty was cited as exemplary.)

I felt like I'd won the lottery when my question was the first from the audience put to the candidates. I wrote (and I am paraphrasing): For years, there has been fearful discussion on campus that the administration was "after" the money raised at the flea market by the Associated Student Body Government. What would you do, if elected, to prevent that from happening?

Now, for anyone who feels this fear is unjustified, look no further than the conservative George Will, who on today's Record opinion page begins his column with: "Washington is having a Willie Sutton moment. Such moments occur when government, finding its revenue insufficient for its agenda, glimpses some money it does not control and would like to."

Trustee McCreary answered the question by referring to the current, contested expenditure approval process. Delta clubs and the administration have started down the slippery slope of who gets to determine how clubs spend their monies. "Approval" implies control simply because it can be withheld. And more questions have arisen than have been answered.

For the most part, candidates addressed the questions put to them. There were, however, several instances, where candidates only addressed a portion of the question or deflected the question with an answer of their own. In addition, I wish all the candidates had taken a cue from the presidential debates and written the questions down as they were being put. This would have saved time repeating the questions, and we could have asked more questions and leaned more about the candidates.

While some may equate outspokenness to viability, there is room for error in this approach. Jennet Stebbins was frequently flustered by the buzzer that indicated the 60 second time limit, and audience members may have discounted some of her answers due to performance rather than content. This morning, in English 1D: Critical Thinking, PIPELINE treasurer Antoni Tomas, who was also on the panel last night, recapped the event for his classmates, citing this question (and I paraphrase): Should there be a health care center on campus?

Trustee Bugarin wandered into health care insurance. Businessman James Grunsky said do the numbers, check the feasibility. Stebbens said partner with local health care agencies. Tomas liked her response. He said (and I quote): "She nailed it."

Two candidates stood out in their area of expertise. It was obvious from Mary Ann Cox's response on Middle College High School that her insider knowledge and institutional "memory" would be an asset on the board. From their facial expressions, most of the other candidates did not know about the program. In addition, Steve Castellanos made it apparent that his expertise in architecture from blueprints to ribbon cutting would really help the college through its growing pains.

This crude review of the evening is in no way an endorsement of any candidate, nor is it complete by any measure. I did not take notes and agreed to write up these remarks with the understanding that others could also contribute thoughts on the evening's content in order to be fair to all the candidates. I am making no attempt here to be "fair."

That said, Motecuzoma Sanchez's brazen alacrity is refreshing. In his final statement, he turned to his rivals for the Area 2 seat and pegged David Rishwain as the developer's choice and inferred that Mary Ann Cox represented the status quo. The man has guts. I personally like someone who will say what people are thinking, refusing to be silent out of phony politeness or, even worse, fear of reprisal.

All good things,
Paula Sheil

At a pivotal time for Delta College, Lodi News-Sentinel endorses: Castellanos, Cox, Grunsky and Brown

Updated: Friday, October 24, 2008 11:57 PM PDT

Voters face a delicious dilemma in the varied contests for Delta College trustee.

It's delicious in that each of the four districts holding elections is strongly contested. That's rare for the Delta board, where incumbents have often become rooted and unchallenged for years.

This surge of competition is a good and timely thing indeed; Delta is in sore need of new leadership. A $250 million bond measure has been grossly mishandled; the phrase most frequently used to describe the board now is "dysfunctional" — and the college leadership has been blistered by everyone from the faculty to the county Grand Jury to acceditation officials.

This is the dilemma, though: How are voters supposed to discern who among the baker's dozen of candidates should join the board at this pivotal time in the college's history?

Voters throughout the district vote on all districts. So voters in Lodi will be allowed to vote on the districts representing South Stockton and Tracy.

The candidates are a far-flung lot, from Calaveras County to Tracy to Stockton. Some have attended candidate forums, some have not. Some filed candidate's statements, others not.

Let us be frank here. Figuring out who to endorse in this sprawling campaign was a test for us.

But we did interview each candidate in person or by telephone, and also interviewed, on background, numerous faculty and staff members and other members of the Delta community.

Here is our take:

District 5, a sweeping geographic zone that extends from Rio Vista, skirts north and east of Lodi to Calaveras County and down to Linden.

Incumbent Dan Parises has decided to step down after 33 years, and two challengers have stepped forward: Al Lennox and Steve Castellanos.

We like the fact that Lennox, the CEO of an ambulance firm, knows business. He has experience balancing the budget at the Valley Mountain Regional Center for the developmentally disabled, where he has served as a board treasurer.

He's also a leader, holding national positions for the American Legion and as president of the Amador County Chamber of Commerce.

We are also impressed by Castellanos, a Valley Springs architect who has closely — and critically — followed the board's activities in recent months. Castellanos strikes us as reasoned and experienced. As a former state architect, he knows plan review and has a savvy sense of construction budgeting.

He'd be a unique asset in squeezing every last penny from Measure L.

He believes Measure L has been badly piece-mealed and that trustees should call a time-out, develop a needs assessment and master plan, and only then proceed with locking down plans.

Questions have been raised about whether Lennox in fact lives in District 5 and is even eligible to run. He says he has homes in both Amador County, outside the district, and in Calaveras County, inside the district.

We don't pretend to know the truth of the matter, but on balance, we are tilting toward Castellanos, whose interest in serving on the board seems both very genuine and, relatively speaking, long-standing.

Area 2, central Stockton.

There are two strong candidates here: Mary Ann Cox and David Rishwain.

We appreciate the others. Thomas LaBounty is an accountant with a thoughtful take on the issues. Gregory Benigno is a retailer and a real estate broker with land use experience. Motecuzoma Patrick Sanchez is a Marine veteran and a recent Delta graduate. All have a good command of the issues.

Cox and Rishwain have additional experience and valuable insight on moving Delta ahead.

Cox has promised to re-examine the Mountain House campus proposal. She hopes to undo that decision and use the savings to go forward with a Lodi campus. Rishwain is less inclined to slow progress for another examination of the Mountain House commitment, but promised to keep an open mind if the idea gets pushed by others.

The Grand Jury has criticized Delta for violating open meeting laws, and Rishwain is committed to ending. We don't doubt Cox's shares the same goal, but Rishwain's legal background will be very helpful on this.

Cox has expressed suspicion of Rishwain's membership in a prominent Stockton family and his connections to real estate developers. This isn't a city council or planning commission seat, and we don't see a conflict.

In fact, Rishwain's real estate law practice might equip him to be a leader as the college begins an aggressive building program. The Grand Jury has urged Delta to stay away from tricky public-private partnerships, but that would mean giving up the chance to leverage precious tax dollars. Rishwain's knowledge will be helpful.

Cox, a retired Delta administrator, brings a hands-on knowledge of Delta's inner workings such as finances, labor relations and college personnel practices.

Which brings us to what may be the most important job of a new Delta board — evaluating and directing the top administrators.

As with anyone who rises from inside an organization to a position of authority, there is a danger that Mary Ann Cox may play favorites. We believe and expect she is above that. Her experience in evaluating staff comes through when she says the board needs to set clear expectations for President Raul Rodriguez and hold him accountable. Rishwain has his own experience with nonprofit boards, the Stockton Redevelopment Commission and his business.

But Cox convinced us she is ready to make a big contribution to either rearranging the Delta leadership or pushing it forward.

It's a tough call, but we favor Mary Ann Cox.

District 1, South Stockton.

The candidates are Jennet Stebbins, a businesswoman; Anthony Bugarin, the 16-year incumbent; and James Grunsky, a trucking company owner.

Stebbins knows Delta quite well as both a former student and the mother of Delta graduates. She is earnest and personable, but we believe this contest boils down to either Bugarin or Grunsky.

Bugarin, a fifth-grade teacher, is serious-minded about his trustee duties. By all accounts, he has served the college well. But it is on his watch that things began to unravel. He is candid about that, saying the public has the right to be angry at the Delta board.

We do not believe Bugarin has been at the core of Delta's malaise, but we aren't convinced he is a vital part of the solution, either.

The best hope, we believe, is Grunsky, the young, energetic trucking company owner. He's a former student at Delta who has an entrepreneurial spirit; at 26, he's among the youngest licensed mixed martial arts promoters in California.

Grunsky is a political newcomer. Granted, he's a bit of an unknown quantity. Could he lack the maturity to be an ideal trustee? Perhaps.

But we believe he is smart, sincere, and will bring fresh energy to a board that badly needs it.

District 6, Tracy.

Another toughie. Incumbent Greg McCreary faces challengers Teresa Brown and Carolyn Gamino.

Gamino is running because she believes the college needs new direction. She is a hair stylist and church school custodian.

Brown is a former TV journalist who returned to college to earn both master's and doctoral degrees. She now serves as a program developer at Stanislaus State University. Brown is an articulate and polished communicator. She has a deep knowledge of Internet education and building college curriculum that's cost-effective. She is on the board of the Stockton ARC, which serves the needs of disabled people.

She isn't steeped in financial experience, but appears to be a quick learner. She'd like to untangle the Mountain House project and see if more money can be spared for projects like the proposed (but now-drastically underfunded) satellite campus in Lodi.

McCreary has served 12 years on the board. He's plain-spoken and has business experience as the owner of an insurance agency.

To his credit, McCreary opposed Mountain House and pushed for a site in Tracy proper, a site that now seems more and more appealing.

If McCreary did not face a challenger of some stature, we'd be comfortable endorsing him.

But Brown, we believe, is a strong candidate who can be a strong trustee.

So, with all due respect to the incumbents, we are suggesting that voters bring in fresh blood.

We are also suggesting that, in the future, it may be better for trustees to serve a maximum of say, eight years, instead of the protracted terms that have been typical to date.

Longevity has its merit; so does a fresh perspective.
Source

Behind closed doors

Secrecy in Delta College audit will ensure full public disclosure

By The Record
September 25, 2008 6:00 AM

State auditors will work behind the scenes as they try to determine how San Joaquin Delta College spent the $250 million bond money approved by voters four years ago.

This private work will result in what officials from the state Controller's Office say will be a very public report. In fact, some public hearings may take place during the investigation.

Two members of the citizen oversight committee object to the private protocol. They want the audit conducted in full view of the public, and on first blush, that seems reasonable.

It's not. The auditors' reasoning is simple: They want to get as much information as possible. And they want as much accuracy as possible.

Interviewing people in public could hamper those goals. When it's over, we may find out why the district has only about $66 million of the $250 million left. Why there are enormous differences between what was promised and what will happen. And who is responsible for the shortcomings.

When the tough questions are finally asked, the auditors worry that in a public setting, those being questioned would hedge their answers. There also is the worry that others to be interviewed will know what was said beforehand.

Think of it as the routine practice of a judge excluding witnesses from the courtroom until it is their turn to testify.

The Record supports public disclosure and the public's business being done in the open. Delta College trustees have repeatedly taken lightly the provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state's open meetings law. They as much as admitted they had done so in responding to a grand jury report that accused them of just such violations.

But an audit is different. And as long as the results are fully disclosed, the public's right to know is sustained.

Source

San Joaquin Delta College Faculty Vote to Support Four Board Candidates

Following its pledge to restore responsible leadership to the college board, the Delta College faculty has voted to support four candidates in the San Joaquin Delta College board of trustees election Nov. 4.

“The upcoming trustee elections are absolutely crucial to the future of the college,” said Joe Gonzales, president of the San Joaquin Delta College Teachers Association. “We believe these candidates have the skills, the talent and the commitment to rebuild the community’s trust in our community college.”

The SJDCTA Executive Council has voted to support:

• James Grunsky of Stockton, a businessman, and former Delta College student, for the Area 1 seat;
  
• Mary Ann Cox of Stockton, a retired Delta College administrator, for Area 2;
  
• Steve Castellanos of Valley Springs, former California state architect, now in private practice, for Area 5; and
  
• Teresa Brown of Tracy, an administrator for CSU, Stanislaus, for Area 6.
  

“All four candidates impressed the association with their commitment to a new brand of leadership on the board — one with its focus on civility in public discussion, responsible management of taxpayer dollars, and close attention to the educational needs of students,” Gonzales said.

A grand jury report released in June sharply criticized the board for wasting millions of dollars of bond money and expressed “no confidence in the Delta College Board of Trustees as currently constituted.”
An accreditation team also took the trustees to task, concluding that the board “has devolved into a group reduced to in-fighting and micro-management of college operations.” The college is currently on probation with the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges.

The faculty’s political action committee is working with other community groups interested in the welfare of the college to support candidates who will restore public and student confidence in Delta College.
The PAC is mobilizing resources to support the associations endorsed candidates. Activities will include working with student groups critical of the board, supporting voter registration drives to involve as many students as possible in the board election, and working closely with the Stockton Teachers Association to support teacher-recommended candidates.

Gonzales urged members of the community who care about Delta College to “please join us in our campaign to take back the college for the sake of our students.” For more information, contact Joe Gonzales at 209-298-7414 or Sam Hatch at 209-339-1211.

'We have not officially abandoned Lodi, but we have officially abandoned Highway 12'

Has Lodi been 'sold down the river?' Is there still hope for Delta College classrooms?

By Andrew Adams
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Updated: Thursday, September 11, 2008 6:26 AM PDT

San Joaquin Delta College has abandoned plans for a campus on Victor Road — but there may still be hope for classrooms in Lodi if trustees reduce the funding for the Mountain House project near Tracy.

That may not be enough, however, to satisfy the people who supported the school's original plans for a large campus east of Lodi on Victor Road.

"I don't think they lived up to their commitment, I don't think they lived up to the bond and I don't think they lived up to the voters," said Lodi City Councilman Larry Hansen. "I'm extremely disappointed about how this turned out."

At the Delta board meeting Tuesday night, trustees voted 5-0 to abandon the school's plans for a campus in Lodi off Victor Road.

After spending $4 million on the project, the school had not even purchased property and it had become apparent that earlier plans would just be too expensive. The school spent the money on consultants, lawyers, planning work and property options.

Hansen said Delta's failure to live up to its promises to Lodi can be blamed on the school's administration and its board, which suffered from lack of direction and "paralysis by analysis."

In the 2004 election campaign to pass Measure L — and in subsequent years — Hansen had been a staunch supporter of Delta's plans for Lodi.

"Delta College came to us and told us what they were looking for, and we worked hard to assist them and they encouraged with their vision," he said. "I feel like they have really sold us down the river."

---

Options in Lodi
The leaders of San Joaquin Delta College's bond team presented three options to the school's board of trustees at its meeting Tuesday. College spokesman Greg Greenwood described the options and said the board is expected to discuss them during a public workshop in early October.

The options, and their costs, include:

1. Do nothing and close out remaining contracts, $200,000.

2. Continue with Victor Road project and finish in 2013, $28.4 million. (The board rejected this option with its vote Tuesday.)

3a. Purchase 15 acres with a long-term option for buying 15 more in a "master planned community" in Lodi, $4.5 million.

3b. Buy the land for $4.5 million, build needed infrastructure for $10 million and build a campus. Total cost $26.1 million to be completed in 2012.

4. Purchase an existing building in Lodi with two additional buildings for a total of 70,000 square feet, $54.7 million to be completed in 2012.

— News-Sentinel staff

---

With the $250 million Measure L bond reduced to around $66 million, the San Joaquin Delta College board of trustees will have to make tough decisions soon about its remaining plans for Mountain House, Manteca and Lodi.

Trustee Ted Simas said it will probably comes down to either a fully funded Mountain House campus at the sacrifice of Lodi and Manteca, or scaled down versions of all the projects.

"We have not officially abandoned Lodi, but we have officially abandoned Highway 12," he said, referring to the Victor Road site.

Trustees are expected to make a decision on the future of the satellite campuses at a meeting in October.

Simas, who represents Manteca, said based on past decisions, he wouldn't be surprised if the board opts to fund Mountain House with the remainder of the bond.

"For years, the board majority's 'yes' votes for Mountain House pretty much rammed Mountain House down our throats," he said. "I would probably imagine the board majority would go with the higher cost scenario for Mountain House."

Simas also said the demand for a campus in Lodi may not exist, pointing to a significant drop in enrollment at Lodi Unified School District this year. Instead, a smaller building serving about 100 students could really be all that Lodi needs for the time being.

Lodi Trustee Maria Elena Serna did not attend Tuesday's meeting because she is recovering from spinal surgery.

Contacted by phone at her home in Lodi, Serna said the residents in Lodi deserve a campus because of their strong support for Measure L.

"We have to stay with it and find a way," she said. "I have a couple of ideas that I think may be feasible."

The trustee did not describe her ideas, saying she wanted to discuss them with college staff first.

Serna also stressed that it's important for people to remember that Delta College is a community "cornerstone," which offers an education that is even more valuable at a time of a slow economy.

It was the vision of this higher education coming to Lodi that had so excited local leaders.

Lodi City Manager Blair King said he doesn't understand how Delta's clearly defined vision for the city has fallen to the wayside.

"I thought that it was well thought out, well vetted and supported by the board and the administration. We were certainly led to believe that was the direction of the board," he said.

King said in his experience if a public entity sinks $4 million of taxpayer money into a project, it usually means the organization is going to go through with the project.

If the college is too far along on its Mountain House plans, King said he would have expected that the same reasoning would have applied to Lodi, especially after several million dollars.

King didn't have an opinion on any possible plans for Delta's future in Lodi, but Councilman Hansen said he's not expecting much.

"I don't have any confidence in them accomplishing anything at this point," he said.

Source

Delta abandons Lodi campus plans

By Alex Breitler
Record Staff Writer
September 10, 2008 6:00 AM

STOCKTON - A Lodi campus long envisioned by San Joaquin Delta College officials was scrapped Tuesday by trustees who are struggling to divvy up dwindling voter-approved bond money.

Roughly $4 million had been spent planning the proposed 120-acre campus on Victor Road just east of town. On Tuesday, trustees voted 5-0 in closed session to abandon that campus.

Trustee Dan Parises abstained, and Trustee Maria Elena Serna, who is recovering from surgery, was absent.

"I guess the students that would be using (the Lodi campus) aren't being thought of," Parises said after the vote.

There's simply not enough money left from the Measure L bond to make every project happen, officials said. About $66 million remains to pay for three proposed satellite campuses: Mountain House, Lodi and Manteca.

As originally planned, Mountain House alone would cost somewhere shy of $90 million.

"Obviously, there's way more in options than there is in funding," said Kathy Roach, a consultant helping Delta manage the $250 million Measure L bond, approved by voters in 2004.

Still in limbo are the Mountain House and Manteca campuses. College officials say it's too late to turn back on Mountain House, but the campus will have to be scaled down from the original plans.

Roach and college administrators gave trustees a range of options Tuesday night, with a final decision to be made in October.

Many Measure L projects on and off the Stockton campus are costing more than originally expected. In some cases, past consultants hired to manage the bond did not include the cost of furnishing buildings, for example, college officials have said.

Rather than build a brand-new Lodi campus from scratch, other choices include buying existing buildings or purchasing property that is already within city limits.

Lodi Mayor Bob Johnson could not be reached for comment Tuesday. In a letter earlier this summer, Lodi City Manager Blair King said he was concerned that the board's commitment to Lodi was "waning."

A $27 million spike in the cost to construct Delta's Mountain House campus would, in and of itself, be enough to build the Lodi campus, King wrote.

"Plain and simple fairness demands that the board uphold its commitment to voters and move forward with a Lodi Education Center," he wrote.

Roach has told board members that the Lodi campus was risky. Opposition from neighbors and possible litigation were among the threats, she said during a bond workshop in June.

While college officials say it's too late to pull the plug on the controversial Mountain House campus - a civil grand jury alleged in June that the board wasted millions by building there instead of Tracy - some observers disagree.

"It's not too late. We haven't gone too far," former Delta administrator Mary Ann Cox told the board Tuesday night. She is seeking a seat on the board in November.

Delta President Raul Rodriguez said the college is "so far into this now, it's going to be very hard" to pull out of Mountain House.

Source

Don't Make An Irrevocable Mistake!

The Board of Trustees of San Joaquin Delta College is rumored to be voting, in closed session this Tuesday (Sept. 9, 2008), to make an IRREVOCABLE TRUST for "OPEB" (Other Post-Employment Benefits).

No one seems to remember that it only costs the district about 10% per year of SJDC's budget to fund the retiree's benefits, and that there is no legal requirement to use an irrevocable trust (as clearly shown by the CTA seminar in fall 2007, that the Trustees and Pres. Rodriguez attended! The lack of a requirement to utilize an irrevocable trust is also documented in a report by GASB and a recent memo from the CCCCO (please see the "document" links, below)). Furthermore, retiree's benefit costs are likely to decrease over time, due to reductions in benefits negotiated in contracts between the District and Employees.

The amount to be placed in the irrevocable trust is rumored to be $5.7 million. The new finance VP, Jon Stephens, is said to be proposing the vote. These funds will come out of the reserve. Recently reserves were reported to be $9.9 million, but are likely higher now.

As stated by the Community College League, the Trust is NOT required!

According to the CCL (which is an organization of CCC administrators), the implementation process for GASB 45 includes four basic steps:
1. A community college districts hires an actuary to calculate its Annual Required Contribution.

2. OPEB expenses are recorded on the modified cash basis of accounting within the governmental funds (funds reported on the CCFS-311) and on the full accrual basis of accounting for propriety funds, fiduciary funds and in the government-wide financial statements prepared under the Business-Type Activity model.

3. The district then decides whether to contribute all, none or part of the ARC into an irrevocable trust (i.e. the Retiree Health Benefit Program trust).

4. Disclosure information is provided to the auditor according to GASB’s implementation schedule.

Over the long-term, retiree benefits will shrink. Under existing contracts, the principal benefit (Medicare supplemental premiums) will disappear as a benefit in the mid-term future. Placing such a large amount of money into an irrevocable trust would be a rash decision which will greatly limit the College's financial flexibility.

Documents:
The California Community College Chancellor's Office recent memo regarding GASB and OPEB clearly show that an irrevocable trust is not a requirement.

GASB's "Plain English" introduction to OPEB (other post-employment benefits). (GASB = Governmental Accounting Standards Board" www.gasb.org)

Delta Teachers Insist: District Bargains in Bad Faith

SJDCwatch has obtained a copy of a recent letter from the SJDC Teachers Association sent to the President and Board of Trustees.

---

To: President Rodriguez, Trustee Serna, Trustee Rivera, Trustee Bugarin, Trustee Burke, Trustee Simas, Trustee Parises, and Trusty McCreary

From: SJDCTA Organizing Committee

I’ve enclosed a flier that went out to SJDCTA members on Friday (8/29). I’m certain you’ll disagree with the opinions I’ve expressed. However, I’ve tried to make my factual claims as accurate as I can. You can check their accuracy at the Chancellor's DataMart.

You may also disagree with my tone, which I grant has some anger in it. However, I and many of my colleagues feel that the board and President Rodriguez, as a group, have bargained in bad faith; devalued teaching (one of the core activities of the college); repeatedly misrepresented the financial resources of the college; shown no interest in finding common ground with the faculty; and (at times) neglected the most basic interests of the college. Please be aware that glib pieties from President Rodriguez and Vice-President Brown only further inflame the situation.

I can’t see how the current stalemate serves the interests of our students, the faculty, top administrators, or the board of trustees. I also don’t know of anyone on campus who believes the public image of the college needs more battering. As a result, I continue to hope we can heal this rift. But the first step will have to be a commitment from you to bargain in good faith.

Sincerely,

Sam Hatch
for the Organizing Committee

---

Dear Colleagues [e.g. SJDC Faculty],
I thought you might be interested to know that in the fall of 2006, Delta College full-time instructors had the 7th highest base salary in the California Community College system. If our college had more reasonable leadership, relatively high salaries for Delta faculty would make good economic sense because we’re one of the 5 or 6 most productive faculties in the entire system over the last five years. Yet in the fall of 2007--the most recent data available in the Chancellor’s DataMart—Delta had slipped to 14th. Take a look at the charts below that document these changes.
Of course, the fall in ranking only begins to tell the story. For the last two years, many of us have been paying thousands of dollars in health-care premiums. We are all paying more for food and gasoline. And strangely, we work for a board that begrudges us a raise that would cost a couple of million while it squanders tens of millions in bond money. I hope this absurdity is not lost on you.
At the end of fiscal year 2007, according to the bond-rating firm, Fitch Rating, the district had a reserve fund of $9.8 million—10.9% of its annual budget. We built that reserve with student-teacher ratios 15 to 20% above state averages (See Chart B).
For over a year, our union leadership has been negotiating with the people who ran the college into a ditch—mismanaging both our accreditation and the bond, bargaining unfairly year after year, and deciding which state laws, parts of our contract, and even their own board policies they will follow or flout.
It’s time to start asking yourself: What am I willing to do to get a fair contract, a responsible board, and a better college—one that can actually settle down to serving the interests of students, staff, and community? Will you attend Exec Board meetings? Will you join the union listserv so you can stay informed? Will you attend board meetings and express your dissatisfaction with the dismal performance of our board? Will you picket? Will you pass out leaflets in a board member’s neighborhood? Will you work for union-endorsed board candidates?
Your colleagues—and the college—need your help.

Supporting charts

State plans to audit Delta bond spending

By The Record
August 30, 2008 6:00 AM

SACRAMENTO - The state Controller's Office announced Friday that it will conduct an audit of San Joaquin Delta College's management of $250 million in voter-approved bond money.

The audit was requested by state Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden.

In a letter to Delta administrators, Jeffrey Brownfield, chief of the Controller's Office Division of Audits, said he would examine whether bond proceeds were properly managed and spent, among other things.

Delta trustees were told in June that they must cut $62.5 million worth of projects that were to have been funded by the 2004 Measure L bond.

A satellite campus in Mountain House has been scaled back, and officials are considering significantly altering a proposed campus in Lodi, because there's not enough money left.

Among other problems, the San Joaquin County civil grand jury reported in June that Delta trustees squandered millions when they decided to build that south county campus in Mountain House rather than Tracy.

The college has blamed past consultants for underestimating the cost of a number of bond-funded construction projects.

Source

Hey brother, can you spare a satellite campus?

San Joaquin Delta College now looking for 'anything' to establish a Lodi presence
By Andrew Adams
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Updated: Saturday, August 23, 2008 7:22 AM PDT

The new San Joaquin Delta College satellite campus could be a storefront in Downtown Lodi.

It could be the new tenant in the Blue Shield building on Guild Avenue.

Or, possibly, a new building in the industrial area of east Lodi.

At this point, Delta College is willing to consider any option for a Lodi campus.

"We're just looking at anything," Delta's president and superintendent Raul Rodriguez said this week. "Highway 12 is not dead, and we're pursuing everything else."

The Highway 12 site is a group of properties off Victor Road that at one time seemed like it would be the future home of a Delta campus. Several years and several million dollars later, the college is no closer to building the campus and is looking at other options.

Rodriguez said the college has looked at the Blue Shield buildings on Guild Avenue as well as other properties throughout Lodi. He concedes that with much of the $250 million Measure L bond already spent or committed to other projects — especially Mountain House — it would be a challenge for the school to construct a new building.

Instead, Rodriguez said the school may have to move forward with something that could work in the short term and hope to expand on that in the future.

This could be a storefront campus that Delta could lease for a few years while it organizes funding and drafts a plan to build a permanent home in Lodi.

Delta has an $18,000 contract with the consulting firm Project Management Applications based in Stockton and Sacramento. That firm is working with the Lodi company Sandhill Development Company LLC to search for a site on Lodi.

Sandhill owner Wayne Craig said he had signed a confidentiality agreement and couldn't disclose any details about his search.

PMA worked on Delta's Mountain House site as well. According to the firm's Web site, the company helped plan the 460-acre project, manage other consultants and work on "cash flow and budgeting."

Rodriguez said the leaders of the school's bond team are putting together a list of potential locations in Lodi and that list may come to the college's board of trustees in early September.

"This is not a time to out of hand dismiss anything," Rodriguez said. "That is why it's taking a little longer; they're being comprehensive."

Such a campus may not be what folks in Lodi envisioned, but Rodriguez said it's the long-term vision of building a Lodi site.

Tad Platt, one of the partners of DGP Real Estate, helped broker the initial deal with Delta and the property owners at the Victor Road site.

Platt said he looked "for months and provided a number of different locations," and the Victor Road site was the best fit.

He said he couldn't think of another property in the Lodi area that could match with what Delta said it needed.

Another commercial broker, Jim Verseput, said he couldn't think of many options for Delta. He said land to the east of Lodi could be a good fit, as any property south of Lodi is close to Stockton, and properties to the west are pretty expensive.

City Councilman Bob Johnson is an ardent supporter of the Delta satellite campus as well as the Victor Road site. Johnson said if the school decided on a storefront campus, he "would not be jumping up and down about it."

The beauty of the Victor Road site, Johnson said, is that it had the space for all of Delta's plans, and it was close enough to the city limits to make annexation and extending infrastructure relatively easy. The partnership between the college and developers also would have paid for that infrastructure work.

Johnson, Platt and others trying to predict Delta's next move admit that the college is now in a situation where it may be difficult for the school to decide what it wants to do, but it's rather a decision on what it's able to do.


(Marc Lutz/News-Sentinel)

Possible campus sites
1. Blue Shield's Guild Avenue building

Often touted as a good fit for Delta, the building will be vacant once Blue Shield's new center is constructed south of Harney Lane. The 73,954-square-foot building could accommodate a satellite campus, but it would require a major refit, and parking likely would be an issue. The college could also find itself locked in a building with little options for expansion. Cost: The building is for sale for $9,244,250, or $1.25 a square foot to lease, according to a real estate listing site online.

2. Eastside industrial Lodi

The industrial area east of Highway 99 has open parcels, easy access to highways 12 and 99 and connections to the city of Lodi's infrastructure. Land averages $200,00 to $250,000 an acre, and that doesn't include the cost of building a campus. Lodi Unified School District built its Arieda Education Support Center on East Vine Street for $4.5 million in the early '90s but a comparable building in today's dollars would probably be triple that. Estimated cost: $15 to $20 million.

3. South Lodi

Large parcels here are for sale, but neighboring development is driving up property values. The area is served by Harney Lane and Highway 99, but the southern edge of Lodi is close to growing Stockton, which almost defeats the idea of a "satellite" campus for a college based in Stockton. Cost: $12 to $15 million, based on land values estimated to be $200,000 to $400,000 an acre.

4. Downtown

It could be a boon for Lodi's commercial and cultural hub, but a college campus would be a tight fit. There is a 9,000-square-foot building for sale at 9 N. Sacramento St. that is close to the parking garage and the coming World of Wonder science museum. Delta officials have expressed an interest in a small, Lodi "presence" that could eventually become a campus. Cost: $1 million and up.

5. North of Lodi

Early in Delta's search, the old Victor Meat plant came up as a possible site. The cost of cleaning up the property as well as extending infrastructure across the river seems to have knocked that site off the list early on in the process. Mokelumne Christian School also has plans to use the old plant to expand its high school. Farther north, the cost of building a campus on Delta's property in Galt and connecting it with roads, sewer and power could prove prohibitive, yet, the school does own 140 acres there. Cost: $10 to $15 million.

(Costs are an approximation based on current land values and estimated construction costs.)

Source.

Delta drafts grand jury reply

By Joelle Milholm
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Updated: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 6:12 AM PDT

STOCKTON — The San Joaquin Delta College board of trustees agreed Monday to six of a grand jury's recommendations that included following an ethics code, ensuring the board complies with the Brown Act and working more closely with the school's bond oversight committee.

Trustees voted to accept the recommendations at a special meeting Monday. The meeting was part of the trustees' efforts to reply to a scathing report from the San Joaquin County Grand Jury, which accused the board of mismanaging its $250 million Measure L bond.

The six-member board (with Maria Elena Serna, who represents Lodi, being absent) approved six of the grand jury's nine recommendations, including agreeing to closely evaluate staff and consultants' recommendations, follow an ethics code, make a new Measure L team, make sure the board is in compliance with the Brown Act and work more closely with the Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee.

Since the grand jury's report, which questions the decisions about how the school is spending its $250 million Measure L bond, was released last spring, little progress had been made about what to do with the allegations.

During Monday's meeting, the trustees sifted through the remaining 10 of the grand jury's 14 findings, coming to conclusions on whether or not they were accurate before voting on all nine of the grand jury's recommendations. The trustees did not agree on the report's recommendations to not enter into a partnerships with developers to build a campus in Lodi or Galt, or to come up with new estimates for development based on the current student numbers, or that the oversight committee has to meet once a month to pre-approve all expense charges to Measure L. Delta President Dr. Raul Rodriguez had prepared responses to each, and the purpose of the meeting was to make sure those responses reflected the feelings of the board. The board needs to submit its response to the jury by Sept. 18.

"We have to meet the deadline, and we are taking this very seriously," said Manteca-Escalon Trustee Ted Simas. "That's why most of us are willing to take the time rather than just airbrush through this thing … I think overall it would have been simple to say yes we agree with this and it would have saved us a lot of hours, but I think the majority of the board knows that is just not the way to go."

The trustees debated some of the findings, splitting 3-3 on the first two topics of the meeting. They were deadlocked as to whether or not the partnership between Delta college and developer Gerry Kamilos delayed construction at the Mountain House campus, raising costs and deterring public support, and whether or not the board has to completely revise the Mountain House plan.

When the board revisited the items, one or more board members changed their position, and the board disagreed with the grand jury on both issues. There were hardly any arguments.

"Overall, I was satisfied with the responses. Compared to last time, I thought the board was overly sensitive and on the defensive side, and I think we faced reality a little bit better this time," Simas said after the meeting. "I was satisfied that we stood up to the fact that the grand jury is 99.9 percent correct. That's why I was willing to compromise somewhat on some of the responses."

The loudest critical voice came from Motecuzoma Sanchez, who is running for a spot on the board in the upcoming election. He thanked the board members who are retiring or not running after this year and asked for the firing of Dr. Rodriguez. When items were deadlocked on 3-3 votes, Sanchez adamantly told the Trustees to "get it together" and "make a decision."

Trustee Dan Parises stood his ground, stating that the grand jury's report was erroneous on several of its findings, including whether the trustees heeded the warnings and recommendations from the consultants hired by the board.

"I think we are in trouble because we listen to them," he said during discussions.

The board members and Rodriguez agreed for the most part that the report was too general, and in some cases the items were specified and then agreed upon. The board also agreed that it lacked oversight and felt rushed on several of the decisions it made in the past on the Measure L spending, which have lead to the problems.

Dr. Raul Rodriguez will present the board with Monday's additions and revisions to the trustee's response to the report in another board meeting scheduled for today at 4 p.m.

San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees response to Grand Jury
Recommendations

1. Delta College Trustees and administrators avoid making the same mistake by gathering into a public-private partnership to develop a campus in Lodi or Galt.

Response: Will not be implemented because it is based on an erroneous assumption.

2. The Board of Trustees thoroughly evaluate all staff and consultants' recommendations prior to making bond decisions and commitments.

Response: Has been implemented.

3. The Board of Trustees use the most current student usage numbers to determine curriculum needs for students, i.e., brick and mortar vs. Internet usage.

Response: Will not be implemented because all of the projects are past the stage of gathering demographic information. However, it will be implemented in the future.

4. The Board of Trustees refocus on the needs of the students and not personal agendas and work together as a cohesive unit.

Response: Has been implemented and trustees have attended workshops to improve function of the board and have adopted a code of ethics.

5. Delta College Trustees and administrators support and work with their new, recently formed committee, Measure L Team, to oversee various bond programs.

Response: Has been implemented.

6. The Delta College Board of Trustees to comply with the Brown Act. Further training on the Brown Act to be given to ensure understanding and compliance.

Response: Will be implemented.

7. The Bond Oversight Committee meet once per month in an effort to pre-approve all expenses charged to Measure L funds.

Response: Will not be implemented because it is not legal or proper to have the (oversight committee) pre-approve expenses and it is a volunteer committee without time to meet once a month.

8. The Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee question all changes in projects selected for funding, project plans, or delays in construction. This is a precautionary measure to ensure that Measure L funds are not being wasted.

Response: Will be implemented.

9. The Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee to ensure that all aspects of the Brown Act are adhered to in order to give the public a clear picture of the committees' workings. The grand jury believes that the Brown Act ensures a transparent democracy. The violation of the Brown Act cannot be tolerated.

Response: Always has been and will continue to be implemented in the future.

Source

Delta College trustees agree bond money wasted

ASSOCIATED PRESS

10:39 a.m. August 26, 2008

STOCKTON – The embattled trustees of San Joaquin Delta College say a grand jury is correct in its assessment that the board wasted millions of dollars of bond money.

In June, the San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury had criticized the college's board for deciding to build a southern campus in Mountain House instead of Tracy. It said the decision cost taxpayers as much as $50 million.

The board voted unanimously Monday to accept the grand jury's findings.

Also this summer, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges gave trustees two years to develop a new code of ethics or risk losing accreditation. The commission said the board needs to stabilize management, be sensitive to the diverse student body and stop micromanaging the school's president.

Source.

Machado asks for Delta board audit

By The Record
August 16, 2008 6:00 AM

State Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden, has asked the office of California state Controller John Chiang to conduct an audit of the San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees in the wake of reports that the board has mismanaged voter-approved bond money.

Machado said in a statement this week that he wants a "thorough review of exactly how Measure L funds have been spent."

Measure L is the $250 million bond passed in 2004.

A San Joaquin County civil grand jury in June said the board has squandered millions, particularly in its decision to pursue a south-county campus in Mountain House rather than Tracy.

The campus has yet to be built.
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San Joaquin Delta College District needs new people, fresh perspective

By The Record
August 13, 2008 6:00 AM

In one of the healthiest election signs recently, a dozen candidates have surfaced for the four seats up for election in the San Joaquin Delta College District.

In recent years, unfortunately, there has been a decided lack of interest in college-board service. That means some incumbents, who are not inconvenienced by term limits, have served for decades. While there is an argument to be made for the accumulated institutional knowledge they bring to the task, a more convincing argument cries out for new blood, new thinking.

Recent news revelations about cost overruns and project delays surrounding a $250 million bond approved by voters four years ago no doubt stirred some candidate interest. A nasty report by the county grand jury was another wake up call. Among other things, jurors charged the board with being dysfunctional and that the decision to build a south county campus in Mountain House rather than Tracy unnecessarily cost district voters about $30 million. Then there was the threat to the district accreditation. While the loss of accreditation is unlikely, the very threat is an embarrassment.

Enough is enough, the crowded field seems to indicate. There are two candidates running against Area 1 incumbent Anthony Bugarin - James Grunsky and Jennet Stebbins. There are five candidates for the Area 2 seat of Leo Burke, who did not seek re-election - Mary Ann Cox, Motecuzoma Patrick Sanchez, Thomas LaBounty, Gregory Benigno and David Rishwain. In Area 5, Steve Castellanos is the lone candidate to replace Dan Parises. And Area 6 incumbent Greg McCreary who hasn't faced an opponent since being elected 12 years ago now has two - Carolyn Gamino and Teresa R. Brown.

The challengers face an uphill battle against incumbent trustees, controversies, bad press, vicious grand jury reports and accreditation problems notwithstanding.

That's because in addition to no term limits which keeps office holders in place, so does the way they are elected. They run from districts - Area 6, for example, is the Tracy area - but they are elected at large. All voters in the sprawling district vote in all area elections. That means a candidate must somehow develop name recognition beyond the area that person will represent. That's a tough, expensive proposition and goes a long way toward explaining how some incumbents have camped in office for more than 30 years.

The district should rethink how trustees are selected and how long they stay once elected.

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A dozen candidates vie for Delta board

By Alex Breitler
Record Staff Writer
August 09, 2008 6:00 AM

STOCKTON - It'll be an unusually crowded ballot for the San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees come November.

A dozen candidates filed to run for the board by Friday's deadline, some of them citing widely publicized reports of board dysfunction and alleged mismanagement of a $250 million voter-approved bond.

New blood on the board is already guaranteed for the first time in more than a decade after longtime Trustee Dan Parises announced he would not seek another term.

Also, board Chairman Leo Burke, first elected in 1975, did not file for re-election. He was out of town Friday and could not be reached for comment.

Five people are seeking Burke's seat.

"Delta has not been getting what it deserves," said one of them, Stockton native and business and real estate attorney David Rishwain.

Here's how the competition breaks down:

» AREA 1 (Stockton): Incumbent Anthony Bugarin, a schoolteacher, is challenged by businessman James Grunsky and businesswoman Jennet Stebbins. Stebbins in June campaigned unsuccessfully for the state Senate.

» AREA 2 (Stockton): Burke's seat is sought by five challengers: retired Delta administrator Mary Ann Cox; former full-time Delta student Motecuzoma Sanchez; accountant Thomas LaBounty; broker Gregory Benigno; and Rishwain, the attorney. Sanchez in June campaigned unsuccessfully for Stockton mayor.

"It seems like there's going to be several new faces on the board, and I think that's encouraging," said LaBounty, 49. "It seems like any change on the board will be positive."

» AREA 5 (Galt, Rio Vista and Calaveras County): Architect Steve Castellanos is the lone candidate to replace Parises.

» AREA 6 (Tracy): Trustee Greg McCreary, who has not had an opponent since he was elected in 1996, now faces two: Carolyn Gamino, a Tracy school employee; and Teresa R. Brown, a university program developer.

Delta Trustees Maria Elena Serna, Janet Rivera and Ted Simas are not up for re-election this year.

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