Just one day after news reports that trustees of San Joaquin Delta College may need sensitivity training, the board was lambasted by the San Joaquin County grand jury.
The grand jurors said the board:
» "Made decisions which have caused serious problems and wasted millions of dollars of Measure L funds." ( Measure L was the $250 million school bond measure approved by voters four years ago.)
» "Did not heed nor follow their staff recommendations or the recommendations of consultants hired by this board."
» "Although the original estimate for the building of a center/campus at Mountain House was $55 million, as of January 2008, the estimate has climbed to approximately $94 million and could go much higher costing district taxpayers tens of millions of dollars."
» "Brown Act (the state's open meetings law) violations have occurred at meetings of the Citizen's Bond Oversight Committee."
"The grand jury has no confidence in the Delta College board of trustees as they are currently constituted."
And, in the greatest understatement in the report, jurors say the district needs "capable trustees."
In summary: The board is wasting millions of dollars, is not following advice, is letting construction costs balloon, is doing things in secret and is incompetent.
Other than that, the trustees are having a pretty good run.
Delta President Raul Rodriguez was dismissive: "I think it's more of an opinion."
Of course, there is that little matter of a college accreditation team also suggesting Delta trustees are dysfunctional and need to adopt a code of ethics.
So, on top of all the complaints of the grand jury, the trustees - charged with managing hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayers' money - don't get along and don't even have an ethics code.
The college is waiting for the final report from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, which visited the campus in the spring, and refuses to release the preliminary report even though it has been discussed in public.
"It's been a problem," Trustee Janet Rivera said of the lack of a code of ethics.
You might say that.
All this would be laughable if it weren't so incredibly costly and were the district's product - competent, ready to contribute students - not so important to the future of this region.
But the shenanigans of the district aren't funny. They are deadly serious.
Too many on the board, including members who've obviously served well past their time, view board services as social club duty, a private organization paid for by others to run as they please and for their own pleasure.
That must end. They must stop bickering and start working together.
That doesn't mean a retreat at a swanky resort - paid for by taxpayers - where they circle up and sing "Kumbaya."
It means that they must start providing policies and oversight to an administration today headed by a man, Rodriguez, who seems more interested in job hunting than doing the job he's paid to do.
Nobody expects trustees to always agree. It would be just as dangerous - perhaps more so - if they did.
But it is not too much to ask that they be competent, do their homework and hold the administration accountable.
And that they do all of this in public view as demanded by state law.
The trustees were not elected to be best buddy to the college president, but to supervise him.
They were elected - hired really, because they enjoy certain and considerable remuneration - to protect the taxpayers.
It's time they did that, or it's time for them to resign.
Given what we've seen in recent months and years, the latter seems the better choice for some.
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