The Record Has the Facts Right.

Dear Editor:
The accuracy of one your editorials has recently been challenged. In "Design for Waste"(5/26), you chide the leadership of Delta College for wasting money and delaying the Mountain House project. I believe your editorial had the facts straight. Delta has paid twice to have the new campus designed.

Alex Breitling's article in The Record, "Design will set Delta back $4 million" (5/21), cites public documents indicating that $4.2 million had already been spent for designs for the projected Mountain House campus. $2.5 million of that money was paid to Darden Architects for its work on the designs. In the article, President Rodriguez is quoted as saying the Darden designs "were a mess." Trustee Ted Simas is also quoted about the new designs: "To me, this is strictly redoing what we've already done. What we're doing is paying double."

If there was no previous design work for Mountain House, was President Rodriguez misquoted about the Darden plans he called “a mess”? Was Trustee Simas misquoted, or is he as misinformed as the editors of The Record?

If you plan on attending the daylong workshop on Measure L and want to separate facts from talking points, I would suggest you do some homework. You might try looking at the posts on SJDC Watch (sjdcwatch.blogspot.com) or searching the archives of local newspapers for articles on the Delta bond. Both The Record and the Lodi News-Sentinel have done some thoughtful coverage.

Sincerely,
Sam Hatch
Instructor
Delta College