Monday, December 22, 2008

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.

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