Sunday, November 23, 2008

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

Sunday, November 16, 2008

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

Saturday, November 8, 2008

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%