Editorial's inaccuracy harms Delta College status

February 28, 2009 6:00 AM
The Record editorial of Feb. 20 titled "Time to get serious; Probation a prospect not to be taken lightly by Delta College" left me with several concerns.

The most important of these is your contention that San Joaquin Delta College has ignored or put off action on more than half the suggestions of the accrediting commission. This has no basis in fact. Significant efforts began immediately to address all 11 recommendations mentioned by the commission in its initial report in July, and these efforts continue today. The latest report from the commission contains only six recommendations and has allowed us to adjust our focus and to accelerate our responses to the remaining issues.

Make no mistake: Accreditation weighs heavily on everyone's mind at Delta College. While being placed on probation is indeed a serious matter, it nonetheless serves no positive purpose to suggest that anyone at Delta College is taking this issue lightly.

Further, I find it dispiriting that The Record correctly printed in an article by Alex Breitler on Feb. 18 that the college Board of Trustees took definitive action to resolve a key accreditation issue: namely, to establish and adopt a code of ethics governing their actions. Then, two days later, The Record inexplicably wrote in an editorial that the Board of Trustees had failed to adopt a code of ethics.

While such inaccuracies may appear insignificant to your editorial board and perhaps even to those who read your paper, you may find it interesting to note that a contributing factor to the accrediting commission's decision to place the college on probation had to do with its continuing examination of local media coverage as it pertains to the Delta College Board of Trustees.

The November election resulted in the replacement of four of seven seats on the San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees. Since that time, another seat has been vacated and filled. The five new board members are working diligently with the two remaining members on a wide variety of inherited challenges as well as current issues raised by the financial crisis facing California and the rest of the country.

At Delta College, we recognize and support the media's responsibility to shine the light of public scrutiny on the operations of public agencies. When we err, we stand ready to accept any deserved criticism for our actions. However, given the seriousness of the college's accreditation situation, it is more important now than ever before that The Record's coverage of these issues be both accurate and fair.

Raúl Rodríguez
Superintendent/president, San Joaquin Delta College

» NOTE: We erred in our editorial. The news story of Feb. 18, "Delta College placed on probation by peer group," does indeed say the new Board of Trustees has adopted a code of ethics.