Grand jury slams Delta trustees

Written by Jennifer Wadsworth

Wednesday, 18 June 2008

The San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury released a condemning report today on the Delta College Board of Trustees. The San Joaquin Delta College Board of Trustees squandered millions of dollars in taxpayer money and breached open government laws by sharing closed-session information to developers outside regular meetings, according to a San Joaquin County Civil Grand Jury report issued today. Auditors deemed the board “ill-prepared” to manage the $250 million in voter-approved debt from the Measure L school bond, which voters passed in 2004 to pay for new and remodeled buildings for the local community college. Trustees and the citizen bond oversight committee were particularly criticized for the money and time wasted on the public-private partnership to build a Delta College campus in Mountain House. “Private agendas and public bickering have delayed progress,” the report reads. “Therefore, costs have risen by tens of millions of dollars due to inflation.” Original plans estimated that a satellite campus near Tracy would cost $50 million. This year, that number has jumped to $94 million and will probably increase, noted county investigators. Auditors recommended against entering into a public-private partnership to build a satellite campus in Lodi, based on what it found to be a dismal outcome of the school’s contract with Mountain House developer Gerry Kamilos.

Complete Article here...