Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Someone stop the bleeding... please

Man, the bad news just doesn't end for San Joaquin Delta College.

First it was a Civil Grand Jury report that slammed the board of trustees for wasting money, not listening to consultants, possibly violating California public meeting laws and basically being a completely disfunctional entity.

Then the state auditor weighed in and said the trustees squandered both public trust and public money.

The school's accreditation — a state approval to operate — was even put in question because of poor management.

Then the teachers' union endorsed not a single incumbent in the first truly contested trustee election in years.

Now, it turns out that one of the trustees not voted off the board (she wasn't up for election) wasn't following the rules when it came to reimbursement. She pleaded no contest to charges of corruption and resigned Monday.

Also looks like student leadership followed the lead of the trustees and spent student money frivolously. Although the report that lambasts the students and their adviser doesn't name the adviser, leading me to suspect there's more at work here than just a watchdog action, it seems a continuation of a disconcerting pattern nonetheless.

Luckily, new trustees will be sworn in tonight. Godspeed, ladies and gentlemen. Good luck fixing this train wreck.

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