PART 1
...being a set of newspaper clips covering the tenure of disastrously unpopular Saddleback Community College District chancellor Larry Stevens—ultimately taken out by the faculty union, via reconfiguration of the board of trustees....
Much like the election of 1996.
Was this a case of Good Guys vs. Bad Guys?
Bad Guys vs. Bad Guys?
Good Guys vs. Good Guys?
BUT DID THEY CHECK HIS REFERENCES?
CHECK HIS RECORD?
(APPARENTLY NOT)
“Saddleback’ Board Selects a Chancellor,” LA Times, 7-31-82
Selected from 50 candidates nationwide, Larry P. Stevens, 47, will soon be the new chancellor “of Orange County’s fasted growing two-year college district.”
Trustee John Connolly said that the search committee “concentrated on candidates who had a strong academic background, had established good working relationships with instructors and legislators and were familiar with fund raising.” [As we'll see, Stevens lacked two of these qualifications: without doubt, he had a poor working relationship with instructors, even before his arrival; his academic background, too, turned out to be meager: unimpressive degrees (an Ed.D.) and virtually no experience as a college academic.]
Previously, Stevens had been President of Tacoma Community College (Washington).
“Saddleback, like most two-year colleges, was seriously affected last year by the Legislature’s limitation on budgetary growth. Consequently, trustees imposed a hiring freeze, eliminated new construction and for the first time in the district’s 14-year history, limited student registration.”
At a special meeting on Friday, Stevens “offered no policy statements other than to say he champions an open-door policy to help prevent problems.”
His brother, Lee, is President of Golden West Community College.
[In August, 1982, Stevens meets with Faculty for the first time at a FORUM.
There will be big changes, he says.
It does not go well. It's downhill from there.]
“Tustin Turn-Ups,” Tustin News, 10-14-82
The Tustin News’ Bill Moses interviews the new Chancellor. Says Moses, “He’s moved his family to Orange County from the Seattle area where they have resided during his tenure in education there. Larry is boat oriented, power and sail, so it’s obvious he came to the right nautical exposure in Southern Cal. He’s moving into the Saddleback College scene when the state junior college funding never was tighter and demands by staff have grown higher inversely to income available.”
THE SCHOLARLY CONSTANCE CARROLL ARRIVES
“Saddleback Campus Gets New President,” LA Times, 6-5-83
“Constance M. Carroll, 37, president of Indian Valley Colleges in Novato, Calif., has accepted the post of president of the 21,000-student Saddleback College South campus in Mission Viejo and will take over her new job July 5.”
She “holds a master’s degree in the classics from the University of Pittsburgh and is finishing her doctoral dissertation. She also was appointed by former President Jimmy Carter to the National Advisory Council on Continuing Education….”
“Stevens Cites New SCC Administrators,” Tustin News, 6-9-83
Chancellor Stevens announces the hires of Constance M. Carroll, Saddleback College President, and David P. Habura, vice chancellor of educational services and student development. Habura “was appointed executive dean – education services for Tacoma Community College … in 1981….”
—What’s this? Stevens brought Habura down with him? Why? How?
TOP-HEAVY ADMINISTRATION?
SHOULDN'T THE MONEY GO TO INSTRUCTION?
Letters to the editor, “College Teachers,” LA Times, 7-10-83
 |
| Targeted by union |
Robert W. Kopfstein, Public Information Chairman for the “Committee for Quality Education.”
“…I believe your readers will be interested to know that in concert with the new administration under Chancellor Larry Stevens, the Saddleback College Board of Trustees has proposed its solution to the education crisis [no money, poor student performance, etc.]. They plan to hire more top brass. A lot more.”
“None of the positions involve extensive contact with the most important people on the Saddleback campuses—the students.”
Kopfstein goes on to explain that the college is overwhelmed with students, and some can’t get classes. The college relies on under-paid part-timers.
Says he, “By our estimates, the taxpayers’ price tag for these administrative posts will be between $500,000 and $1 million per year. … While it is obvious that some administrators are a necessary component of any college, we must guard against too many chiefs and too few Indians.” —RK
“Board Accepts $75,000 For North Campus Outdoor Site,” Tustin News, 7-14-83
“Saddleback Community College Board of Trustees meeting Monday, accepted a $75,000 gift from the Irvine Company for construction of outdoor recreational facilities on North Campus.”
“The Irvine Company proposed the donation six months ago so they could meet the city of Irvine’s requirement for nearby facilities for residents of the Orchard Park development.”
“Under the agreement between the Irvine Company and the District, facilities, which include a basketball court and handball/racquetball courts, will be open to the public for use after school hour and on weekends.”
The News also reports that “faculty offices in the South Campus are badly needed,” and trustees approved spending over $200,000 for that purpose. Trustee Price favored the expenditure, but other trustees “were worried about the budget crisis looming in Sacramento. Chancellor Larry Stevens said, ‘Everybody is sitting around waiting for the legislature to make the breakthrough they always do.’”
BIG STATE-IMPOSED BUDGET CUT
THE ULTRA-LEAN DEUKMEJIAN ERA
“State Imposes Cuts On Saddleback Fund,” Tustin News, 8-11-83
“Trustees of Saddleback Community College, which is faced with a state imposed budget cut of $2.3 million, approved a revised budget Monday night that trimmed mainly non-instructional areas of operation.”
“Guiding principles used in the reduction were listed in a report presented to the trustees by David Habura, vice chancellor educational services and student development….”
“The plan approved by the trustees will eliminate few classes currently on the district’s list. A majority of cuts will be taken from self-insurance, construction accounts, and also postage, travel and conferences, memberships, printing, supplies and contract services.”
“Constance Carroll, the new president of South campus, told the board that $226,594 was trimmed from the construction budget which will eliminate a faculty office building project. “This is not a happy recommendation, but one we feel under the circumstances is a responsible one,” Carroll said.
“The Board of Trustees was also presented with a series of restoration plans in hope that finances of community colleges will improve in the coming months.”
“The classroom building reserve is the highest priority for restoration. This is the district’s local matching share of a $6.1 million state apportionment granted to Saddleback this year to build a 55,000-square-foot classroom building. The district is required to provide $2.3 million in the next few years for the realization of the project.”
“Chancellor Stevens told the board he felt the college would come up with the money. He called the apportionment, ‘the accomplishment of an impossible dream.’”
Leland Myers of the Orange County Community College Consortium “said that if community colleges do not receive any more funding, as many as 12 to 15 districts will have to begin layoffs or declare bankruptcy by Jan. 1.”
“The board discussed the possibility of imposing tuition, or fees, on students to generate needed funds. ‘This district is opposed to fees in any way, shape or form,’ said Chancellor Larry Stevens.”
“Arts Patron Doyle McKinney Dies at 61,” LA Times, 8-23-83
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| Doyle B. McKinney |
“Doyle G. McKinney, whose drive to bring fine arts to Orange County bolstered the image of Saddleback College, died of a heart attack early Monday at South Coast Medical Center.”
“He came to Saddleback College as the fine arts division director in 1966—one year before the campus opened—and developed a fine arts program that has been recognized and copied throughout California’s community college system.”
“In 1978, he founded the Saddleback Company Theatre and brought professional actors to the Fine Arts Theatre at the college’s Mission Viejo campus….”
“Eugene C. McKnight, president of the Saddleback Community College board of trustees, said McKinney ‘placed Saddleback into a leadership role … in serving community education and the arts.’”
“Larry Stevens, district chancellor, said McKinney ‘will be remembered and appreciated. He made a real mark on thousands of people whose lives are now richer for it.’”
“Saddleback Adopts Final ’83-’84 Budget,” Tustin News, 8-25-83
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| Targeted by union |
“Knowing, finally, what monies are available from state funds the Saddleback College Board of Trustees quickly approved $34.9 million Monday night for the 1983-84 operating budget.”
“Months of work by staff and board members on three tentative budgets … paid off. Law requires budgets be approved no later than Sept. 7 and many community colleges have notified the state they will not make the deadline.”
“This year marks the fourth consecutive year the general fund has been cut.”
“Despite cuts enrollment continues to grow….”
“Students who drop fall classes will face a $10 per drop charge as a result of adopted board policy dictated by state legislation.”
“Board members painfully approved the policy imposed by passage of a state measure mandating the charge not to exceed $20 during any given instructional term.”
“All trustees said they were becoming increasingly wary of more and more state intervention into their policies….”
“Finally the board adjourned in the memory of Dr. Doyle G. McKinney who died Saturday….”
“Saddleback’s New Classroom Building—a Political Victory,” Letter to the Editor, LA Times, 8-28-83
John C. Connolly, Saddleback Community College District [trustee]
“Saddleback College was extremely fortunate in this harrowing budget year in Sacramento to win its five-year fight for state funding [$6.1 million] to build a business/social sciences classroom building…. “
“Saddleback College was the only community college in the entire state to receive funding for new classroom construction this year….” –JC
“State Chided for Funding Failures,” Tustin News, 9-29-83
“Monday night’s meeting of the board quickly covered action items but stirred to verbal response when trustees saw a letter from a college administrator’s group offering a compromise plan for funding to the governor.” It proposed changes to “free California colleges from the current political stalemate.”
“Chancellor Larry Stevens said if the state restores the base level of funding, adding $108 million to community college coffers, Saddleback would realize about $2.27 million.”
“‘The (state) senate will not come back,’ Stevens told the trustees. “Our only hope is that (Speaker) Willie Brown will reconvene the Assembly.”
NEW BUILDING GROUNDBREAKING
“Ground Breaking Culminates Dream,” Tustin News, 10-20-83
“October 22 marks the culmination of a long-sought dream at Saddleback College South In Mission Viejo as ground is ceremonially broken to begin construction of the new $8.7 million Business and Social Science Classroom Building.”
“The groundbreaking features state, local and regional dignitaries, including members of the Saddleback Board of Trustees, Senator William Campbell and Assemblywoman Marian Bergeson….”
“ ‘This event is very significant to the history of Saddleback and we would be pleased to have the citizens of our District attend and become a part of such an important activity,’ said Chancellor Larry Stevens.”
“The 55,000-square-foot building has been ready for construction for more than five years and was the state’s highest priority each year. The passage of Proposition 13, coupled with other factors at the state level, left Saddleback without the necessary state funding to begin the project.”
“Actual construction is expected to begin later this year, with an estimated completion date of Fall, 1985….”
“Cash Short Fall Forces Reduction,” Tustin News, 11-24-83
 |
| Constance Carroll |
“Saddleback Community College board of trustees were forced into mid-year budget reduction of nearly $750,000 at its Nov. 14 meeting.”
“Chancellor Larry Stevens told the board the reductions were due ‘to the failure of the legislature and governor to enact legislation providing for restoration of community college funding to 1982-83 levels. From the alternatives proposed, I have directed staff to provide for reductions in the amount of $750,000.’”
“Bill Schreiber, executive assistant to the chancellor, said the reductions would not hurt the academic program. ‘There will be fewer handouts in class and equipment that breaks down may not be readily repaired, but otherwise no change,’ he noted.”
“This is the second cut the district has made since approving the budget….”
“The district has now clipped nearly $2 million from its $30 million budget.”
“Schreiber said the district’s chief concern is that if the legislature does not reach some agreement with the governor next year, the district may stand to loose as much as $6 million.”
FACULTY COMPLAIN: UNTIMELY TOP-HEAVY ADMINISTRATION
QUESTIONABLE SPENDING AMID THIN BUDGET
Letters to the editor, Tustin News, 11-24-83; “Minding the Store”
Reynold J. Kero
Professor of Chemistry
Saddleback College
“Dear Editor: During this time of fiscal uncertainty, I wonder who is minding the store. … For the Board of Trustees to refill the position of Chancellor in this time of fiscal uncertainty was questionable, at best, but to bring on Larry Stevens with what seems to be a book of signed checks borders on irresponsibility. First the Board approved Mr. Steven’s [sic] plan to reorganize ‘management’ through the addition of six new District Level administrative positions while combining other management positions at the division director level where support more directly affects the students.”
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| H. Walther, trustee |
“Then at the time when cuts are being made, due to lack of funding, in the number of classes being offered to students these administrative positions are being filled. The latest district administrative position unanimously approved by the Board was that of Controller. This $50,000 per year position is being filled by yet another person from Chancellor’s former college in Tacoma, Washington.”
“…Not only was the Controller hired, but the Board of Trustees saw fit to simultaneously hire him as a consultant, for a fee of $3,000, to plan one of Robert Moore’s pet projects, the development of an integrated management information system for the District.”
“Critically short funds are being spent on other questionable projects as well….” —RK
RE STEVENS' 5-DAY WORKWEEK MANDATE—NOT ILLEGAL
“PERB Dismisses Unfair Labor Practices Claim,” Tustin News, 3-15-84
“An unfair labor practices claim by the Saddleback College Faculty Association [union] against the District has been dismissed by the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).”
“In dismissing the allegation, PERB ruled that the union had failed to establish a ‘prima facie’ case—that is, clear evidence that demonstrated any contractural violation by the District.”
“The Association claimed that the District acted unilaterally in requiring class assignments five days per week for faculty members during the past three semesters to maximize room utilization at the college throughout the normal work week….”
“PERB agreed with the District that the so-called ‘side-letter’ agreement stipulated that full-time teaching loads ‘are specifically to be assigned by District managers.’”
“The dismissal action follows by about one week a PERB ruling on yet another Faculty Association unfair labor practices claim contending that the District acted unilaterally to change a policy allowing faculty members to schedule their own office hours….”
FACULTY TO TRUSTEES: FIRE STEVENS
STEVENS TO BOARD: JUST SALARY NEGOTIATION TACTIC
“Saddleback College Staff Asks Chancellor’s Firing,” LA Times, 3-27-84
 |
| S. MacMillan |
“Teachers at south Orange County’s Saddleback Community College called for the board of trustees to fire Chancellor Larry P. Stevens on Monday night. The teachers said a faculty mail ballot earlier this month was overwhelming in expressing a vote of no confidence in Stevens.”
“The district board, however, refused to allow the teachers to air their charges against Stevens during the board’s Monday night public meetings. Harriett Walther, board president, said charges against any employee are always discussed by the board in closed session.”
“Sharon MacMillan, a political science professor and president-elect of the Saddleback College Faculty Assn., announced the teachers’ censure of Stevens just before the board’s meeting began. She accused Stevens of fiscal mismanagement and creating ‘a climate of fear’ on campus.”
“Stevens, who has been chancellor since September, 1982, issued a brief statement indicating that the root of the teachers’ unhappiness is an unresolved struggle for a new contract.”
“ ‘Our mail vote had many comments written on the ballots, and only a couple mentioned the contract negotiations,’ MacMillan said, adding, ‘A major concern is the chancellor’s militaristic style and his using money for administrative expansion rather than for classrooms.’”
MacMillan explained that 94.7% of those who responded to the recent survey said “Stevens was ‘doing a poor job’ and expressed ‘no confidence’ in him.”
Just prior to the meeting, MacMillan announced the vote and made a statement during a press conference. “The faculty association’s statement accused Stevens of ‘steering the college to bankruptcy’ and ‘repression’ of dissent.”
FACULTY "NO CONFIDENCE" IN STEVENS
BOARD SUPPORTS THEIR MAN
“SCC Faculty votes Against Chancellor,” Tustin News, 3-29-84
“Saddleback Community College Chancellor Larry Stevens received a no confidence vote from the majority of professors at the campus, it was announced Monday night.”
“Stevens responded saying, ‘During difficult labor negotiations, it often happens that the district’s chief executive officer is singled out by the union as the focal point for expressions of displeasure. I understand this type of dynamic.”
The union’s “statement” read, in part, “The faculty questions whether tax money should be used for constructing lavish administrative offices at the expense of classrooms; they also question whether public money should be expended for newly created permanent jobs and consulting jobs filled by the chancellor’s friends from out of state and for the salary of a personal apologist and propagandist for the chancellor’s policies.”
“Board of trustees president Harriett Walther said, ‘Larry Stevens has been good for Saddleback.’”
“She went on to defend his actions noting that the board was aware of the redecorating (‘We want offices we can be proud of…’), had screened applicants for administrative jobs (‘Only two were hired out of state and both were exceptional candidates.’), and approved all salaries.”
“Walther said Stevens had done … [a] good job of promoting from within the ranks of Saddleback administrators. ‘He has also done an exceptional job of putting women and minorities in administrative positions,’ she added.”
Said union president-elect Sharon MacMillan, “Teachers and administrators are afraid to speak to the board because of what could happen to them….”
An agenda item exists for union officers to address the board, but MacMillan did not avail herself of that opportunity: she [said the concerns over job security and a feeling they would not be allowed to speak on any subject stopped them….”
“The association was denied, Monday night, its opportunity to speak about Stevens. MacMillan had proposed to read the statement, given earlier to the press, to [the] board. But Walther gaveled her down noting the board policy was not to allow open discussion of ‘personnel matters.’”
“Walther said after the meeting she was following board policy that protected all employees from public charges made at the board meeting. She reiterated that the association had been given the opportunity to talk with the board. ‘We even suggested they could talk to us at 7:15 p.m. just prior to the start of the regular board meeting. They refused.’”
Regarding Stevens, she said: “We evaluate him … as doing a fine job. He is doing what we have directed him to do.”
“Saddleback Going After OCC Students,” Tustin News, 3-29-84
“Approximately 3,700 students, mostly from Tustin and Irvine, are attending Orange Coast College, even though they reside in the Saddleback District.”
This information was part of a presentation by Saddleback “North’s” President Ed Hart.
“Hart said the figure represents over $3 million in lost funding from the state. Money that is going to OCC.”
“He told the board a survey of what courses those students were taking showed five possible additions to the north campus curriculum that could begin to capture back some of the students….”
“ ‘We want to be doing things students want,’ [Hart] said. The proposed programs are in curriculum areas students are taking at OCC.”
PREDICTABLE CONSERVATIVE OPINERY
“Larry Stevens Worthy of Trustees’ Support,” Tustin News EDITORIAL, 4-12-84
“…The fact the teachers’ union demands his dismissal will not cause the board of trustees to shake in their boots, we assume. It’s merely the usual battle for the teachers’ union to gain further power at the top level of what formerly was known as a high-paying salary schedule college district with a rather conservative board and administration.”
“We would say today’s board and regime are not, probably, as conservatively oriented as the charter board of trustees, circa 1967.”
“However, it would appear they will not surrender the leadership of an outstanding junior college district to these professional union-building tacticians and their teacher supporters.”
“So we offer a vote of confidence for the incumbent Chancellor, Larry Stevens. We see naught he has done to deserve this public abuse.”
THE POSSIBILITY OF A TRUSTEE RECALL ARISES
(LET'S DO WHAT THEY DID @ COAST!)
“Recall Next if SCC Board Fails to Act,” Tustin News, 4-12-84
“Saddleback College Faculty Association continued their spring of discontent and threatened a recall effort if the board of trustees didn’t dismiss chancellor Larry Stevens.”
A spokesman for the union, Rey Kero, said: “Our next step would be to go for recall to get attention. We are willing to meet and discuss the items. If these things are not done it could go the same way of the Orange Coast District.” [“Teachers in that district last year launched a recall effort and vote drive that culminated in the election of a new majority on Coast’s board of trustees. Coast Chancellor Norman Watson, whom many of the teachers opposed, announced his retirement plans the week after the new majority was elected.” LA Times, 5-4-84]
Board President Harriett Walther said: “I know these people are concerned, I don’t mean to minimize that[;] at this point I have read everything they have submitted to the board. We will meet as soon as we can find a date agreeable to the board and chancellor to discuss the issues.”
The union disputes Stevens’ claim that their complaints about him stem from contract negotiations. They charge the chancellor with “financial mismanagement” and request an “outside audit.” They’ve even got “an organization plan to save the district $1 million.”
“The plan would essentially remove the president of the [North] campus and his support staff and replace it with two assistant deans, one in charge of day Programs and the other in charge of Extended Day.”
“ ‘Once North Campus was reduced administratively in this manner,’ says the plan, ‘trimming its upper level administrative hierarchy and replacing it with administration in closer contact with students and programs, then enormous saving could be effected at the district level.’’’
“Bob Kopfstein, an [sic] faculty contract negotiator, said the actions of the association did not seem to be hurting the ongoing salary talks. ‘If we were to settle this contract with the status quo, nothing new, I believe the faculty would view the results with a polite yawn.’”
“He said the professors were far more interested in the outcome of their efforts to oust Stevens then [sic] arguing extensively over wage and other contract issues.”
A STEVENS APOLOGIST
“Saddleback College Faculty’s Actions,” LA Times, letters to the editor, 4-29-84
Jack Byerly
Lake Forest
“Recently, I have been drastically disturbed by the lack of professionalism and, more important, the lack of objectivity demonstrated by some of my fellow faculty members at Saddleback College. Some have rushed to judgment without having researched the facts related to administrative leadership by Chancellor Larry Stevens.”
“One program Dr. Stevens improved was that of affirmative action. Historically, Saddleback College has been criticized and sued for discrimination in its hiring policies. Recently, the board, with the leadership of Dr. Stevens, strengthened its affirmative action program and policies. As a result Saddleback College has welcomed to its administration three very capable females: Dr. Maria Sheehan, a Hispanic, who was elevated to vice chancellor; Constance Carroll, a black, who was recently installed as president of South Campus, and Marley Bergerud, who heads the South Campus Business Science Division.”
“For these and other improvements, the students and taxpayers of this district owe Dr. Larry Stevens a debt of gratitude….” —JB
THE RECALL IS "ON"
(FOLLOWING THE "COAST" PLAYBOOK)
“Saddleback Teachers Mount Recall Drive,” LA Times, 5-4-84
“A teachers’ organization at Saddleback College in south Orange County announced plans Thursday for a drive to recall college trustees who continue to support Chancellor Larry P. Stevens.”
“Sharon MacMillan, president of the Faculty Assn. of Saddleback College, said that more than 90% of the teachers are opposed to Stevens and want him fired. MacMillan said that the association is trying to put pressure on the seven-member board of trustees of Saddleback Community College District to either oust Stevens or face recall.”
“MacMillan acknowledged that the Saddleback teachers have met twice with leaders of the successful teacher revolt at neighboring Coast Community College District. Teachers in that district last year launched a recall effort and vote drive that culminated in the election of a new majority on Coast’s board of trustees. Coast Chancellor Norman Watson, whom many of the teachers opposed, announced his retirement plans the week after the new majority was elected.”
“The faculty association has accused Stevens of ‘fiscal mismanagement’ and the hiring of unneeded ‘cronies’ from Tacoma (Wash.) Community College, where Stevens was president before being hired by Saddleback in 1982.”
“Three of the seven members on the Saddleback board of trustees are up for election in November. MacMillan said that those three will be targeted for defeat by the teachers if they do not agree to oust Stevens….”
“Saddleback Trustees Defended by Chancellor,” LA Times, 5-8-84
“Chancellor Larry Stevens of Saddleback Community College on Monday issued a defense of the college district’s board of trustees and a rebuke to faculty union officials seeking to recall any trustee supportive of Stevens.”
“The Faculty Assn. of Saddleback College announced last week that it will file recall papers next September against ‘board members who intend to take no action for removing Chancellor Stevens.’”
The Association (union) accuses Stevens of “fiscal mismanagement” and “creating a climate of fear.”
“In a statement released Monday, Stevens said that the current board of trustees deserves praise, not condemnation and threats of recall.”
“Stevens said the board has guided the college through ‘the single most difficult and demanding period in its history.’ He said that despite state budget cuts in the last three years totaling more than $5 million for Saddleback, the incumbent board ‘has maintained traditional excellence’ and ‘not laid off a single full-time faculty member.’”
“He said ‘this board has moved decisively and effectively to keep Saddleback pointed to the future—a future that holds massive increases in enrollment and great challenges for local government agencies.’”
“In a concluding statement, Stevens said: ‘At a time when public distrust of elected officials is a popular theme, the steadfast commitment o Saddleback’s board to the public trust is refreshing.’”
STEVENS CONDEMNS RECALL EFFORT
“Stevens Says Recall Effort ‘Misguided’,” Tustin News, 5-10-84
“Recent recall threats by faculty union leaders against the Saddleback Community College District Board of Trustees are misguided, uninformed and irresponsible, Chancellor Larry Stevens charged Monday (May 7).”
“Stevens released [a] statement in response to recent claims by leaders of the Saddleback Faculty Association that they would file recall petitions next September against Trustees who fail to honor the union’s demand to remove the Chancellor.”
Among Trustee accomplishments, Stevens listed: “—Has not laid off a single full-time faculty member…. –Has consistently and publicly supported the academic pursuits of the faculty. –Has made minimal program reductions despite massive external pressures to cut services to students and the community. –Has shepherded dwindling resources so effectively as to permit continued expansion of badly needed educational facilities, including a new Classroom Building at Saddleback’s South Campus and new faculty offices and a library at the North Campus….”
“Saddleback Teachers Try Recall to Oust Chancellor,” Tustin News, 5-10-84
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| Bill Moses, Tustin News |
“[The] Saddleback College Faculty Association took another big step toward chasing Chancellor Larry Stevens off the campus by announcing a recall effort against the board of trustees.”
According to Faculty Association president Sharon MacMillan: “Specific board members will be pinpointed in September because, as of now, the faculty association knows that some board members privately want to get rid of Chancellor Larry Stevens as badly as do the faculty and campus administrators.”
“Board president Harriett Walther, however, still maintains that Chancellor Stevens has the support of the board.”
“MacMillan said the association would be asking individual members of the board to meet with their group and discuss the situation. ‘Those board members who intend to take no action for removing Chancellor Stevens will be targeted for recall,’ she said.”
“MacMillan said Walther was not high on the list of potential candidates for interview. She said, ‘Price is first.’”
“Member Bob Price was elected from trustee area 5 which is basically the Laguna Hills area. His problems with the faculty seem to steem [sic] from a party he attended over New Years Eve at MacMillan’s home.”
“MacMillan … says his comments at the party have not been consistent with comments made to the press. Neither would go into specifics.”
“Contacted by The News Price said his name on top of the list was a surprise. ‘She hasn’t called me, yet,’ Price said. ‘This is the first I had heard. I sincerely regret it, sorry it happened but I do what I think the public wants done.’”
“Price said he felt Stevens was carrying out the work. ‘He is carrying out the will of the board. There is no lack of communication between the chancellor and the board.’”
“He believes the issue still centers around salary negotiations.”
“Member Bill Watts would agree. ‘I’m not sure that it is other than negotiation rhetoric. I’m not in their shoes, I can’t see the picture they [sic] way they see it. We direct the chancellor. If this is not in line with what the teachers’ [sic] want, I’m sorry.’”
“ ‘The board has directed him to do some very difficult things. We didn’t tell him how to do it only that it be done.’”
“His name has not yet been mentioned as a possible candidate for recall by the board. Watts said he ‘will not be going if I am called’ to the faculty interview.”
According to MacMillan, “The major reason the faculty association wants the chancellor removed from his present position is his financial mismanagement of the district. …. Items of specific concern are the chancellor’s double pension, his expensive addition of district jobs filled by his friends from Tacoma, Washington, the dismantling of needed classrooms for the construction of lavish offices for his friends and other matters of misuse of tax money currently under investigation (by the association).’”
“Walther said the district had gone through considerable change over the years. The main reason is the decline in available funds that previously allowed the faculty more freedom. ‘You need money for freedom and the money is not there now. We have lost something no chancellor can bring back,’ Walther concluded.”
TUITION: COMING SOON
“Application for Summer,” Tustin News, 5-10-84
“Summer session is the last opportunity for southern Orange County residents to attend Saddleback College without paying the new state-mandated enrollment fee which begins this fall.”
“Summer session students pay only a $5 health fee at the time of enrollment. Parking fees and permits are not required during the summer.”
“Junior Colleges to Still Be Bargain Despite Tuition, Officials Say,” LA Times, 5-15-84
“Community colleges will remain California’s best education bargain despite upcoming tuition, officials of Orange County’s seven junior colleges said Monday.”
“ ‘We want to dispel this notion that because there is now tuition, community colleges will be expensive,’ said Constance Carroll, president of the Mission Viejo campus of Saddleback Community College. ‘This is still the most affordable form of education.’”
“The usual meeting of officials from all Orange County community colleges was held at Santa Ana College. Topics discussed by the college presidents and chancellors included problems stemming from a battle last year between Republican Gov. George Deukmejian and the Democratic-controlled Legislature.”
“The battle ended in February, when the Legislature reluctantly approved tuition—for the first time—for California’s 106 community colleges. Deukmejian had insisted on tuition …, saying that all students who are able should pay for part of their higher education.”
“…Starting in August, students will be charged $5 for each unit up to five units. For six or more units, the tuition is a flat $50—no matter how many courses a student takes.”
“Some optimistic officials said they think many students will see the ‘bargain’ in taking many courses for a flat $50.”
“But the officials also acknowledged that the reverse might be true: that many students may take only one three-unit course for $15. State funding is based on a complicated formula called ‘average daily attendance,’ which is geared to full-time rather than part-time one-course students.”
“Larry Stevens, chancellor of Saddleback Community College District, said that when the political fight ended, there was ‘false euphoria stemming from the mistaken belief that imposition of the fees was the panacea that would cure the ills of our colleges. In point of fact, (the tuition legislation) is little more than a Band-Aid attempting to close a very serious wound.’”
“ ‘The 2% (of tuition) that we are allowed to retain for administrative overhead is almost a cruel joke,’ Stevens said. Even in a district as large as Saddleback, he said, ‘this amounts to only $22,000. With it, the state expects us to stretch far enough to cover the costs of new clerks to handle fee collections, new computer equipment to account for the fees, new financial aid office personnel and other basic necessities required to impose a fee structure that never existed before.’”
“ ‘If the truth be known, all of us stand before you today confronting a financial future that is at best unstable, uncertain and remains unresolved.’”
“Stevens, as did most of the other speakers, urged the state to come up with increased funding for the community colleges.”
THE "OVERLOAD" RED HERRING
(THROWING RED MEAT TO A CLUELESS PUBLIC)
“ ‘Overload’ Sweetens Average Salary of SCC Instructors,” Tustin News, 5-17-84
“Acquiring extra hours through a procedure known as ‘overload,’ some instructors at Saddleback Community College have made $80,000 annually, nearly $20,000 more than the chancellor the teachers union seeks to oust for fiscal mismanagement.”
“Lately, some administrators and trustees have struck back with allegations of teacher mismanagement. High on this list is the issue of overload.”
“Under the existing contract with Saddleback teachers, the amount of [overload courses] is unlimited, Tustin trustee Bill Watts told The News. ‘It’s the reason the faculty is upset with Stevens,’ Watts said. ‘They want to assign their own work schedule as they did under the previous administrator, and we want more scheduling responsibility with the deans (of the departments).’”
“According to information provided by [vice chancellor of fiscal services and operations Albert] Grafsky, 12 instructors are making more money than Chancellor Stevens who makes about $65,000 per year. One instructor Grafsky cited is a teacher in the nursing department, making just over $79,000 per year. The second highest salary for the 1982-83 year went to a counselor, Grafsky added.”
“Sharon MacMillan, president of the faculty association, vehemently denies any connection between overload and Stevens’ removal. ‘Our request to remove Larry Stevens has nothing to do with this issue. We are concerned about double-pensions, Tacoma, Washington friends, and classroom conversion,’ she explained.”
“MacMillan said the full-time teachers average between $32,000 and $35,000 per year and rank eighth in the state. ‘But we have a very high cost of living in this area,’ she added.”
“Board of Trustees President Harriett Walther, another Tustin representative, said some teachers have recognized a problem. ‘Very few have taught with excessive overloads, but it is my understanding that their own colleagues have noted that they have acted improperly. Nevertheless, it is an established standard in many areas and this is one of them.’”
“Neither the administration nor the other trustees seem to disagree with the need for overload. They say they just want to put the same controls on it that other districts have, and, as Watts believes, bring to light the faculty association ‘other agenda’ for wanting the removal of the chancellor.”
THE CONSERVATIVE TAKE
“At Saddleback JC Post-Jarvisonian Times Demand a Post-Jarvisonian,” Tustin News editorial; reprinted from the “Daily Pilot,” 5-17-84
 |
| Stevens |
[Note: Howard Jarvis, a Republican, spearheaded Proposition 13, the property tax initiative passed in 1978 that slashed property taxes in California by 57%].
“Two philosophies are struggling for dominance in California’s public education system: Pre-Jarvisism and post-Jarvisism.”
“Pre-Jarvisites are embodied by teachers’ organizations. Their guiding principle is that funding cutbacks resulting from the Howard Jarvis-inspired Proposition 13 will not diminish the ability of teachers to negotiate fat contracts.”
“Post-Jarvisites, mostly administrative and management-types, maintain that less money coming in from the state must mean less money going out in salaries.”
“Classic pre-Jarvisites are the teachers at Saddleback College. They have locked horns with college Chancellor Larry Stevens over their contract—particularly a clause that has allowed salaries to approach an incredible $80,000.”
“…Most of these incomes were amassed during three-and-one-half and four-day work weeks. Prior to the arrival of Chancellor Stevens, Saddleback College put out the ‘Gone Fishin’ sign on Fridays.”
“Stevens earned the enmity of the staff when he instituted a five-day class schedule.” “… [T]he Saddleback contract allows ‘unlimited overloading’—in essence, a blank check.”
“An accreditation team described the overloads as ‘very heavy’ and recommended the practice ‘should be examined to determine if there is an adverse effect on the quality of education.’”
“Stevens calls the overload practices ‘unconscionable.’ The teachers … have demanded his head.”
“Pressure on the trustees is sure to mount. Organized teachers have become a political force in other communities and they could muster clout in Saddleback.”
“But these are post-Jarvisonian times and this board must stand behind the post-Jarvisite it hired to bring responsible administration to Saddleback College.”
“College Mismanaged,” a letter to the editor, Tustin News, 5-24-84
Sharon MacMillan, Ph.D.
President, Saddleback College Faculty Association
“Dear Editor:”
 |
| Robert L. Moore, trustee Targeted by union |
“Your recent editorial about Saddleback College … contained a massive amount of false and misleading statements and it appears to have been influenced by the propaganda of Larry Stevens’ tax-paid personal apologist, William Schreiber.”
“The Saddleback College faculty’s request to the Board of Trustees to remove Larry Stevens … has nothing to do with salaries or contract negotiations. It has simply to do with faculty’s belief that Larry Stevens is mismanaging the college, financially and otherwise. Your editorial failed to mention that Stevens gave himself a double pension, that he has created new administrative positions and filled them with his friends from Tacoma, Washington, and that he has dismantled 10 badly needed classrooms in order to construct lavish offices for his friends….”
“…[C]ampus administrators and faculty … [felt that] Stevens was not administering the college in a rational and responsible manner and that he should be removed from his position. The faculty felt this way long before there were any negotiations problems….”
“The editor’s reference to faculty salary and ‘overloads’ at Saddleback was grossly misleading. ‘Overloading’ is actually the process whereby the district gets full time faculty to teach extra classes at less than one half of full compensation. The salaries referenced were those of people close to retirement…. Your commentary failed to mention the numerous faculty who make less than one third of the figures you mentioned, that Saddleback, in a high cost-of-living area, actually ranks eighth among California community colleges in average salary, and that Saddleback’s average is approximately 60 percent less than the grossly exaggerated figure used in your editorial.”
“Your editorial also contained erroneous statements concerning class scheduling….”
“Larry Stevens is building up the issue of contract negotiations as a means of distracting public attention from the real issue which is his failure as an administrator and as a guardian of public money.” —SM
LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE OFFICIALS: COUNTY POWWOW
"FEES NOT SO BAD REALLY"
“Fees, Quality Concern SCC College Officials,” Tustin News, 5-24-84
 |
| Saddleback College North's President Ed Hart |
“The imposition of a first-time enrollment fee and concerns about the quality, mission and funding of California’s community colleges are major topics of interest to Orange County’s community college administrators.”
“Chief executive officers of the county’s eight colleges were present Monday, May 14, at a meeting at Santa Ana College to clarify their positions on these issues and to reiterate the importance of community colleges in California higher education.”
“Dr. Larry P. Stevens, Chancellor of the Saddleback Community College District, said that the assumption that fees are a panacea that will help the colleges out of their economic crisis is a mistaken belief. ‘AB IXX is little more than a Band-Aid attempt to close a very serious wound. The legislature had little knowledge of the magnitude of problems this law would cause.’”
[Some of this article reiterates what was reported in the above LA Times article entitled, “Junior Colleges to Still Be Bargain Despite Tuition, Officials Say,” LA Times, 5-15-84]
“He added, however, that signals are appearing in Sacramento that legislators are becoming aware of the community colleges’ financial plight. There is a discussion in the capital of fully funding Senate Bill 851, which would provide some $134 million in additional funds in 1984-85, in exchange for a state review of the colleges’ mission and purpose.”
“Yet, a large gap remains between funding and actual financial need.”
“ ‘It is imperative that the state leadership place us on an even, stable funding keel,’ Stevens said.”
“Addressing the subject of new fees, ‘There is a misunderstanding that the new fees will be added to the old fees,’ said Constance Carroll, president of Saddleback College South. In addition to eliminating the former fees for such services as health centers and classroom materials, the state mandated that the colleges must offer the same level of services and must absorb many materials costs.”
“Carrol stressed … that the new fee structure is within reason. ‘We want to dispel the notion that we have suddenly becomes expensive institutions,’ and that is [sic] some cases, students currently in programs with higher materials fees will actually pay less under the new structure.’”
“Stevens added that in Washington state, students pay about $175 per quarter and about $100 per semester in Arizona [in California, tuition is capped at $50 per semester.]”
RECALL GETS REAL
TRUSTEE WATTS DEFIES UNION
“Association Moving to Recall Watts,” Tustin News, 5-24-84
“[The] Executive Council of the Saddleback College Faculty Association has voted to recall Williams Watts, Saddleback Board of Trustees.”
“ ‘Watts stated publicly that he will not attend a faculty interview on the Steven’s [sic] performance and has openly refused to listen to the Saddleback faculty in regard to the performance of Larry Stevens, Saddleback Chancellor,’ Sharon MacMillan, Association President said.”
“ ‘Watts and others on the Board have been covering up for the chancellor; they failed to check the chancellor’s background where he received several votes of no confidence prior to his employment at Saddleback,’ MacMillan said.”
“The Faculty Association has asked ‘How Stevens can be an administrator of teachers when he does not have enough academic units in any subject area to qualify for a California Community College teacher credential?’”
“ ‘Stevens has created needless administrative positions, filled them with his friends…, dismantled needed classrooms for the construction of lavish offices for his friends, plus giving him a double pension.’”
“The Faculty Association claims that specific board members privately want to get rid of Stevens as do ‘faculty and campus administrators, but they gave him a four year contract with no probationary period. Stevens has his contract locked so that the Board would have to pay him over $200,000 for his unexpired contract. That is politically difficult for politicians so they are maintaining a public image instead of admitting that they made a mistake.’”
“Watts, in a short statement to the press said, ‘If they can get my job, good luck.’”
ONGOING BUDGET CHALLENGES
“SCC Board Faces $36 Million Budget,” Tustin News, 5-31-84
“Saddleback Community College Board of Trustees began reviewing a proposed budget totaling some $36.5 million, Tuesday night at the North Campus.”
“The figure represents a decrease of $800,000 from the 1983-84 budget.”
“The biggest salary cut came in the area of extended day resident instructor. Last year’s budget asked for $1.5 million in salary expenditures while the tentative budget reduced that amount to a mere $263,206.”
“Cost of instructional aides has also been reduced by $200,000 from the previous year.”
“Operating costs are projected to be just over $5 million. In this category the biggest cut came under consultants and lectures….”
“Capital outlay dropped from $1.7 million to $823,819 for the new year….”
“Income for the college is expected to reach $11.6 million from the state, only $17,000 less than received last school year. Local income is expected to generate over $20 million for the school district.”
“The new tuition plan will pump an anticipated $1 million into the system. Secured property tax will still be the biggest contributor, estimated at over $16 million.”
“As a result of the state last school year transferring over $6 million into the college construction fund, the special reserve fund is projected at $9.9 million.”
“Most of that money will go toward the approved construction of a new classroom facility on the south campus.”
“The trustees … purchased another 20 acre site adjacent to the north campus from The Irvine Company. Cost of the site will run $969,000.”
KSBR BROUHAHA
 |
| R. Kopfstein |
“Radio Station at Saddleback,” LA Times letters, 6-10-84
Robert Kopfstein
Reading Instructor
Saddleback College South Campus
“In your editorial ‘Losing Ground’ (June 1) you hit the nail right on the head when you observed that the Saddleback College trustees apparently felt that the college radio station KSBR ‘…served the community more than it did the campus.’”
“For the past two years Saddleback College has suffered from this sort of turning within. Instead of promoting community- and instruction-oriented priorities, the board has been busily constructing a nicely self-contained bureaucracy.”
“Saddleback College now has an elaborately structured and expensive district hierarchy added to the North and South Campus administrations that were already in existence. The catch is that all this officialdom has been added during a time of shrinking revenues.”
“The money for redecorated office space, vice chancellors and executive assistants has to come from somewhere.”
“So what gets cut? Community programs. Instruction. Maintenance. Office staff—especially at ‘lower levels’ of that hierarchy.”
“Instead of a taxpayer-supported college designed to serve the community as a whole, Saddleback is rapidly becoming a bureaucratic pork barrel, designed by the managers for the managers.”
“Involving students more extensively in the daily running of the radio station is a worthwhile goal.”
“Cutting the overall services of KSBR to the community is not, especially when the money is being diverted to the construction of a top-heavy administrative empire.”
“If the trustees of Saddleback College have lost sight of the fundamental purposes of a community college, the voters and taxpayers of the district may have to provide a gentle reminder at election time.” —RK
Constance M. Carroll
President
Saddleback College South
“Your editorial ‘Losing Ground’ devoted considerable attention to radio station KSBR at Saddleback College South. It took the position that the college’s decision to incorporate the radio station as a central part of the radio-media technology program was not in the community’s best interest and gave an entirely negative interpretation to a very positive step for the College.”
“First and foremost, Saddleback College South is an educational institution whose primary mission is the education and occupational training of students. At the present time, the more than 340 students in the instructional radio program have no access to a broadcast facility. The incorporation of KSBR into this program will assure the high quality of radio instruction.”
“The college’s mission includes a strong commitment to community service. Plans for the new operational format for the station include the utilization of the Associated Press, United Press International and other news services to ensure broadcast of both national and local news.”
“High priority will also be given to public service announcements.”
“The journalism standards of the college are rigorous. … The college intends to place an emphasis upon balance and quality in all aspects of broadcasting.”
“Saddleback College has no intention whatsoever to forfeit its broadcast license or to make any dramatic changes which would be of detriment either to the students or the community.”
“After the passage of Proposition 13 and decreased funding in recent years, community colleges all over the state have had to re-examine their mission, their priorities and their expenditures. As a result, difficult choices have been made by this institution and others.”
“The Saddleback Community College District has made a responsible choice by consolidating its radio operations and resources at its South Campus. The goals of educating students and serving the community have simply been consolidated. —CC
BOARD DEFENDS STEVENS
“Trustees Back Chancellor Despite Threats of Recall,” Tustin News, 6-28-84
“After months of reacting to Saddleback Faculty Association charges the board of trustees has apparently stepped forward to praise the chancellor the union seeks to oust.”
“Chancellor Larry Stevens has been the subject of ongoing charges of mismanagement, and individual trustees who have sided with him have been the subject of proposed September recall action.”
“Monday night, prior to the regular meeting of the board, trustees went on the offensive. They issued a statement which read in part:”
“ ‘In a recent series of public statements, Saddleback College faculty union leaders have attempted to create an impression that Chancellor Larry Stevens is responsible for ‘fiscal mismanagement’ of the college and that members of the board of trustees who support Dr. Stevens’ programs should be recalled from office.’”
“ ‘Evidence which refutes the allegations of the faculty union leadership is available to anyone who wishes to review it. During Chancellor Stevens’ 20 months of administration, a clear pattern of superior fiscal management, careful planning in the most uncertain and challenging of times, and ordering of financial priorities to put more emphasis on instruction and campus operations has emerged.’”
“ ‘We will continue the recall effort,’ faculty association president Sharon MacMillan responded. ‘It is unfortunate that certain board members continue the cover-up of mistakes. The association will continue to support the recall to return to Saddleback Community College a responsible administration and new board members.’”
“Information supplied by the board indicated all were unanimous in support of the statement. However, two board members—John Connolly and Bob Moore—were absent from the meeting.”
“Thus far trustees Robert Price, Bill Watts, and Moore have been named as recall targets.”
“The association has charged that classroom space was reduced to make way for larger administrative offices. The statement countered, ‘Critical space needs for payroll and personnel staff members have been met at minimal cost to the district through reallocation of less than 1,800 square feet of space. Classes which formerly met in this space were reassigned to other more accessible facilities on the campus…’”
“Charges that Stevens has hired former associates from the state of Washington were countered with: ‘Saddleback today has the same number of administrators as it did two years ago… All were selected following rigorous screening and interviewing processes that involved faculty, staff and administrators.’”
“The statement closed with the following admonition:”
“ ‘In view of this factual evidence, which clearly demonstrates the many positive, progressive actions of this administration and board of trustees, we believe that a recall election would be a disservice to the community and an irresponsible expenditure of the $288,000 special election cost.’”
THE LOGIC OF A STEVENS BUYOUT
“Saddleback Faculty Urges Stevens’ Contract Buyout,” Tustin News, 7-12-84
 |
| Rey Kero (more recently) |
“The Saddleback College Faculty Association offered during salary negotiations last week to give up the 4.5 to 5 percent cost of living increase it seeks if the board would fire Chancellor Larry Stevens, according to Ray [sic] Kero, Faculty Association negotiating team member.”
“Kero told The News the District’s negotiating team had estimated that it would cost an additional $720,000 to add a cost of living increase. Kero estimates that it would take $210,000 to buy out Steven’s [sic] contract based on his salary of $65,000 a year plus pension. Stevens has a five year contract with three years remaining.”
“Stevens has been the target for months of Faculty Association charges of mismanagement, and of building and administrative hierarchy to the detriment of the educational program.”
The board then backed Stevens in a statement saying, “Evidence which refutes the allegations of the faculty union leadership is available to anyonewho wishes to review it. During Chancellor Stevens’ 20 months of administration, a clear pattern of superior fiscal management, careful financial planning in the most uncertain and challenging of times and ordering of financial priorities to put more emphasis on instruction and campus operations has emerged.’”
“A recall effort of board members supporting Stevens had been ongoing before the statement and will continue, said Sharon MacMillan, president of the Faculty Association. She said that the Faculty Association had been interviewing board members individually regarding their views. The three remaining include Harriett Walther, John Connolly and Eugene McKnight. Kero said William Watt had refused the invitation.”
“Kero said that the buying out of Steven’s [sic] contract would negate the need for recall election saving the District another $288,000 in special election costs.”
The union seeks a $2500 increase in all steps. It also seeks restoring the 5% salary cut approved last year.
“ ‘The faculty voted the cut in good faith,’ said Kero, ‘because we were told there was a shortage.’ Noting that the District ended the year with a $3.5 million surplus, Kero added, ‘we feel those funds were taken away under false pretenses.’”
UNION: WHY SO MANY ADMINISTRATORS?
“Saddleback Okays Budget, Enrollment Decline 2.5%,” Tustin News, 8-30-84
 |
| Stevens, later years |
“Saddleback Community College approved, Monday night, its 1984-85 budget calling for expenditures of $37,640,791.”
“Despite claims from the faculty association that the budget reflects a top heavy administration the board voted unanimously to approve the balanced budget….”
“Saddleback’s North Campus will receive $5,677,285, down some $5,426 from the tentative budget. The South Campus will receive $20,644,827. The remainder of the monies will appear in restricted accounts, capital projects, and other operating expenses.”
“Sharon MacMillan, association president, said the district has more administrators in relationship to teachers than most other districts. The association also opposes the money set aside for consulting services. ‘We oppose the budget for those reasons,’ MacMillan said.”
“She went on to say that the association was holding back on its planned recall of board members in its continuing fight with the board and chancellor Larry Stevens.”
“ ‘We have received a letter from Chancellor Stevens saying he was going to work on the problems with the faculty,’ she explained.”
“ ‘Recently the association met and decided to hold back until Oct. 1’ she said. The association had asked all board members to appear over the summer before a committee and discuss problems the association feels the district college is facing.”
“ ‘Only two board members failed to appear,’ Macmillan noted.” [Bob Moore and Bill Watts.]
“The best news of the night seemed to be that enrollments district-wide were down only slightly….”
“Both the association and the faculty senate said enrollment could be higher if the scheduling for the current school year was improved. The groups believe the scheduling is making it difficult for students to attend classes in the morning and attend classes that meet once or twice a week.”
“They are seeking more four day schedules with Fridays left open for single classes that would meet for three hours. ‘We had more cooperation from the previous chancellor,’ MacMillan charged.”
“Stevens has been the brunt of many charges by the association. In a letter sent to returning faculty noting the divisions between faculty and administration he wrote:”
“ ‘It would be unrealistic of me to expect overnight resolution of the issues which, to a degree, have divided our college, causing frustration, uncertainty and, sometimes, even acrimony.’”
PART 2
 |
| "Decisive" |
Before we get back to a chronological presentation of news articles about the district from 1982 to 1986—i.e., the “Larry Stevens years”—I wanted to present a bit of history from immediately before that period, namely, Stevens' tenure as president of Tacoma Community College from 1975 to 1982.
Luckily, I have found a website dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of Tacoma Community College in 2015, and it focuses on TCC history. Essentially, the site presents the contents of a book:
“The Open Door: a History of Tacoma Community College"—by Dale Coleman
The entire book is reprinted on the website. It appears to be excellent. One is left with the strong impression that Mr. Coleman, the author, presents an honest and unflinching appraisal of the college and its leadership over the years.
What follows are excerpts mostly from Chapter 6: The Test of Time. It is edited to focus on the saga of Larry Stevens, a curious fellow indeed. (The numbers in brackets are footnotes, which are omitted here.)
The excerpts:
. . .
The Colonel
On June 3, 1975, in an open letter to the campus, the TCC Board of Trustees announced the appointment of “Dr. Larry P. Stevens of Scottsdale Arizona.” … The board’s letter also issued a qualified felicitation to Stevens: “We extend congratulations and best wishes to Stevens as he assumes and accepts the challenges (and headaches) of a most demanding task.”….
Larry Stevens was born and raised in Mount Vernon, Washington. After earning his undergraduate degree in biology from Oregon State University, Stevens worked as a science teacher in Oregon public schools. After earning his stripes as a teacher, Stevens went on to earn advanced degrees in education, facilitating his ambition to transition into administration. He was a former football coach and the commanding officer of a large U.S. Marine Reserve engineer unit. His resume lauded his service as “an educational consultant in eleven states in over 60 in-service programs for teachers.” His administrative expertise was in the assessment and design of effective educational programs. A deep believer in active civic engagement, Stevens supported a number of community and youth organizations throughout his career. Most importantly, perhaps, was his passion and belief in the community college system.
Stevens came to the College during a period of stark reflection. .... The world of 1975 was radically different from that of 1965. In order to move confidently into its second decade, a lucid institutional reckoning would be required. Stevens’ penchant for effective institutional assessment and strategic planning undoubtedly weighed heavily in the board’s unanimous appointment. It would be these qualities that Stevens would employ to make an immediate impact as the president of TCC.
The reorganization of TCC’s administrative structure was Steven’s [sic] first priority. His goal was to create a system that increased accountability and minimized waste. In his initial assessment of the campus administration, Stevens was troubled by what he saw as systemic inefficiencies. For example, the College’s Food Service Operation had been running at a loss since 1968, in spite of state laws requiring FSOs to break even.[1] By shoring up operating losses such a[s] this, the College would have more money to reallocate into maintenance and expansion of the campus facilities. Commenting on the physical condition of the campus, Stevens reportedly told Challenge writer Robert Long that “the College was in sad shape.”[2]
It wasn’t only administrative structures and campus facilities that Stevens was looking to shape up. Every administrator was to be assessed in terms of their contribution to the institution. In correspondence with college staffers, he announced that he would be “evaluating the efforts of all administrators, looking for those who are ‘shakers and movers’ and those who are not.”[3] It was his resolute conviction that “the administrative organization reflects the College’s Chief Executive Officer’s philosophy for achieving the objectives of the College.”[4] If [TCC's first President,] Tom Ford[,] wanted to be seen as a father figure, Larry Stevens very much wanted to be known as the CEO.
“Planning for the Future”
And like most good CEOs, Stevens had a clearly defined, unambiguous vision of the mission of his organization. Stevens’ five-fold vision of the community colleges’ mandate was as follows: 1) to adequately prepare students for transfer to four-year universities, 2) to provide contemporary job skills and vocational training, 3) to provide all students with a solid general education, 4) to provide guidance, counselling and remedial instruction commensurate with student needs, 5) to provide a healthy offering of social and cultural edification to the community, including athletics, arts and entertainment services.[5] It was this clarity of focus and self-assured sense of purpose that Stevens brought to bear in his new presidential role.
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| Soon developed a reputation as the Tacoma board's "hatchet man" |
He would channel this rigorous attention to systems into a comprehensive assessment and analysis of the College and its surrounding district. Stevens’ background as both an administrative consultant and military officer granted him a keen interest in quantitative data and actionable intelligence. In order to move forward as an institution in a deliberate and effective manner, it was vital to survey the landscape and evaluate the currently implemented strategies and tactics. This attention to data and statistical analysis would be a hallmark of the Stevens Administration.
A self-assessment of the size and scope that Stevens had in mind was unprecedented in the history of the College. In fact, the most detailed data collection effort associated with the institution was done previous to the College’s founding, as the school district built their case to bring a community college to Tacoma. It is unclear whether this new attention to quantitative analysis was largely a product of Larry Stevens’ management style or just the natural trajectory of any developing institution. It is fair to assume that it was a combination of both.
To accomplish this ambitious task, Stevens established the equally ambitious Long Range Planning Commission. This 99-member organization was divided into three sub-commissions, with representative members from each of the College’s stakeholders: students, staff, faculty and the community. Community representatives, drawn from local business, media, government, philanthropic, social and economic interests, were by far the largest contingent of the commission.[6]
The goal of the Long Range Planning Commission was a top-to-bottom investigation and assessment of the College and community. Local demographics, economic and employment data, enrollment figures, student and community services, instructional programs, college funding and campus development were all topics of considerable interest, to be meticulously analyzed and evaluated. Unprecedented in its size and scope, this study would not only lay the groundwork for the College’s short and long-term planning, it also set a new standard in terms of data collection and analysis for institutional advancement.
The findings of the Long Term Planning Commission were collected and released in a 1977 report entitled “Planning for the Future.” This 180-page document is Larry Stevens’ masterwork. It is an in-depth analysis of the College district, a comprehensive collection of institutional goals and objectives, a detailed strategic playbook and a full accounting of college finances. It was a blueprint and a roadmap and a way forward for the College, unprecedented in depth and clarity of purpose.
The commission’s most significant findings concerned the shifting demographics of the College. “In 1966 two-thirds of the College’s students were male and under the age of nineteen,” read the study’s demographics report. “95 percent of all its student body identified as Caucasian.” By 1977, the average student was older (70 percent over 21); they were approximately evenly split between men and women; and ethnic minorities accounted for 19 percent of student body.[7] That number was expected to rise, as the region experienced net in-migration from East Asian countries like South Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia.[8] Additionally, an increasing number of students entered TCC without having a clear career path in mind, and the number of transfer students dropped precipitously.
The primary thesis of the report was that the dramatically changing student population at TCC required an equally dramatic institutional response in order to continue serving the needs of the community, in furtherance of the College’s mission. This meant that everything was subject to “a prompt, critical and thorough review and evaluation.” This included “the College’s present organization, curriculum, student services and support services.”[9] Everything would be weighed in the balance.
Early in his tenure Stevens began to earn a reputation as the hatchet man for the Board of Trustees. The College was entering an era of new growth, and, in order to mature as an institution, a full accounting, both literally and figuratively, would be required. In the second Challenge editorial of the 1975-76 academic year (the first was written by Stevens), editor Steve Kruse commented on the arrival of President Stevens.
With the purse tightening attitude comes the hiring of the new president for the College (Dr. Larry Stevens). Dr. Stevens seems to be just what the doctor ordered. In just the short time that he has been with us, he has reorganized the administration structure, eliminated paraprofessionals from government [student government was using their allocated funds to staff student services paraprofessionals] and has instituted several studies and committees on areas that need a new look at their policies and procedures.
Early gripes about Stevens were largely limited to questions of style. His self-described style of administration was “personal, open, with free exchange, yet decisive after the relevant facts are known and responsible decisions are needed.”[10] In actual practice, many felt Stevens was heavy on the decisive action and light on the open, free exchange. Once a decision had been made, the time for questioning was truly over. Stevens made it clear when feedback was welcome and when it was not. His military background granted him an affinity for a leadership style that favored efficiency, authority and the chain of command, often at the expense of finesse and common workplace niceties. Complaints began to surface regarding the rapid reorganization that was taking place at TCC. An impending financial crunch only served to exacerbate tensions, which, by 1979, threatened to boil over.
No Confidence
“I believe that you have the experience and insights necessary to be the most successful Dean of Instruction in the State’s system,” Larry Stevens wrote in a memo to former interim president Robert Rhule, shortly after his arrival in 1975. “I know, too, that you command the respect of the faculty, students, and members of the community, as well as the administrative staff.” Which of these factors was Stevens’ primary motivation for promoting the former interim president is unclear, but Rhule gratefully accepted the offer to join Steven’s administrative staff.
What is also unclear is what led to the termination of Bob Rhule in January 1979. “It may be a matter of just a personality clash,” said Rhule, during an impromptu press conference in his office. “He just told me and I didn’t pursue it… I’m not happy about it.”[11] Surprised and frustrated by his unceremonious termination, Rhule, who remained popular among faculty and students alike, decided to air his grievances in the local press. President Stevens, true to his nature, refused to comment on the matter.
For faculty and classified staff, the termination of Bob Rhule was the culmination of a problem that, according to TCCFT President Jerry McCourt, “had been building for a long time.”[12] TCC faculty harbored a festering resentment of President Stevens, and they collectively decided that the current situation was no longer tolerable. In early February TCC faculty and classified staff both submitted formal votes of “no confidence” against TCC President Larry Stevens.[13] The formal charge was a “lack of leadership” and dissatisfaction with Stevens’ penchant for unilateral decision making, especially in regard to implementing new programs and changing administrative structures.
This was unprecedented in the history of the College. Even during the faculty strike of 1973, the relationship between faculty and the College president, though contentious at times, never devolved into a total breakdown of confidence.
This placed the Board of Trustees in a tricky situation. The last thing they wanted was to get involved in personnel matters, but they could not ignore the growing mutiny at the College. “We have to be careful to protect everyone,” Trustees Chair Ellen Pinto told The News Tribune “We have to weigh and be deliberate.”[14]
“The Board of Trustees supported him,” recalled Dan Small, who was working as TCC’s public information officer at the time. In spite of Stevens’ contentious relationship with staff and faculty, he was faithfully carrying out the mission of the College. In executive acumen and analytical ability, Stevens was a master. By a mountain of collected data and sheer force of will, he navigated the College through unprecedented financial difficulty (the likes of which the College wouldn’t see again until the 2007-13 budget crunch). Letting Stevens go was not an option. The only prudent course of action was to attempt to repair the relationship with faculty and staff.
“He was told that he needed to do a better job of communicating with people on campus,” Small said. “So I worked with him to set up some forums for faculty and staff, in the student center, where he would go out and meet with groups of people and answer whatever questions they threw at him.” As public information officer, Dan Small often acted as a public relations liaison between administrators and the public. At the behest of the board, Small and President Stevens organized a series of brown bag lunches, where Stevens attempted to repair the lines of communication.
Faculty and staff were largely receptive to this course of action. Internal strife aside, everyone was highly motivated to quickly correct course and get on with the business of teaching students. “One of the most important things is that the public didn’t suffer because of TCC’s problems,” Jack Hyde told local reporters.[15] Discussions were frank and forthcoming, conveying a feeling of genuine progress. Stevens agreed to adopt a more communicative approach. While he would never be beloved among faculty and staff, a serviceable détente was reached. “It seemed to help some. It kind of all settled down by the next fall,” Dan Small recalled with a laugh. “When people go away for the summer it seems to help.”
Satellites
During the 1979-80 academic year, Tacoma Community College embarked on an ambitious task. In order to better serve the “Tacoma-Pierce County areas of the Puget Sound” the College would launch a number of satellite education centers. After years of practicing community outreach in the form of service and distance learning, TCC would take their charge a step further, bringing the College itself into the various underserved neighborhoods of Tacoma-Pierce County.
. . .
The Big House. . .
We’re Moving for You. . .
Stevens’ plan to expand Tacoma Community College into the community experienced mixed success, largely due to forces outside of his control. An economic recession would halt the College’s expansion efforts, and, once again, exacerbate tensions between TCC faculty and their beleaguered president.
The Crunch
In the early 1980s a global economic recession rocked most of the developed world. Low growth, high inflation and a series of economic crises resulted in a national budget crunch that left many state-funded institutions reeling….
. . .
Notwithstanding that there is never an opportune time for budget cuts, the arrival of this crunch was particularly inconvenient. The College was in the midst of an expansion effort…. The number of students enrolled in these extension centers was not insignificant. “Before the budget cuts, 1000 students were enrolled in off campus programs,” President Larry Stevens told News Tribune reporters during his 1982 exit interview. “25 percent of those said they would not have come to the main campus to take classes.”
Staff and faculty, who were already nervous about job security in the face of looming cuts, were often less than enthusiastic about being reassigned to TCC’s satellite centers. In fact some faculty were philosophically opposed to the idea of campus extensions altogether….
President Stevens, who was still working to gain buy-in from staff and faculty after a 1979 vote of no confidence (campus expansion was among the grievances mentioned during the vote), was determined to navigate the budget crisis without resorting to lay-offs. By early 1981, however, it became apparent that some reduction in force measures would be necessary, as part of the contingency planning process. This put Stevens, who was already not winning any popularity contests among faculty and staff, in an increasingly precarious situation.
On February 19, 1981 the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the tentative operating budget for 1981-82. ... The College faced the discontinuation and reduction of several programs, as well as reductions in staff, faculty and full-time students. Programs in drama, cooperative education and services for the developmentally disabled, among others, would be cut with an “add back” option in the event that funding became available. Several academic and vocational programs would see significant budget reductions. New and under-enrolled technical programs in optometry and dietetics were discontinued indefinitely. Administrative departments and positions were combined or eliminated. A 32% reduction in security services meant a few security guards would be let go. Outside of a handful of “essential curriculum” areas (English, Mathematics, foreign language and some social sciences) and the highly successful allied health programs (the radiologic technician program was to be expanded under this budget) few areas would escape these cuts untouched.
Interestingly enough it was not the broad swath of these cuts that captured the public interest. Nor was it the fact that community colleges en masse were likely to be given short shrift by a legislature that was largely indifferent to its needs (this was a chief complaint of Stevens). Attention was instead focused on a single member of TCC’s faculty: a 65 year-old history teacher named Murray Morgan.
TCC’s Blunder
Murray Morgan was a lot of things. He was a journalist and a teacher, a stalwart social and labor advocate, a celebrated writer and historian. He was, and still is, regarded by many as one of Washington State’s finest historians....
Morgan was bringing both Tacoma and the world to TCC in his popular Northwest history class in 1981. It was his twelfth year teaching history for the College. His penchant for dramatic storytelling and encyclopedic knowledge of the historic particulars of the Puget Sound made Morgan’s classes one of the most popular of the College’s offerings in any discipline. The wait list for his courses often rivaled the allotted enrollment.
In early March 1981, Morgan was notified of the pending cuts in the College’s history program. In spite of his 12 year tenure at TCC, Morgan had the lowest seniority in the history department. Therefore, in the event of a reduction in force (aside from budget approval, no official measure had been taken by the College), his contract would not be renewed at the end of the academic year.
News of Morgan’s potential dismissal spread quickly throughout the community....
Throughout the month of March the Murray Morgan story floated about, generating a fair bit of bad publicity for the College. To the surprise of Stevens, the response was strong and overwhelmingly negative. Letters by current and former students expressing shock and disappointment were published in local newspapers throughout the Puget Sound region. On March 18, TNT editorial writer Richard Stansfield wrote the scathing opinion piece, “TCC’s Blunder: letting Murray Morgan go,” in which he lambasted Larry Stevens’ administration as short-sighted and disrespectful in their treatment of a “tremendous teacher” who “as an author, commentator and historian is without peer”[32]....
On Tuesday, March 31st, 1981 the Daughters of the American Revolution honored Murray Morgan as Washington State’s “History Teacher of the Year.” The next day, Morgan announced that he would resign his position as history faculty at Tacoma Community College.[34] “The man who has lured hundreds back to college,” read an article in The Seattle Times, “has been told his three history classes must go.”[35]
President Stevens did little to ameliorate tensions when he told The Times, “we made a list of essential and nonessential classes, and Morgan’s classes, unfortunately, fell into the latter category. We did say he could teach one history class, if he’d also teach journalism. He does have a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University you know.”[36]
Morgan respectfully declined Stevens’ offer to teach journalism.[37] In spite of his distinguished career as a journalist, there was only one subject that Morgan was interested in teaching. “It’s just that I’m pretty good at teaching history,” Morgan told The Times....
TCC Foundation
By 1982 it was becoming increasingly clear that the College would need to employ creative solutions to solve its budget crisis. State funding was dropping precipitously with cuts and layoffs ever-looming on the horizon. Having already survived a no confidence vote in 1979 and a media shellacking over the departure of Murray Morgan in 1981, TCC President Larry Stevens was desperate to avoid any additional cutbacks or layoffs.
“The time has come for the College to seek additional funding sources,” Stevens told The Challenge on March 5, 1982, “so more scholarships can be offered to deserving students, special programs can be implemented, worn-out equipment can be replaced and services to the community can be maintained at the highest level of quality.” By this time, TCC extension centers had launched throughout the district. Maintaining them all, while keeping the home front secure during a time of financial uncertainty, required a great deal of both human and financial capital.
To assist with this effort President Stevens tapped former TCC student Lilly Warnick. After attending TCC during the 1965 inaugural year, Lilly went on to earn advanced degrees in education from the University of Puget Sound....
Her new position was Assistant to the President for College Development. This was a new full-time gig, in which she would be tasked with “securing new and alternate funding sources from business, industry and community residents.”[42] She was also appointed to serve as director of the TCC Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization that had grown moribund since its inception in 1967.
The Tacoma Community College Foundation was founded in June 1967, by a small group of local business and finance executives, college administrators, philanthropists and community leaders. ... In practical terms, the TCC Foundation is a non-profit corporation that was created to be the private fundraising arm of the College.
The Foundation provided scholarships, gifts and endowments for students and college services....
Reviving the foundation was Warnick’s first priority. It was slow-going initially, but she eventually assembled a board of directors that included twenty-five of the district’s most influential business and community leaders. This injected a renewed sense of excitement and purpose into the organization. ... It wouldn’t be long before Warnick was courting the City’s deepest pockets.
Tacoma Wine Festival. . .
First Generation. . .
Chapter 7: Management by Walking Around
Mel Lindbloom
On July 30, 1982 Larry Stevens announced that he would be resigning his position as President of Tacoma Community College. After seven years of serving at the College’s chief executive, Stevens notified the Board of Trustees that he was accepting the position of Chancellor of the Saddleback Community College District, in Orange County, CA. In spite of his rocky tenure as president of the College, Stevens insisted that his decision to leave was strictly a career decision. “The past seven years have been a most rewarding and gratifying chapter in my life,” Stevens said in a press release. “Now, my wife, Pamela, and I are looking forward to this opportunity to serve an exciting and growing multi-campus college district in a different setting.”[1]....[END OF EXCERPTS]
* * *
—This bit of history, assuming it is accurate and objective, does not quite prove that Stevens' hire was ill-advised. Still, the obvious question is: who chaired the SCCD Search Committee that recommended Larry Stevens? Did they or the 2nd level committee check his references? Did they learn such worrisome factoids as that he was long an unpopular and beleaguered President, that he suffered faculty and classified votes of "no confidence," and that he was told to do a better job communicating with people? If so, why was he recommended? If not, why not?
PART 3
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| Colonel Stevens |
IT'S 1985-86: Essentially, what happens at Coast happens again at Saddleback, too. Faculty hate the Chancellor, but trustees double down on their man, and so faculty target key trustees for recall. The recall fails, but the anti-establishmentarian momentum is enough to win key victories in the subsequent election. In each case, post election, new board majorities, favorable to the faculty union, emerge. According to conservatives, we’re seeing teachers’ unions “taking over the board of trustees.” According to progressives, knuckle-draggers are being removed from positions of authority, at colleges, where surely they do not belong.
But it isn’t that simple.
And do these unions really seek to “control” their boards, their districts? At Coast, lots of payback occurs when the New Majority arrives. Is that what happens at Saddleback, too?
And what sorts of tactics are these teachers' unions willing to use to win?
In the case of the Faculty Association at Saddleback, ruthless, win-at-any-price, realpolitik tactics are used—very much like the ones later used, in 1996, when homophobic fliers pander to Repub homophobia. In 1985, it appears that FA president Sharon MacMillan and her hubby, a local anti-tax, back-to-basics Republican, are behind the nasty tactics.
And just how bad was Larry Stevens anyway? It’s clear that he should never have been hired, given his worrisome record at Tacoma Community College. That's f*ck-up #1. But he was smart and he was able to convince the board of his ideas, innovations, changes—including the bonehead move of scheduling more classes on Fridays. When the faculty balked, the board doubled down on backing Stevens. That's f*ck-up #2.
Whatever might be said of Stevens' policies, the essence of the "Stevens problem," as many suggested, was his autocratic manner, which made it impossible for faculty to respect him. A wiser board would have seen that and corrected it; they would have cut their losses, for the district’s sake, and sent the Colonel packing.
But no.
The result? Three and a half years of discord, disunity, acrimony.
Here are the gory details:
ADJUSTING TO THE NEW PENURY
“Colleges Seek Time to Absorb Aid Cuts,” LA Times, 10-2-84
“Community colleges need more than one year to absorb the loss of state aid that will result from decreased enrollment this fall, top administration of all seven Orange County community colleges said Monday.”
“State law requires that money appropriated for community colleges as of next year be based on attendance this year. Since Orange County community colleges overall have lost 7.5% in enrollments this fall, there may be substantial state financial cuts next year at all seven institutions.”
“At an unusual joint news conference, the two-year college officials noted that they inevitably face state budget cuts because of fewer students. But they said the Legislature should phase budget reductions over several years rather than hit the colleges all at once.”
“ ‘I favor a transitional period of time,’ said Larry Stevens, chancellor of Saddleback Community College District. Saddleback’s north campus at Irvine gained 12.1% in students this year, but its south campus at Mission Viejo lost 4.2%.”
“For the first time, the state this fall required tuition—also called ‘admission fees’—of $5 a unit at community colleges. The tuition law, however, is supposed to expire (or ‘sunset’) in January, 1987, unless the Legislature renews it.”
“The officials generally side-stepped a reporter’s question about whether they favored continuation of tuition beyond January, 1987….”
“Stevens reported that Gov. George Deukmejian had vetoed 10 of 15 major community college bills sent to him this year by the Legislature. One bill would have given $10 million for better community college student guidance.”
“ ‘You can draw your own conclusions,’ Stevens said of the governor’s vetoes.”
“Stevens also warned that Proposition 36 on the Nov. 6 ballot, if approved by state voters, would cause community colleges a serious loss in property-tax funding. The initiative, which Howard Jarvis claims is designed to shore up his tax-cutting Proposition 13 of 1978, would cause a statewide loss of $80 million to community colleges, including an $8-million loss to the seven community colleges in Orange County, Stevens said.”….
“PERB Issues Labor Complaint to CFA,” Tustin News, 10-4-84
“The Saddleback Community College District Faculty Association [union] this week was charged by the state Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) with failing to bargain in good faith.”
“The unfair labor practices complaint was issued by PERB on Monday (Sept. 24) on the basis of evidence submitted by the District in late July, according to Richard Hamilton, the district’s chief negotiator.”
“In addition to charging a failure to bargain in good faith, the PERB complaint says that there is ‘prima facie’ evidence that the Faculty Association also failed to participate in ongoing impasse procedures in good faith.”
“The unfair labor practices charge was filed with PERB by the District following introduction by Association negotiators of two new elements to the contract bargaining process.”
“Specifically, Hamilton said, the faculty package included a ‘buy-out’ of District Chancellor Larry Stevens’ contract by the Board and, if this was done, an agreement by the Association to drop its threatened recall campaign against several members of the Board.”
“In filing the charge, the District said these new elements were entirely out o scope of the ongoing negotiations and thus constituted an unfair labor practice by the Association, an affiliate of the California Teachers’ Association (CTA).”
“Following receipt of the PERB complaint, the Association has until Oct 15 to answer the charges….”
THE SPECIAL ELECTION/RECALL;
TRUSTEES HUDDLE TOGETHER FOR WARMTH
“Statement Opposing Recall from Trustees,” Tustin News, 10-25-84
“Four Saddleback Community College District Trustees not named as recall targets last week by the college’s faculty union have condemned the recall threat and supported their three targeted colleagues.”
“In a signed statement released Oct. 16, trustees Harriett Walther, John Connolly, Shirley Gellatly and Eugene McKnight called the recall threat ‘precipitous and divisive.’”
“ ‘The…Faculty Association (teachers’ union) has chosen to support an unwarranted recall against three dedicated and conscientious members of the Board of Trustees, Williams Watts, Robert Moore and Robert Price,’ the statement reads in part.”
“Union leadership first made recall threats last spring, suggesting that they would target those trustees who continued to support Chancellor Larry Stevens. The union announced to Trustees on Oct. 8 that they were proceeding with the effort.”
“The statement released this week says the recall process ‘guarantees the right of the public to remove from office duly elected representatives who blatantly disregard their responsibilities and public trust. No such circumstances exist in this instance.’”
“Four Trustees point out that Watts and Price ran unopposed in their last elections, ‘demonstrating strong public endorsement of their excellent services to their constituents.’ And Moore, endorsed by the faculty in his last campaign, decisively defeated his opponent and ‘has served Saddleback College thoughtfully and effectively.’”
“In the statement, the trustees say that the Association has presented ‘very limited substantiation of the issues which they claim have led to this recall effort.’”
“ ‘The Board of Trustees has responded to Association allegations with facts and hard evidence. However, the Board continues to make itself available to the faculty to hear those concerns which are legitimate and substantive,’ the statement reads.”
“A recall election requires the valid signatures of 23,000 registered voters in the District and, if held as a special election, would cost Saddleback $288,000 to conduct.”
“Trustee McKnight also observed that review and evaluation of the performance of the District’s Chancellor is the sole responsibility of the Board of Trustees, not the faculty union.”
SEPARATING TWO DISTINCT ISSUES:
"IT'S THE CHANCELLOR, STUPID"
“Saddleback Teachers Union Still Pressing for Officials’ Ouster,” LA Times, 11-3-84
 |
| S. MacMillan |
“Although a long-simmering contract dispute at Saddleback College was reported near settlement Friday, the teachers union said it still wants Chancellor Larry Stevens fired and three of the seven college trustees recalled.”
“The teachers union, the Saddleback Faculty Assn., announced Friday that a citizens group, Citizens for a Better Saddleback, this week took out state-required papers to launch a recall against college trustees William L. Watts, Robert L. Moore and Robert L. Price.”
“The recall action accuses Watts, Moore and Price of allowing Stevens to spend money needlessly to hire ‘cronies’ of Stevens and for other allegedly needless administrative expenses.”
“Watts said he, Moore and Price will file a formal response to the recall petition taken out this week. He said there ‘isn’t a lick of truth to any of the charges’ contained in the recall papers.”
“The teachers union said it also has taken a second vote of no confidence in the performance of Chancellor Stevens….”
“Meanwhile, faculty and administration were reported near agreement on a new contract, after about 19 months of negotiation….”
“…Sharon MacMillan, president of the faculty association, said in a press release that the teachers still have ‘no confidence in the chancellor’s leadership abilities’ and are still unhappy that ‘the board of trustees has ignored faculty appeals to correct educational problems in the district.’”
“MacMillan’s administrative assistant, Fran Felton-Mineo, said that Citizens for a Better Saddleback will attempt to collect enough voter signatures to call a special recall election in the south county Saddleback Community College District. She said the signature gathering will begin in about a month, once the recall effort has obtained state certification.”’
“Watts, one of the three trustees threatened with recall, said Friday that he and fellow trustees Moore and Price ‘are disappointed, but not surprised’ that the recall movement was formally launched this week….”
“He also contended that the teachers union is attempting ‘to take over the board of trustees’ and suggested that the district’s voters would not want this to occur. ‘The people don’t want a teacher-owned-and-operated community college,’ he said.”
“Antagonism of Factions,” Letter to the Editor, Tustin News, 11-29-84
Carolann Messner, Associate Dean of Student Development, Saddleback College North
“To the editor:”
“Though for some time now I have witnessed the growing antagonism among several factions of the Saddleback College District dispute, it was not until this past week that the full impact of the dissention struck me personally and profoundly. It was at that time that I was named, along with five of my colleagues, in a statement by a former member of the Board of Trustees, Larry Taylor.”
“The charge, directed at Chancellor Larry Stevens and members of the District’s Board of Trustees, is that I was appointed to an administrative position which had not been advertised, supposedly violating affirmative action guidelines. Mr. Taylor’s introductory statement asserts that his ‘information appears to be absolutely correct.’ In fact, the statement is replete with glaring falsehoods. In my own case, the position of Associate Dean of Student Development for North Campus was announced and opened to all full-time faculty and administrators in the Saddleback College District from March 21 to April 8 of 1983. Eight applicants were interviewed and my selection was approved at the June 13, 1983 meeting of the Board of Trustees.”
“Ironically, the public records indicate that then Trustee Taylor was in attendance and joined in unanimous approval of my being hired for the position in question.”
“I find it reprehensible that Mr. Taylor would make a public statement without carefully checking his so-called facts….” –CM
EX-TRUSTEE TAYLOR SIDES WITH FACULTY
“Former Trustee Joins Recall Bid at Saddleback,” LA Times, 12-4-84
“In their yearlong effort to force a recall of three trustees and oust the school’s chancellor, Saddleback Community College faculty members have received a boost with their enlistment of prominent former trustee Larry Taylor.”
“Taylor, a Laguna Beach resident who served on the Saddleback Community College District board of trustees for nine years until deciding in 1983 not to seek reelection, publicly signaled his alliance with the teachers over the weekend when he accused the board of holding an illegal meeting last year and illegally hiring or promoting several officials.”
“William Schreiber, executive assistant to Saddleback Chancellor Larry Stevens, denied Taylor’s charges Monday and claimed that Taylor was ‘involved in a very personal and inexplicable vendetta against Larry Stevens.’”
“Stevens has been under fire for more than a year by teachers at the twin-campus (Mission Viejo and Irvine) institution. Saddleback teachers, after taking a vote of no confidence in Stevens earlier this year, launched the move to seek recall of three members of the board: Robert L Price of Laguna Hills, Robert Moore of Irvine and William Watts of Santa Ana.”
“The recall movement, which calls itself Citizens for a Better Saddleback, has formally announced its intention to the county registrar of voters and is organizing a petition drive for voters’ signatures. If the petitions are successful, a recall election would be held sometime early in 1985.”
“Taylor, 70, a retired businessman who spent 12 years on the board of the Laguna Beach Unified School District before his nine years on the community college board, said Monday that he joined the teachers’ recall movement ‘because I was unhappy with what was going on at Saddleback. Stevens has a problem with communications.’”
“In his weekend press release, Taylor charged that the board of trustees, at the behest of Stevens, held an illegal meeting in June, 1983, at which several allegedly illegal hirings or promotions were made.”
“Schreiber, who is both the college’s and Stevens’ principle spokesman, said that Taylor’s charges were false. The meeting in question, Schreiber said, was given public notice in advance, as required by law, and was open to press and public.”
“Moreover, said Schreiber, all personnel matters at the meeting were in accordance with state and district law.”
“Schreiber said that Taylor’s accusation against fellow trustees are ill-advised. ‘Mr. Taylor should remember that he lives in a house of glass because he was a party to all those decisions he’s now criticizing,’ Schreiber said.”
“One of the promotions made at that meeting, Taylor said, was in elevating Schreiber from director of public information … to executive assistant to the chancellor. ‘This position should have been advertised (for candidates) districtwide and outside the district,’ Taylor said.”
“Schreiber said his new title did not constitute a new position but was only ‘a reclassification….My duties changed and expanded.’”
“Teachers at Saddleback have charged that Stevens has been insensitive to faculty needs, has needlessly hired ‘cronies’ for various administrative posts and has wasted district money on administrative offices rather than academic needs of the college.”
“Stevens, denying the charges, contends that the teacher union’s real grievance has to do with a prolonged dispute over a new labor contract.”
“Teachers at Saddleback have said they hope ultimately to gain a new majority on the board of trustees, just as their counterparts did last year at neighboring Coast Community College District. Coast district teachers, after bitterly criticizing the incumbent chancellor and board of trustees, mounted a recall effort in early 1983. The recall effort failed, but several months later, the teachers campaigned successfully on behalf of a slate of candidates who were elected to the district’s board and now make up a majority.”
MAYBE CAPS WILL HELP
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| Larry Stevens |
“Information Correct,” Letter to the Editor, Tustin News, 12-6-84
Larry Taylor, Spokesperson for Citizens for a Better Saddleback College
[A response to Messner.]
“Dear Editor,”
“My information which appears to be absolutely correct should be in the minutes of a RETREAT and, in my opinion, should be declared illegal. At no time was a position, listed here, advertised in or out of the district as required. The actions were taken on the recommendation of the Chancellor Larry Stevens and approved by the board. Responsibility rests with the Board of Trustees to see that proper procedures are followed.”
“Wm. Schreiber was named special administration assistant to Chancellor Stevens; community relations director and moved from CLASSIFIED to CERTIFICATED. IF the position requires a certificated person, does it require an administrative credential? Will he perform administrative duties on behalf of the DISTRICT? This position should have been advertised districtwise [sic] and outside the district.”
“Dr. Ron Steinke was named acting associated dean of student development at the SOUTH campus. The position was not advertised.”
“Pete Espinosa, a teacher at the South Campus was named special Assistant to the Chancellor for GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS. The position was not advertisde [sic].”
“Carolaan [sic] Messner was named Associated Dean of Student Development at the North Campus. The position was not advertised.”
“Eddie McFarland was named to assistant dean of student affairs. The position was not advertised.”
“Marie Sheehan was named Director of Employee Relations and Personnel. This position was not advertised.”
“This meeting, Board of Trustees RETREAT, was illegally charged to the ASG (Student Government). It includes use of meeting room, food and drink. My informant says it was off campus at Ben Browns on a Friday evening and Saturday during June.”
“All of the above are in violation, in my opinion, of the State of California Affirmative Action laws, likewise the Affirmative Action Policy approved by the Board of Trustees and the Fair Employee Practices Act of the State of California. All of the above received salary increases. –LT
“Complaint to Be Heard by PERB,” Tustin News, 12-20-84
“Complaints filed by the Saddleback Faculty Association have been accepted for hearing by the Public Employees Relations Board.”
“The complaint was filed against Saddleback Community College over class scheduling. ‘PERB ruled in favor of the Saddleback Community College District Faculty Association and supported the faculty’s claim that the Salleback [sic] College District unilaterally and unlawfully changed an established policy on class scheduling,’ association president Sharon Macmillan said.”
“College chancellor Larry Stevens responded, ‘That is not correct but what they hope will happen. The general counsel has been directed to issue a complaint but it is not a finding.’”
“Stevens said there will be an informal hearing with PERB attorneys to review the matter.”
“Macmillan added: ‘If the hearing supports the faculty’s contention that the district has violated the contract, an order of “Cease and Desist” may be issued and that would bring about an entirely different attitude to class scheduling, an issue that has created heated controversy among students and faculty here at Saddleback.’”
“ ‘The key question is whether or not it was justified for the administration unilaterally to change, without study, the Monday-Wednesday, Tuesday-Thursday, Friday format, which was successful at Saddleback for many years. Initially this five day format was carefully chosen to meet the specific scheduling needs for Saddleback students. Since the administract [sic] change in scheduling, enrollments at Saddleback, historically a growing district, have fallen.’”
“Stevens and other administrators at the college have disputed Macmillan’s claims. They cite the state mandated tuition as one cause of declining enrollments.”
“No date has yet been set for the hearings.”
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| Don't know who this is. Saddleback College, North Campus, circa 1978 - Source: Uploaded by user via Irvine Valley on Pinterest |
ASSESSING THE YEAR-OLD COAST DISTRICT "REVOLUTION"
REVOLUTION EXPORTED TO SADDLEBACK?
“Year of Change: On Coast Community College Board, Controversy is Giving Way to Compromise,” LA Times, 12-23-84
“It was a revolution, critics said, and they predicted that, like many revolutions, it would degenerate into excesses and abuse of power.”
“But a year after three candidates backed by the teachers union captured seats on the five-member Board of Trustees of Coast Community College District, the signs of revolution are not easily discernible. The three colleges of the district … operate largely as they did a year ago. And where there was widespread discontent among faculty members before the three new board members took office in December, 1983, there is relative calm now.”
“…1984 clearly has been a year of profound change for the district. Critics contend the change is ominous—that union wants, not educational needs, have become paramount. Critics at other college districts in Orange County say privately that they fear that the ‘takeover by the union’ at the district may spread. ‘Coast is like a little Nicaragua,’ said one administrator in a neighboring college district.”
The Times article goes on to describe such recent “major changes” as these: the district hired “former union president Phillis Basile as the chief personnel officer,” despite claims that Basile “would be biased” and in a “blatant conflict of interest.” “Several key administrators resigned—notably the chancellor and two of the three college presidents.” “The board decided … to phase out district support for KOCE-TV, Orange County’s only educational station….” The board has given itself office space in a mobile unit and provided itself with a “$110-a-month mileage allowance….”
Meanwhile, the new board has had some successes. “The district finished the school year with a $7.2-million surplus … despite its decision to rehire all teachers the previous board laid off.”
Faculty and support staff “say the district runs much more smoothly now. They say the three new trustees have restored peace to campuses that just 18 months ago were torn apart by the budget decisions of the previous board.”
“The battle lines were drawn early in 1983 when the old board decided to send layoff notices to about 100 teachers and other full-time employees. The previous board said the action was necessary because of state budget cuts.”
“Teachers—including many not scheduled to be laid off—angrily protested the move, saying it was cruel and unnecessary. They said the board was wasting money on such ‘frills’ as KOCE-TV, televised courses and leased cars for administrators while cutting back on faculty positions and on academic programs. The teachers and their supporters announced a recall movement against all five trustees.”
“The recall leaders failed to gather enough voter signatures, but the momentum of the recall campaign is widely credited in the upset victories in November, 1983, of the union-backed candidates: the Rev. Conrad Nordquist, an Episcopalian vicar in Costa Mesa; Armando Ruiz, of Huntington Beach, a counselor at El Camino College in Los Angeles County, and Nancy Pollard, a Westminster lawyer. All three were endorsed and given financial aid by Local 1911 of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents full-time teachers in the district.”
“A week after the election, Chancellor Watson … announced that he would retire….”
“The old board, in a lame-duck final action, voted to extend the contracts of several administrators, including the three college presidents. The action came amid repeated rumors—vigorously denied by the newcomers—that the incoming trustees had ‘a hit list’ of officials they wanted to fire.”
“As soon as they were sworn in on Dec 7, 1983, the trustees began seeking ways to undo the extended contracts….”
“Advised by [Larry] Agran that the contract extensions were legal, the new trustees dropped their efforts to rescind them. Meanwhile, however, two of the college presidents resigned.”
“Amid all the uproar, the new board members had to quickly come to grips with their most difficult problem: finding money to rehire the laid-off faculty members.”
“When the board voted in January to rehire all the laid-off teachers, the money to pay them did not appear to be available in the budget. The district apparently faced $232,000 in red ink from the action, it was announced at the time.”
“But the looming shortage soon changed to a surplus. In a recent interview, Acting Chancellor David Brownell explained that soon after the board rehired the teachers, the state restored $4.2 million in base funding to the district. The money had been held up while the Legislature and Gov. George Deukmejian warred over Deukmejian’s demand to impose tuition charges at community colleges.”
“Brownell said that in addition to the $4.2 million, the college district had another unexpected $3 million, the result of overestimation of the costs of some purchases….”
“The $7.2 million surplus was all the more remarkable in light of the previous board’s prediction that the district faced a $5 million deficit for the 1983-84 school year unless drastic cuts—including teacher layoffs—were made.”
“Another important early matter for the new board was its decision to hire Evans Management Services of Santa Monica, at a cost of $56,912, to study how district management and spending should be reorganized.”
“The [Evans] study was completed in March.” It suggested that the TV station was too costly and support for it should be phased out.
“One year into their term, the new trustees say their primary goals revolve around implementing major portions of the Evans report’s recommendations.”
“Although the election of the union-backed majority has caused ripples of concern in Orange County’s other three community college districts, there remains widespread disagreement in the Coast district as to how important the union’s support actually was.”
“ ‘That campaign was run by a group of people who lied to the public, saying the union wasn’t behind it,’” said Carol Gandy, one of the trustees voted out. “She and [former trustee] Resnick both contended during their reelection campaigns that some teachers in the Coast district were using their classrooms as political pulpits to urge students and their families to vote against the incumbents. Because it was an off-year low-turnout election, they argue, the intense involvement of the union was the single greatest determinant.”
“Meanwhile, officials in other districts privately say they believe that the Coast district administration is now in a position of constantly having to please its teachers union. ‘They have a tiger by the tail in that district,’ said the president of a college in another Orange County district who spoke on the condition that he not be identified.”
“One administrator in the Saddleback Community College District has said privately that he believes Coast district union representatives are trying ‘to export their revolution’ to Saddleback, where there is a struggle between the faculty and Chancellor Larry Stevens. The Saddleback teachers union has launched a recall movement against three district trustees, saying that the action is necessary to persuade the board to fire Stevens.”
“Saddleback officials say they see many similarities between what is happening on their campuses and what happened a year ago in the Coast Community College District.”
“But in a recent interview, Judith Ackley, who succeeded Basile as president of the union representing Coast District teachers, said, ‘We’ve given no formal help to the people at Saddleback and very little informal help.’”
YES, THE RECALL EFFORT IS FOR REAL
“Circulation of Petitions OKd in College Trustee Recall Effort,” LA Times, 12-27-84
“Unhappy faculty members at Saddleback College have moved a notch closer to their goal of recalling three district trustees. The Orange County registrar of voters has approved for circulation three recall petitions initiated by the teachers.”
“The registrar’s office said Wednesday that it gave approval to the three recall petitions Dec. 19.”
“If 25,251 (voter) signatures are collected by May 28, the Saddleback Community College District board of trustees would be required to hold a recall election, according to Shirley Deaton, chief deputy registrar.”
“The three being threatened with recall are Robert L. Price of Laguna Hills, Robert L. Moore of Irvine and William L. Watts of Santa Ana.”
“In formal responses that will be contained in the petitions, all three trustees said that the real issue is that the teachers’ union at Saddleback College wants to seize control of the seven-member board of trustees. Union officials have denied the charge.”
“…The recall was needed, said Sharon MacMillan, president of the faculty association, because the trustees refused to fire Saddleback Chancellor Larry Stevens.”
“Teachers at Saddleback have twice taken ‘no confidence’ votes against Stevens this year. The teachers claim Stevens has wasted money by creating ‘unnecessary administrative jobs’ and allegedly filling the posts with his ‘cronies.’ Teachers also have accused the chancellor of failing to communicate adequately with the faculty….”
“Saddleback administrators, in private conversations, have for several months said they fear that their teachers’ union is attempting the same kind of ‘takeover’ as was accomplished in Coast Community College District in 1983.”
“[Trustee] Moore, in his response to the current Saddleback College recall petition, says: ‘The real issue is control. Shall the trustees be community elected or faculty selected? … This petition is an attempt by the teachers’ union to get control of your district. How do you choose: A district for the benefit of the community or for the benefit of the teachers’ union?’”
“Watts’ response, as printed on the recall petitions, says: ‘What this recall is all about is that the leadership of the teachers’ union wishes to gain control of the board of trustees. I am opposed to this! I believe that the board should be elected by the general public and be accountable to them.’”
“Price says in his response: ‘The recall petition is part of a concerted effort by the Saddleback Faculty Assn. to take control of the college board of trustees. Their immediate goal is to bring about the removal of the district’s present chancellor. The estimated cost of a special recall election is $275,000, to be paid by you, the taxpayer … I urge you not to sign this petition.’”
MCFARLIN SPANKS TAYLOR
(WATCH THEM TYPOS, DUDE)
“Misinformed Release,” Letter to the Editor, Tustin News, 1-3-85
 |
| Anna McFarlin |
Anna L. McFarlin, Acting Dean of Students, Saddleback College North
“Dear Editor:”
“Once again, Larry Taylor’s misinformed release regarding administrative positions at Saddleback College has appeared in print. As my colleague, Ms. Messner, has pointed out, the release is chock-full of falsehoods and misrepresentations. As one example, Eddie McFarland, assistant dean of student affairs, turns out to be me, Anna L. McFalin [sic], Acting Dean of Students. As another example (all of the above received salary increases), I not only received no pay increase but, indeed, chose to take a rather large cut in salary moving from the faculty salary schedule to the administrative schedule. I am annoyed by people who consistently misrepresent through half-truths.”
“…I took my current position as a service to Saddleback North, feeling I ‘owed’ the District in return for all the good years. I don [sic] not regret that choice—or the pay cut.”
“…Divisive tactics serve no good end but to bring us all down. The losers, of course, are our students and the taxpayers. That pretty well covers us all!! –AM
ADMIT IT: YOU GUYS F****D UP THE CHANCELLOR HIRE
“JC Trustees Recall Campaign Underway,” Tustin News, 1-3-85
"Petitions to recall three members of the Saddleback Community College District board of trsutees have been officially approved for circulation by the Orange County Registrar of Voters.”
“Citizens for a Better Saddleback, formed mostly of Saddleback faculty members, is seeking the recall of trustee Bob Price, Bob Moore and Bill Watts. The committee has until May 28 to obtain 25,251 signatures of registered voters on each of the three petitions in order to force an election.”
“The campaign to recall board members began early last year after the board refused faculty union leaders’ demands to fire Saddleback Chancellor Larry Stevens.”
“The Faculty Association reported last March that Stevens had received a ‘no confidence’ vote from a majority of its members….”
“Stevens responded that the faculty charges came during difficult labor negotiations and that he was singled out by the union ‘as a focal point for expressions of displeasure.’ The board responded supporting Stevens, stating he had done an excellent job.”
“Among the charges in the recall petitions are that the three named trustees failed to investigate Stevens’ personal and professional background, spent $500,000 to create unnecessary jobs for Stevens’ friends and spent ‘hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars for out-of-state, unnecessary, crony consultants recommended by Stevens.’”
“Along with the petitions that will be circulated are responses of denial by the trustees who also charge that the faculty union is using the recall to gain control of the board of trustees….”
“Sharon MacMillan, Saddleback Faculty Association president, denied that the union was trying to control the board. ‘We are concerned with the management of the district, the expenditure of money away from the classrooms. We are deeply concerned with the attitude of the administration and the failure to have meaningful discussion with the Chancellor and individual board members. In a nutshell—lack of communication.’”
AT LONG LAST, THE BOARD OFFERS
A SUBSTANTIAL REBUTAL TO UNION CHARGES
“Trustees Respond to Recall Allegations,” Tustin News, 1-10-85
“The Saddleback Community College District Board of Trustees has responded to allegations by a teacher union-backed group seeking recall of three trustees.”
“The charges were made by ex-trustee Larry Taylor in a notice of intent to circulate recall petitions against trustees Robert Price, Robert Moore and William Watts, all of whom are longtime members of the board and former colleagues of Taylor as trustees.”
“At their last regular meeting, trustees directed the administration to prepare a response to Taylor’s ‘malfeasance and misfeasance’ claims, which mirror similar contentions made by the college teacher union during prolonged labor negotiations over the past two years.”
Taylor cited six reasons “all of which have been refuted [?] by the administration and board. The board responded as follows:” [Quoting:]
“The charge that certain public documents have been withheld is without substance. The documents in question were privileged correspondence regarding pending issues between the Chancellor (Dr. Larry Stevens) and the Board of Trustees. Such correspondence is privileged under California Government Code.”
“Charges alleging that the Chancellor traveled out of state on personal business with a ‘companion’ under ‘the pretense’ of researching a consulting contract are totally false. The board is informed in advance of all travel by the Chancellor on College business. Since his arrival at Saddleback in 1982, the Chancellor has traveled out of state on college business only four times, three of which were with other college staff and the fourth to the annual convention of the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges.”
“The allegation that ‘hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars’ have been spent on ‘out of state, crony consultants’ recommended by the chancellor on a ‘quid pro quo’ basis is totally false. Since Dr. Stevens’ arrival, the board has entered into a total of 43 contracts with independent contractors for a veriety [sic] of services in keeping with the laws of the State of California. Of these, only three were with vendors maintaining out-of-state or multiple business addresses, totaling $54,000.”
“Allegations of illegal and unethical hiring, particularly with respect to the employment and assignment of William Schreiber, Executive Assistant to the Chancellor/Director of Community Relations and College Development are totally untrue. Mr. Schreiber was hired in 1977 from a large field of candidates into a management position as Public Information Director. As his duties and responsibilities expanded over the years, his position was reclassified progressively, totally within scope of appropriate employment practices."
“The charge that ‘half a million tax dollars’ were used to create administrative job for ‘cronies of the Chancellor’ while enrollment has declined is blatantly false on several counts. Two administrators who worked previously for Dr. Stevens at Tacoma Community College were hired at Saddleback following an intensive recruitment, screening and interview process involving a large number of candidates, in keeping with all affirmative action and employment practices. The total salaries of these two administrators, David Habura and Tom Kimberling is $112,000 per year. Further, Saddleback’s ‘head count’ enrollment increased by three percent during the fall of 1984 compared to a year ago.”
“Charges that the board failed to investigate the Chancellor’s background and voted him a double pension are totally false and deliberately misleading. Mr. Taylor himself made a reference check with his ‘old friend,’ Dr. Eldon Schafer, President of Lane Community College, to inquire about Dr. Stevens. Dr. Schafer gave high marks and encouraged Mr. Taylor to select him for the job. Further, Dr. Stevens and all candidates for the chancellorship were rigorously screened and interviewed by committees that included faculty, staff, administration and trustees. On the matter of the pension, the board voted in 1983 to provide Dr. Stevens with an annuity in lieu of salary increase. This adjustment has totaled only a 6.2 percent increase over two years. Such annuities are fully in keeping with the law.” [End of quote]
“The board’s response to Taylor’s charges against Trustees Watts, Moore and Price is the second since the recall was announced. Trustees previously condemned the recall effort as ‘precipitous and divisive’ and urged faculty members not to participate.”
NORTH CAMPUS TARGETS SCHREIBER, STEVENS' FLACK
“Saddleback Teachers Urge Firing of Official,” LA Times, 1-30-85
“A key aide to Saddleback College Chancellor Larry Stevens has become a new target of faculty criticism at the two-campus community college.”
“Forty-four full-time faculty members at Saddleback’s north campus in Irvine have submitted a petition to the college’s board of trustees asking that the aide, William Schreiber, be fired. The petition accuses Schreiber of ‘abusing his role’ because he ‘is not acting as spokesman for the whole college community.’”
“William Watts, president of the board of trustees, said Tuesday that the charges against Schreiber are without merit and that the board strongly supports him….”
“After the seven-member board of trustees reiterated its support of the chancellor, an effort was launched last fall by the teachers to recall three of the board members. Leaders of the recall effort are now attempting to gather enough voter signatures to force a special recall election.”
“Brendan Jundanian, a political science professor at Saddleback North, presented the petition against Schreiber to the board of trustees meeting Monday night. ‘We’ll keep on reminding them (the trustees) about this,’ Jundanian said Tuesday, noting that the trustees accepted the petition without comment Monday night.”
“ ‘This is not a personal attack on Mr. Schreiber but against the confusion that is caused by the function he’s having to perform,’ said Jundanian. ‘We keep seeing articles in print referring to him as the ‘campus spokesman,’ and we don’t feel he really represents the entire college.” Jundanian said Schreiber’s comments frequently defend action by Stevens.”
“Watts, the board president, said he views the petition against Schreiber as part of an overall move by teachers ‘to control the college.’”
“Watts added: ‘Their motive is clear: If they can’t get to the chancellor and they can’t get to the board, then they try to get to someone who works for both.’”
 |
| Construction of Saddleback "North Campus," c. 1978 |
“Petition for Spokesman Dismissal,” Tustin News, 2-14-85
“Faculty members from Saddleback Community College, North Campus, have unanimously signed a petition urging the Saddleback Board of Trustees to dismiss William Schreiber as spokesman for Saddleback College.”
“Board of trustees president Bill Watts said the petition had been passed on to the board but he felt no action would be taken. ‘This is another union tactic to discredit the administration,’ he said.”
“ ‘I have a tremendous amount of admiration for the faculty,’ Schreiber said. ‘I have my heart and soul in the best interest of the college. I have never engaged in any personal attacks.’”
“With copies of the petition and signatures provided to the press a brief press release was also issued by the faculty members.”
“It reads in part, ‘The signatures are independent of the Saddleback College Faculty Association, the organization that wants the chancellor removed from office.’”
Said Schreiber: “Since December when they started this petition I have felt they did not understand my role. I have wanted to give a detailed explanation of the job but teachers have refused my offer.”
“Robert Kopfstein, South Campus reading instructor, and political action chairman for the association, said, ‘The issue is a political one. Three trustees are now in the process of being recalled by a citizens committee. They key issues of the recall are clearly economic.
“ ‘If the contract issue is settled and the recall continues—which it will—they may have to explain why, for example, the district administration now consumes nearly twice as many dollars as the entire North Campus operation or why there is now one full-time equivalent administrator for each four full-time faculty members.’”
FACULTY SALARY AGREEMENT IMMINENT?
(YEP)
“Accord Announced on Salaries at Saddleback,” LA Times, 2-16-85
“After two years of bitter negotiations, teacher representatives and administrators of Saddleback College have agreed on a proposed new contract that would keep the faculty the highest paid among California’s 70 community colleges.”
“But officials of the teachers union have not endorsed the proposal, which administrators predicted would put district finances in red ink by the next fiscal year. Union officials said Friday that a separate union-led petition drive to recall three college trustees will continue regardless of whether teachers approve the contract.”
“ ‘We (in the union leadership) are making no recommendation to the faculty (about how they should vote),’ said Sharon MacMillan, president of the Saddleback Faculty Assn. A vote of the faculty is set for Feb. 25.”
“The three-year contract proposal provides for a pay raise of 8.5% for the 18-month period from July 1, 1984, through Dec. 31, 1985. Although salaries vary according to teaching experience, administration officials said the average salary, with the pay raise, would be in excess of $38,000.”
“Larry Stevens, chancellor of the college, which has campuses in Mission Viejo and Irvine, said Friday that he is pleased that trustees could offer the pay raise, even thugh it will create a deficit in destrict finances within the fiscal year that begins July 1.”
“ ‘We have the highest paid faculty of all 70 community college districts in California, and this (proposed new contract) would continue them as the best paid,’ Stevens said.”
“MacMillan said the association, which had been asking for a 9% pay raise, had to yield on several items. She said one item involved giving up a one-time-only pay raise of three years ago.”
“ ‘This is not a good contract for us,’ she said. ‘We settled because we want to get this over with and keep moving on the recall.’”
The Times explained who is targeted by the recall, the amassing of signatures, the deadline.
“MacMillan charged that Chancelor Stevens has tried to mislead Saddleback-area residents into thinking that the recall dispute centered around unhappiness with contract negotiations. She said that the teachers’ real unhappiness has been with Stevens himself—not with the impasse over a new contract.”
Kopfstein: “The political party line of the district administration as well as the trustees has consistently been that the only reason why the fculty are disgruntled is because they want a raise.”
“ ‘If the contract is settled, what excuse will the district bureaucracy and the trustees then be able to use as a defense? Clearly they have none. They’ve been hiding behind the contract for nearly two years.’”
“Some Saddleback administrative officials privately claim that the teachers union at the colleg is embarked on a political move such as one that occurred in 1983 at nearby Coast Community College District…. At Coast, angry teachers used the momentum of a recall attempt in 1983 to win upset victories in the regular election that year. The district is now governed by a board whose majority was endorsed for election by the union.”
“Saddleback teachers, while saying that they have learned from Coast’s experience, say that their recall is along different lines. But the Saddleback union acknowledged that its goal—like the goal of Coast teachers—was to oust an unpopular chancellor.”
“The administration claimed success in putting a limit in the proposed new contract on how many “overload” … classes a faculty member can teach. To this point, there has been no limit and administration officials claimed that some teachers have made as much as $70,000 a year by teaching ‘double loads.’ Stevens has said the academic quality for students suffers when teachers try to carry too many classes.”
“MacMillan said the college administration has long depended on ‘overload’ teaching as a ‘cheap way of getting extra classes because teachers are only paid about half their regular pay for overload.’”
THE TIMES TAKES NOTICE OF OUR CURIOUS LITTLE WAR;
THE INFAMOUS 1982 "FACULTY ASSEMBLY"
“Saddleback College: Teachers Waging War on Chancellor,” LA Times, 2-19-85
“Saddleback College is a kingdom of superlatives.”
“It’s gleaming Mission Viejo campus is in the heart of Orange County’s liveliest growth area. The north campus, in Irvine, draws from a wealthy, upwardly mobile city. While enrollment is declining in Orange County’s other six community colleges, it is increasing at Saddleback.”
“Incomes in the community college district are far above the county, state and national averages. Surveys show the area’s young people are intelligent, and are attracted to the offerings of Saddleback College.”
“The college, in turn, has made available to these students a distinguished faculty that is the best paid of any community college district in the state. (The average teacher at Saddleback earns $38,000 a year, according to administration.)”
“But there has been trouble in this collegiate kingdom for more than two years now. The faculty and the administration are locked in a civil war that shows no sign of ending.”
“The dispute is centered on Larry Stevens, the chancellor since 1982.”
“Although budgets and teaching schedules are also at issue, the most frequent subject of faculty complaints is Stevens himself. The teachers accuse him of being ‘militaristic and dictatorial … aloof and uncommunicative.’”
“Stevens’ supporters on the college board of trustees counter that such charges are baseless, and that the teachers are attempting to seize power.”
“The unrest has erupted into political activity. Petitions to recall three of the seven trustees are being circulated in south Orange County, and the faculty union says the intention is to force the firing of Stevens.”
“Stevens has kept a low profile throughout the controversy. He says he has been caught in the cross fire of the two-year-long teacher-contract talks.”
“ ‘During difficult labor negotiations it often happens that the district chief executive officer is singled out by the union as the focal point for expression of displeasure,’ Stevens has said.”
“Teachers reject this explanation, however. ‘The recall never had anything to do with the contract,’ said Sharon MacMillan, president of the Saddleback Faculty Assn., in an interview last week.”
“She said that even though union and administration negotiators managed to hammer out a tentative agreement last week, the union will continue to press for the recalls even if a new contract is ratified.”
“The tentative settlement, which must be accepted by both the union and the trustees, would raise salaries 8.5% over the life of a contract that would be retroactive to last July and run through the end of 1985. The offer is well above the average among collective-bargaining settlements in the past year, but union officials are less than thrilled with it and have not endorsed it.”
“ ‘We’re not happy with the contract, but we settled just to get it out of the way so we can go on with other things, including the recall,’ said MacMillan.”
Again, the targets of the recall are trustees Price, Moore, and Watts.
“ ‘This whole recall thing is because they want to get rid of Larry Stevens and take control of the college,’ Price said in a recent interview.”
“MacMillan agrees that the real target is Stevens. ‘I haven’t found any faculty member who likes him,’ she said. ‘Even the most conservative of teachers now ask, ‘When do we go on strike?’”
Stevens: “I was hired to be an agent of change. … I had to take some actions that angered the faculty.”
“Those actions, he said, included a crackdown on teaching loads. Some teachers, he said, were making as much as $70,000 a year through such ‘overloads,’ and educational quality was suffering as a result.”
“In interviews, [Stevens] seems intense but affable.”
“Faculty leaders say that image is a charade. ‘He’s autocratic,’ said Robert Kopfstein, a reading instructor who is the faculty association’s political action chairman.”
“Kopfstein added, ‘It wouldn’t be so bad if he were just autocratic, but he’s autocratic and doesn’t know what he’s doing.’”
“Stevens, who hold a doctorate in community college administration, holds that many of the complaints about him are barbs directed at his military background.”
“ ‘I don’t try to wear my military affiliation on my sleeve,’ he said, ‘but I’m certainly not ashamed of it: I’m a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve.’”
“ ‘I think one of the things he (Stevens) has discovered is that teachers make lousy troops,’ said Kopfstein.”
“The board of trustees repeatedly has expressed its support of Stevens, while the faculty has taken two votes of ‘no confidence’ in him.”
“The friction first surfaced in November, 1982, about two months after Stevens became chancellor, when he addressed a faculty assembly and announced that he would revise the teaching schedule.”
“In the recent interview, Stevens said teachers’ old schedule was top-heavy with classes Monday through Thursday, leaving Fridays very light. A larger problem, he said, was the extent of ‘overload’—the teaching of extra classes for extra pay. The practice is similar to overtime pay for a wage earner, but it usually involves only half pay, rather than a time-and-a-half rate.”
“Stevens said he found teachers on the schedule who were making more than $70,000 a year because of ‘double loads’ of teaching. He said academic quality was suffering because teachers cannot be expected to be at peak form when they work so many extra hours.”
“The teachers, he said, wanted to hang onto the extra pay. ‘They were very angry when I said I was going to make changes.’”
“MacMillan, of the faculty association, denied that the teachers had a strong money interest in the ‘overload’ issue. ‘We agreed to a cap on overload in the (proposed) new contract,’ she said.”
“ ‘Actually, in most colleges, it’s the faculty associations that are trying to hold down overload,’ MacMillan said. ‘That’s because colleges, including this one, use overload as a cheap way of getting more classes.’”
“Stevens was president of Tacoma Community College in Washington before coming to Saddleback. In the late 1970s and early ‘80s, he was the target of faculty criticism—and a vote of no confidence—at the college.”
“In the recent interview, Stevens said the teachers at Tacoma were unhappy because Washington state budget cuts were putting a squeeze on community colleges there. ‘I came to that college after my predecessor had been fired and just as the finances were getting tight,’ Stevens said.”
“ ‘But the talk here about my having to leave that college is absurd. I still had three years on my contract there.’”
“Adding to the unease at Saddleback has been the lack of contract. The faculty has been working without one since July 1, 1983, and Stevens said he thinks the situation will be ‘less tense’ once a new one is resolved. A faculty vote on the latest proposal is set for next Monday.”
“But Stevens acknowledged, wearily, that the rift between him and the faculty is not going to end with a contract settlement.”
“ ‘My boss,’ said Stevens, ‘is the board of trustees. It isn’t the union.’”
MEANWHILE, NORTH CAMPUS AUTONOMY!?
(WHAT'S IN IT FOR US?)
“Two College Plan Favored by SCC,” Tustin News, 2-21-85
This article notes a move afoot at the district to make Saddleback North an autonomous campus. “[A]ll found the idea worthy with condition that the change not impact current operations.”
Stevens seemed to think the change could be more funds for the college(s).
The administration wants the two-college system to have these characteristics:
“—The recognition that both campuses should offer a similar and comprehensive selection of transfer and general education courses….”
“—The recognition that both campuses should offer opportunities for occupational training and vocational education….”
“—The recommendation that all future program development in the district should be complementary between the campuses.”
Ed Hart of North Campus explains that, given the population size (in the area), the demand would be such that only a full service facility would be adequate.
“ ‘For these reasons it seems incumbent upon our district to aggressively develop the Saddleback North site in order to accommodate existing and future student populations,’” said Hart.
“Hart goes on to cite numerous sources, including the state chancellor’s office, as indication that the college would receive more funds from the state as a two college system than the current set up.”
“To control expenditures, [Hart] notes, the colleges would have to adhere to srict guidelines laid out by the master plan.”
“ ‘With strict adherence, the concern for unnecessary expenditures should be allayed,’ Hart concluded.”
“The trustees continue to review [sic] the issue with a decision expected by May.”
CONTRACT APPROVED; BUT ANTI-STEVENS MOVEMENT CONTINUES
"FULL SPEED AHEAD"
“Saddleback College Teachers Approve Contract,” LA Times, 2-26-85
“By a vote of 123 to 18, Saddleback College’s full-time teachers on Monday approved a new contract that will give them an 8.5% pay raise retroactive to last August.”
“There are 236 full-time teachers in the community college, which has campuses in Mission Viejo and Irvine. The contract also covers the colleges’ 600 part-time teachers.”
“Only the members of the teachers’ union, the Saddleback College Faculty Assn., could vote on the proposal. A union official said the association has 180 members who are full-time teachers and 40 members who are part-time faculty.”
“Despite the overwhelming approval of the agreement, [the union’s Robert] Kopfstein said the union will continue to seek the recall of three college district trustees. The union has been seeking the recall in an effort to force the ouster of Chancellor Larry Stevens.”
According to Stevens, the pay hikes “will put the college about $1.5 million in the red this year unless additional money is forthcoming from the state.”
“Among the items in the new contract is a limit on how much ‘overload’ or overtime, teaching a faculty member may perform. … The new contract limits to nine the number of extra units a teacher may assume.”
“But Sharon MacMillan, president of the faculty association, said that in reality the college has pushed overtime on the teachers. ‘It’s a cheap way of getting more classes since the college hasn’t had to hire teachers and pay extra benefits,’ she said.”
“MacMillan said that while the prolonged contract dispute has been a thorn to the faculty, the essence of their unhappiness is with Stevens….”
DONE;
MOVING ON NOW
“Saddleback Approves Pay Hike,” Tustin News, 3-7-85
“At a special meeting of the board of trustees, Monday morning, final approval was given to a new teacher’s [sic] contract for Saddleback Community College, granting a pay raise of some 8.5%.”
“College spokesman Bill Schreiber said the vote was unanimous, 6-0, with trustee John Connolly absent.”
“Unlike the last board meeting there was no demonstration by faculty.”
“Efforts are continuing to gather some 25,000 signatures to support the recall of three trustees from the board….”
“Chancellor Adds Support for New Two College System,” Tustin News, 3-28-85
“The final brick appears to be in place to declare Saddleback Community College a two-college system.”
“At the regular meeting of the board of trustees, Monday night, chancellor Larry Stevens placed before the board his report stating, ‘I am recommending that we designate the two campuses as colleges….’”
“Trustee president Bill Watts … accepted the report and noted that a vote on the matter would likely be held at the next meeting, scheduled for April 8.
“The board has now heard from all entities at Saddleback. All favor the change….”
“Only trustee Eugene McKnight spokes [sic] against the measure. He noted that the two campus system was working and saw no reason to change it.”….
IT'S ALL ABOUT IMPROVING FUNDING;
SHOULD "NORTH CAMPUS" BECOME ITS OWN COLLEGE?
“Dual Campus May Become Two Colleges,” LA Times, 4-3-85
“Orange County soon may get its eighth community college.”
“Saddleback College, which has campuses in Mission Viejo and Irvine, is likely to be divided into two colleges next week.”
“A proposal … would make Saddleback’s Irvine campus a separate college and give it a new name—as yet unpicked. The Mission Viejo campus would continue to be known as Saddleback College.”
“…The Irvine Chamber of Commerce board has urged college trustees to name the new institution ‘Irvine Community College.’”
“ ‘I think were going to create more rivalry and more competition between the campuses,’ said trustee Robert Price, one of the three who voted against the resolution. Trustee Eugene McKnight, who also opposed the change vehemently argued that the Saddleback Board had not complied with state regulations for creating a new college.”
“But Watts, in rebuttal, said the board had fully complied with state regulations and had obtained the state’s blessing when the north campus was first created in 1979.”
“The third trustee voting against the status change was John C. Connoly, who was silent during the debate….”
“Teachers File Suit,” “South County” section of LA Times, 4-13-85
“Writing yet another chapter in its long-standing battle with the Saddleback College administration and trustees, the Saddleback Faculty Assn., which represents Saddleback teachers, has filed a lawsuit alleging administrative violations of the college’s own ‘Affirmative Action Plan for Equal Opportunity.’ The suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, charges Chancellor Larry P. Stevens and the trustees with ‘acting and conspiring to subvert and avoid compliance with the procedures and rules of the district…’ Additionally, the suit demands that the college ‘declare vacant and advertise for suitable applicants all new positions and job titles, as well as those with significantly redefined duties …’ Stevens termed the charges ‘patently untrue’ and said the action was ‘part of a campaign by the union leadership in this district to undermine the board of trustees and administration.’”
SCHREIBER'S OUT
(NOW HE'LL FLACK FOR A REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN)
“Chancellor’s Aide Resigns from Post,” Tustin News, 5-9-85
“A close aide to Chancellor Larry Stevens has resigned his post to accept a position on a congressional staff.”
“Bill Schreiber, executive assistant to the chancellor and director of community relations, made his announcement this week saying his resignation will be effective May 15.”
“Schreiber was the focus of continual attack by Saddleback College’s Faculty Association. Most recently he was named in a lawsuit by teachers alleging hiring inconsistencies for his and eight other positions.
“He will assume the duties of district representative for Congressman Bob Badham, (R) Newport Beach. ‘I will be the chief of staff for the west coast office,’ Schreiber explained….”
Said Schreiber: “The job was unsolicited. A friend outside the college put my name before the congressman. He offered it to me. I face this job with mixed emotions. I have spent 7 or 8 years here and I love this college. However, the new job has a challenge to it.’”
“Disappointed with the internal squabbles, nonetheless Schreiber believes the college has ‘the best teachers, administrators, and board of any college.’”
“He was particularly laudatory of Stevens. ‘I believe in the vision and goals of Larry Stevens. I think he was courageous to make the decision in the face of cutbacks.’”
THE RECALL FAILS
(THEY USUALLY DO)
BUT THE EFFORT WAS NOT "IN VAIN"
“Effort to Recall Trustees Fails for Lack of Signatures,” LA Times, 5-30-85
“A recall effort against three Saddleback Community College trustees has failed for lack of signatures, but opponents say they will try to oust two of the trustees in the November election, a recall leader said Wednesday.”
“Former Saddleback trustee Larry Taylor, now a spokesman for the recall group Citizens for a Better Saddleback, said the committee had gathered about 18,000 voter signatures by the May 28 deadline. The group needed 25,000 for a recall election.”
“Taylor said, however, that the number of signatures the committee obtained is ‘more than the amount of votes most trustees get in a regular election.’”
“Citizens for a Better Saddleback targeted Trustees …Moore, …Price and …Watts. Price and Watts’ terms expire in November, and Taylor said the recall committee will work to have them defeated should they seek reelection. He said the committee will not oppose a third member, Eugene McKnight, whose term also expires in November. The board has seven members.”
“…The faculties have demanded that the board fire Chancellor Larry Stevens, whom the teachers accuse of being dictatorial and unfair. The trustees, however, have repeatedly backed Stevens, and their support prompted the committee to begin its recall effort.”
“Taylor said Wednesday that teachers feel they can work with some of the trustees, including McKnight, but he said a determined effort will be mounted to oppose Watts and Price for reelection. ‘We feel our effort to get signatures has not been in vain,’ Taylor said.”
“Saddleback Budget Battles with State,” Tustin News, 6-13-85
“Speaking at the trustee meeting Monday night, Chancellor Larry Stevens said, “While the governor would protest otherwise, the California Community Colleges generally, and Saddleback in particular, are looking forward to a very meager year.’”
“North Campus, soon to be renamed Irvine Valley College, president Ed Hart told the board he had reduced his campus budget by 4.1 percent or some $312,000.”….
IVC IS BORN AMID WILTING NAME TAGS
AND A MEAGER CROWD
“New College Born: Irvine Valley Becomes Official, Independent Entity,” LA Times, 7-2-85
“Solemnly, under the scorching midday sun on Monday, the community college band played a mournful ‘Taps.’”
“As the band played, college staff members rolled up, for the last time, banners that read ‘North Campus, Saddleback College.’
“Thus passed the old.”
“A minute later, the band broke into a spirited, lively tune, ‘Sixth Calvary Fanfare.’ And as the band beat out this musical charge into the future, dignitaries unveiled the new, permanent sign: ‘Irvine Valley College.’ The crowd of about 75 people broke into cheers and released scores of helium-filled balloons.”
“Thus was born the new.”
“ ‘This is the only new college in the state,’ pronounced Bill Watts, president of the board of trustees of Saddleback Community College District….”
“Saddleback District Chancellor Larry Stevens announced that Irvine Valley College was off to a good start financially. The new state budget signed by Gov. George Deukmajian, noted Stevens, contains $4 million to build two new classroom buildings on the Irvine Valley campus at Jeffrey Road and Irvine Center Drive In Irvine.”
“The mayors of the three cities served by the new college—Irvine, Tustin and Laguna Beach—all said that their communities stand to benefit from the change.”
“Watts said that the college, which now has about 6,000 students, is projected to have an enrollment of about 25,000 within the next 15 years.”
“Board members split 4-3 last April 8 on the motion to make the North Campus a separate, new college. Trustee Eugene McKnight said he worried about ‘unnecessary duplication of facilities’ and voted against the move. The four trustees in the majority, however, vowed that the independence move would mean no waste of money. Independence was set for the start of the new fiscal year, July 1.”
“Trustees who had voted against separate status were at the dedication Monday, indicating that there is no lasting board rift over creation of the new college.”
“ ‘We need you,’ said Martha Collison, Mayor pro-tem of Laguna Beach, in praising the new college. Added Tustin Mayor [and past Saddleback trustee] Frank Greinke, ‘Congratulations on your birthday; it’s nice to be a part of the college.’”
“Irvine Mayor David Sills said, ‘I can’t tell you how happy I am today.’ (Irvine business and civic officials had especially pushed for a separate community college.)”
“Stevens said that the two new buildings funded in the state budget will double the classroom space at Irvine Valley. He said construction of the science building is expected to be under way by the fall of 1987, with the new technology building to be launched the next spring.”
“Stevens, however, noted that the searing outdoor heat, with temperatures nearing 100 degrees, was less than auspicious at the ceremonies. College President Hart said the unusually hot weather is why the speeches were kept ‘mercifully short.’”
“Nonetheless, several balloons exploded in the heat before they could be released. And Irvine Mayor Sills, stoically standing in the heat for his brief talk, looked down at the nametag on his shirt that was wrinkling in the heat. ‘I’ve had to wear nametags many times,’ Sills told the crowd. ‘But this is the first time I’ve had one wilt on me.’”
LOMBARDI, ET AL. LEGALLY VINDICATED
 |
| Lombardi |
“No Bias Found In Saddleback Hiring,” Tustin News, 7-11-85
“Following more than two years of litigation, three lawsuits charging the Saddleback Community College District, its former chancellor and two other administrators with racial discrimination in hiring practices have been dismissed in United States Federal District Court.”
“Two suits were brought by Dr. Adolph Johnson, Jr. and a third suit by Andrew M. Stein. All three cases were consolidated for a decision by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Kelleher.”
“The plaintiffs contended that the Saddleback district denied them academic positions for which they applied because they are black.”
“Stein applied for a position as a chemical technology instructor at the newly-named Irvine Valley College in Irvine in December, 1980, and filed suit in January, 1982. Johnson applied for the position of Director of Extended Operations at the same institution in 1980 and filed suit in June, 1983.”
“In his decision, Kelleher found that the Saddleback District, former district Chancellor Robert A. Lombardi, Irvine Valley College President Edward A. Hart, and former Personnel Director Frank Sciarrotta had properly followed federal affirmative action guidelines during the hiring practices for these two positions.”….
TRUSTEE MCKNIGHT HAS HAD ENOUGH;
AN OPEN SEAT FOR NOVEMBER
“Veteran Saddleback Trustee to Step Down,” South County section of LA Times, 7-16-85
“Veteran Saddleback Community College District trustee Eugene McKnight of San Juan Capistrano announced Monday that he will not seek reelection in November.”
“McKnight, 78, who has been on the district’s board of trustees eight years, said that he is endorsing Pery E. Jacobson of Dana Point, a Cal State Fullerton sociology professor, to succeed him.”
“During a morning press conference, McKnight discussed numerous issues, including the recent tensions in the Saddleback Community College District between the faculty association and Chancellor Larry Stevens. The association was active in an unsuccessful move earlier this year to promote a recall of three trustees; the move was aimed at urging the board of trustees to fire Stevens, whom the association has accused of being distatorial.”
“The Saddleback Faculty Assn. has said it intends to make Steens an issue in this fall’s election for three of the district’s seven trustee seats—including the seat being vacated by McKnight.”
“McKnight said Monday that he thinks it ‘would be unfortunate’ if the trustee elections focused on the Stevens-faculty disputes. Asked his view on the controversy, McKnight said: ‘He (Stevens) seems to have a communication problem with faculty.’ He added that the current board of trustees has not moved to extend Stevens’ contract, which expires in two years.”
“McKnight, who has been on the board of trustees since March, 1977, has a reputation for asking sharp questions at board meetings….”
BUDGET CRUNCH
“Trustees Slash 14 Percent from College Budget,” Tustin News, 8-29-85
“The Saddleback Community College District board of trustees Monday night adopted its 1985-86 final budget of $38.5 million, a decrease by 14 percent from last year’s budget….”
“ ‘This budget is a reflection of what the state is doing to community colleges,’ Bill Watts, board president, said. ‘We just do not lose 14 percent without hurting. We are down to skating on very thin ice all the way around.’”
“Trustee Bob Moore said that for two years in a row the district suffered a shortfall because it did not get funds that were promised by the administration at the beginning of the year….”
“Apartments to Aid SCC Building Fund,” Tustin News, 9-5-85
“In a 4-3 vote Monday night, the Board of Trustees of the Saddleback Community College District decided to lease 23 acres of property along Marguerite Parkway in Mission Viejo to Regis Homes Corporation of Newport Beach, to develop, construct, and manage a 400-unit apartment complex that will provide income to the College District.”
. . .
“The Board of Trustees of the District reviewed alternatives to this cash flow problem and concluded that the lease agreement was a sound means by which to raise the funds.”
“Saddleback College President Constance Carroll is enthusiastic about the immediate and long-range benefits this development will bring to the college….
IMPROVING THE PART-TIME/FULL-TIME FACULTY RATIO
A PRIORITY?
“Fulltime Faculty Warranted at SCC,” Tustin News, 9-5-85
“After several Saddleback College faculty members urged the board to make a commitment to a higher percentage of full-time faculty, Chancellor Larry Stevens told the board Monday night he would come back within six months with a staffing plan with that objective.”
“Dorothy Schultz, a part-time instructor in the Liberal Arts Division, stated that part-time instructors constituted 66 percent of the faculty yet they did not have any of the amenities afforded full-time faculty.”
“ ‘We want some assurance that the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train running toward us,’ Schultz said. She added that although part-time faculty involved 66 percent of the Saddleback instructors, it only received six tenths of the hourly pay received by full time faculty. ‘That drops considerably when you consider we receive no benefits.’”
“She said that in spite of these problems, the part-time faculty liked teaching at Saddleback. She encouraged the board to adopt a policy to increase the full-time faculty and decrease part-time instructors.”
“Terry Burgess, president of the Saddleback Academic Senate, also voiced his concern about ‘the erosion of full-time positions in the district.’ He noted that the actual number had dropped from 464.7 to 414.8 from 1981-82 to 1984-85. He urged the board to reaffirm its commitment to reduce the number of part-time faculty and also asked the district to come up with a five year plan headed in this direction.”
“ ‘We do have too high a percentage of part-time faculty,’ Stevens said. But, he added, ‘What we need to do is find a way of financing it (more full-time employees).’ He said a staffing plan would be brought to the board within six months.
WILL TEACHERS' UNION PREVAIL AT ELECTION?
HOT RACES
“Unions Prominent in College Board Races,” LA Times, 11-1-85
“Faculty union campaigns to oust incumbent trustees in two districts dominate community college district elections set for next Tuesday’s in Orange County.”
“The most heated races are in south Orange County’s Saddleback Community College District and Coast Community College District in the western part of the county, where teachers’ unions have mounted drives to oust incumbents.”
“In the Saddleback District, three seats on the seven-member board are up for election. Two incumbents—Williams Watts and Robert Price—are being challenged by a union-endorsed slate. Incumbent Eugene McKnight, whose seat is up for election, chose not to run for another term.”
“Some political observers have compared this year’s election in Saddleback Community College District to the 1983 campaign in Coast Community College District. In 1983, the Coast teachers’ union, after having backed an unsuccessful recall effort against the incumbent board majority, was successful in electing a new majority.”
“Somewhat similarly, Saddleback District faculty earlier this year were among the leaders in an unsuccessful drive to recall incumbents Watts, Price and Robert Moore. Moore’s seat is not up for reelection, but the union hopes on Nov. 5 to oust Watts and Price and capture the seat being vacated by McKnight.”
“Essentially, the Saddleback District incumbents are defending their record—including their support of Chancellor Larry Stevens. The union-backed challengers are critical of the current administration of Saddleback College and Irvine Valley College, both of which are headed by Chancellor Stevens.”
“Watts is opposed by union-endorsed Joan Hueter, an athletic director, and by Gerald A. Wolf, an attorney and businessman.
“Hueter has said that the incumbent board has squandered money on ‘unnecessary consultants’ and has refused ‘to hire enough full-time teachers to offer critical classes.’”
“The union and its endorsed candidates are trumping up charges in an effort ‘to control the college district,’ Watts responded.”
“Wolf has campaigned against what he calls ‘hobby horses,’ such as tap dancing, and has said that the colleges should instead stress scholastic, vocational and remedial education.”
“Incumbent Price is opposed by union-endorsed Marcia Milchiker, a research biologist. She has charged that Price hasn’t been to Sacramento frequently enough to protect the interests of the community college system. Price has responded that he has been in close touch with the legislative scene in Sacramento.”
“ ‘The real issue in this election is the unions expensive effort to try to win control of our district,’ said Price….”
“McKnight endorsed Perry E. Jacobson, a Cal State Fullerton sociology professor, to succeed him. The union endorsed Iris Swanson, a retired executive assistant who had been on Saddleback College’s administrative staff for 15 years. The two other candidates in the race are Ian Doyer, who is retired and Mike Eggers, an aide to Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad).”
“Eggers is backed by any supporters of the incumbent board of trustees, and he has come under fire from the teachers’ union, which has accused him of unethical conduct. Eggers has responded with head-on attacks against the union, accusing it of ‘one-sided emotionalism.’”
FACULTY ASSOCIATION'S SLEAZY TACTIC:
FAKE REPUBLICAN TAXPAYERS FEDERATION
(ENTER: TOM FUENTES)
 |
| Tom Fuentes OC GOP chair |
“Mailer in Saddleback Campaign is Assailed,” LA Times, 11-1-85
“Thomas A. Fuentes, chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County, Thursday denounced a campaign mailer that was sent to some voters in the Saddleback Community College District and that said it was ‘distributed by Orange County Republican Taxpayers Federation.’”
“Fuentes said such a group ‘is not affiliated in any way with the official Republican Party of Orange County, nor is it affiliated with the California Republican Party.’”
“The mailer attacks two incumbent trustees on the Saddleback Community College Board, Bill Watts and Robert Price, and also Mike Eggers, a candidate for the board. The mailer says that the ‘Price, Watts, Eggers Triad Seeks Control of College Tax Money.’”
“The mailer also accuses Eggers of unethical behavior and connection to admitted political corruption figure Patrick Moriarty, an Anaheim fireworks company executive.”
“Eggers, who is an aide to Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) and runs Packard’s office in Mission Viejo, formerly handled a public relations newsletter for 3,000 charitable organizations that sell fireworks. Eggers said Thursday that he has never had direct relations with Moriarty and that the mailer was ‘a smear.’”
“Eggers is one of four candidates in Tuesday’s election seeking the Saddleback Community College District seat being vacated by incumbent Eugene McKnight, who is retiring.
“Fuentes said the mailer was ‘trying to utilize the good reputation of the Republican Party to lend credibility to … very inflammatory charges.’”
“Fuentes noted that the ‘Orange County Republican Taxpayer Federation’ listed a Placentia address but no officers of the alleged group. ‘This kind of tactic demonstrates a blatant disrespect for voters and for the Republican Party,’ he said.”
“Eggers said the mailer was part of the teachers’ union’s campaign to win control of the Saddleback Community College District board in Tuesday’s election.”
“The mailer was in the form of a newsletter of the ‘Consumer Action Council,’ which listed Earl H. Carraway as its chairman. Carraway is the husband of Saddleback College faculty member Sharon MacMillan, immediate past president of the Saddleback Faculty Assn., the teachers’ union.”
“Carraway could not be reached for comment, but in a press release that he sent to news media Thursday he said the ‘Orange County Republican Taxpayer Federation’ is a political action committee that is properly registered both with the state and the Orange County registrar of voters.”
“Carraway’s press release added: ‘I and other Republicans who paid to distribute the Consumer Action Council newsletter are concerned about protecting the good image of the Republican Party in Orange County; we feel that Mike Eggers is bad for that image.’”
“Eggers said the mailer, by linking him to Moriarty, ‘is probably costing me a thousand votes.’ He said he has received questioning calls from voters, ‘but after they hear the facts, they’re angry about the mailer and are promising to work for me.’”
“Eggers, 37, said that from 1982 to mid-1983 his private public relations firm, Mica and Associates, wrote the newsletter for Organizations for Safe and Sane Fireworks. He said that group consisted of 3,000 charities from 345 communities in the state, all of which sell fireworks around the Fourth of July.”
“ ‘I do not know, nor do I have any relationship with, Pat Moriarty,’ Eggers said. ‘I’ve seen him twice, both at social occasions. He was never directly involved in the organization that hired me to write its newsletter.’”
“In addition to Eggers, three other candidates are seeking McKnight’s trustee seat. They are Iris Swanson, a retired college executive assistant who has been endorsed by the teachers’ union; Cal State Fullerton sociology professor Perry E. Jacobsen, who has been endorsed by McKnight, and Ian Doyer, who is retired.
ELECTION: TEACHERS KILL AT THE POLLS
SITUATION: TOPSY TURVY
“Orange County Teachers Score Big at Polls,” LA Times, 11-6-85
“Teachers unions scored smashing victories Tuesday in four focal Orange County races.”
“In the most heated campaign, the faculty union in south Orange County’s Saddleback Community College District ousted two incumbents and elected two union-endorsed candidates. The union candidate also was leading in a third race in that district in which no incumbent was running.”
. . .
“The union-versus-incumbents battles had sparked the most political interest in the off-year election. In most elections in conservative Orange County, union strength is not formidable. But in recent school board elections, teacher unions have been showing increasing power to get rid of board members they don’t like and replace them with their own candidates.”
“This trend took giant steps forward in Tuesday’s races. The teacher union’s showing in south Orange County, which surveys have shown to be the county’s most wealthy and politically conservative area, was particularly surprising.”
“Saddleback Community College District, which governs Saddleback College in Mission Viejo and Irvine Valley College in Irvine, has been torn apart for more than two years by a faculty union dispute with the incumbent seven-member board of trustees. A key issue has been the district’s chief executive, Chancellor Larry Stevens. The union has accused Stevens of wasting money on ‘administrative frills’ and of being dictatorial. The union sought his firing, but the incumbent board stoutly defended Stevens.”
“After unsuccessfully seeking to recall three of the incumbent trustees earlier this year, the union this fall endorsed Joan J. Hueter against incumbent, William Watts and Marcia Milchiker against incumbent Robert L. Price. In a third race, incumbent Eugene McKnight didn’t run for reelection. The union backed Iris Swanson for McKnight’s seat. Mike Eggers, an aide to U.S. Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) criticized the unions tactics and ran as a pro-administration candidate.”
“Hueter, who is an athletic director in Anaheim’s Katella High, defeated Watts. Milchiker, a research biologist, defeated Price. Swanson held a consistent lead Tuesday night over Eggers. Other candidates in those races trailed the leaders.”….
STEVENS RESIGNS;
WATTS PREDICTS VINDICTIVE PAYBACK
(AS HE MAKES FOR THE EXIT)
“Chancellor of College District Agrees to Resign,” LA Times, 1-8-86
“After two years of efforts by a teachers union to oust him, Saddleback Community College District Chancellor Larry Stevens has agreed to resign, effective Jan. 31.”
“Agreement on the resignation was reached Monday night during a closed meeting of the college district’s board of trustees, which governs Saddleback College in Mission Viejo and Irvine Valley College in Irvine.
“Stevens, 49, a Marine Corps Reserve colonel who has been the college district’s chief executive since July, 30, 1982, had been attacked by faculty union leaders for being ‘dictatorial and militaristic.’ His departure was widely expected after three new trustees on the seven-member board were elected Nov. 5 with support from the teachers union.
“Under the terms of the agreement, the district will buy out the remaining 18 months of Stevens’ contract, a move that will cost the district $104,000 based on a $70,525 annual salary. The district will also guarantee Stevens’ health insurance coverage during the 18-month period, pay him $5,251 for unused vacation and put a $6,494 payment into his retirement annuity.”
“Stevens’ supporters, including former Trustee Bill Watts of Tustin, have said that the chancellor was simply a strong leader who had sparked bitter criticism from some teachers by asking faculty members to spend more days teaching per week and cracking down on overtime pay.”
“Watts, who was president of the board and had been a trustee for eight years until being defeated Nov. 5, strongly defended Stevens, saying the chancellor had been interested in academic issues as well as developing the college district.
“As for faculty complaints about Stevens, Watts said: ‘I think their biggest complaint is that Larry Stevens expected them to work five days a week.’”
“Stevens declined to comment Tuesday on his resignation. One of the terms of the resignation agreement worked out Monday was that neither the trustees nor Stevens would issue any ‘negative comments’ about each other.”
Sharon MacMillan, however, said that she was pleased.
“ ‘I think there will be a great deal more peace and academic environment now,’ she said. MacMillan said that Stevens was ‘very authoritarian’ and ‘too interested in expanding administrative offices rather than academics.’”
“Stevens, who was president of Tacoma (Wash.) Community College for seven years before coming to Saddleback, went on leave of absence Tuesday, pending his Jan. 31 resignation.”
“David Habura, executive vice chancellor of the district, will serve as acting chancellor for the rest of the month.”
The board is expected to select an interim chancellor.
“Watts predicted that the new board of trustees would, in future months, be firing or forcing out more district administrators who are disliked by the teachers union. ‘This is sad, but this is just the beginning,’ he said.”
“The events in the Saddleback district were similar to the 1983 political turbulence in Coast Community College District….”
“Faculty in the Coast … District, after failing at a recall, succeeded in electing three union-endorsed trustees, who became the new board majority. The incumbent chancellor, whom the union opposed, resigned a week after those elections.”
“New presidents subsequently were installed at all three colleges in Coast Community College District….”
“Stevens Resigns SCC over ‘Differences of Opinion,’” Tustin News, 1-9-86
“Saddleback Community College Board of Trustees, following a closed session meeting Monday night, announced the resignation of Chancellor Larry Stevens.”
An agreement has been worked out.
“One line in the agreement states that ‘certain philosophical differences have arisen between the parties.’”
Said former Trustee Bill Watts: “I’ll wager that they will eliminate the present administration within the next 18 months. Stevens won’t be around.”
PRO-STEVENS TRUSTEES CAVE IN?
RIFE SPECULATION ABOUT SECRET DISCUSSION
 |
| Bill Moses of Tustin News |
“Costly Act at Saddleback,” editorial from the San Clemente Sun-Post [by Bill Moses?] appearing in Tustin News, 1-16-86
“…We can understand why [Stevens] is leaving. During the most recent board election, three members opposed to Stevens were elected. That was most assuredly going to make Stevens’ job even more difficult, but not impossible. Not impossible if the remaining holdover board members who had supported Stevens through thick and thin had remained behind him.”
“Apparently they had a change of heart – an expensive change of heart.”
“We really don’t know what went on. All of the discussion and decision-making was carried on behind closed doors as is allowed under state guidelines in matters involving personnel. Unfortunately, the lack of specific information in this instance leads to rife speculation.”
“…We hope members of the board will come forth with a public explanation of their actions.”
SALARY NEGOTIATIONS RE-OPEN
“Teacher Talks Re-Opened With Chancellor Firing,” Tustin News, 1-16-86
“Tomorrow at 10 a.m., the Saddleback Community College Board of Trustees will re-open contact negotiations with the teachers association, 11 days after the resignation of Saddleback Chancellor Larry Stevens, whose policies had long been opposed by the association.”
“Asked how the change in leadership will affect negotiations, Thom Evans, president of the faculty association said, ‘There will be a much more positive atmosphere.’”
“Evans said the teachers union will be asking for a 9.4 percent salary increase over the next 18 months and for benefits to remain as they are.” Of the slary request, he said, ‘having gone without a salary increase for a number of years, that would work out to be 4.475 percent.’”
“ ‘That would bring us back in line with inflation,’ he added.”….
NEW BOARD REASSURANCES:
THERE'LL BE "NO MORE FIRINGS"
“No More Firings Due, College Trustees Insist,” LA Times, 1-17-86
“Saddleback Community College District officials said Thursday that despite predictions of more firings in the wake of last week’s ouster of Chancellor Larry Stevens, there are no plans to dismiss any other high-ranking employees.”
“Bill Watts, a trustee who had defended Stevens but who was defeated for reelection in November, said last week that the teachers’ union would demand, and the new board would agree to, the firing of several more administrators in addition to Stevens. ‘I’m sorry to say this is just the beginning,’ Watts said.”
“But new board president Harriett Walther, at a press conference Thursday at Saddleback College, categorically denied that more firings are being planned. ‘We have absolutely no plans for further personnel changes. Absolutely,’ said Walther.”
“Walther and Terry Burgess, president of the intercollege Academic Senate, also said they knew of no current movement among the faculty for a ‘no confidence’ vote against one of the key administrators. One of the first moves made by the faculty, in launching its efforts two years ago to oust Stevens, was to vote ‘no confidence’ in him.”
“In response to a question, Walther said the trustees have not received any criticism from district residents about the board’s buy-out of Stevens’ remaining 18 months on his contract as chancellor. The buy-out, announced last week, will cost the district about $115,000 in salary and benefits.”
“SCC Official Claim No Other Heads Will Roll,” Tustin News, 1-23-86
“Responding to rumors that more administrators would be fired in the wake of the departure of Chancellor Larry Stevens, Saddleback Community College Board of Trustees President Harriett Walther called a special press conference last week to announce that no more personnel changes would be made.”
“Flanked by Acting Chancellor David Habura and Inter-college Faculty Senate President Terry Burgess, Wather played down predictions by former board president Bill Watts that ‘more heads will roll.’”
“…[Walther] has reassured top level administrators that their jobs are safe. ‘I’ve told them to unpack their bags and tear up their resumes,’ she said.”
“Walther said she called the press session, attended by a half dozen reporters, to ‘assure the public that we are not only alive and well but thriving.’”
“Burgess, responding to reports the faculty association had wanted to get rid of Stevens for the past two years, said there has been ‘a dissatisfaction with Dr. Stevens’ administration among a large portion of the faculty.’”
“Saying he was speaking not as a faculty representative but as an individual, he said the job of chancellor ‘requires that that person be eminently respected by those under him.’ He said Stevens did not have that respect.”
“ ‘We were particularly dissatisfied with the vertical structure he had instituted in terms of decision making,’ Burgess said.”
“He said that since Habura took over there has been ‘a real strengthening in the communications network of the district.’”
“[Walther] said Habura would remain acting chancellor until the choice is made. ‘He has been very gracious in allowing us to call upon him,’ she said.”
HE WAS A RUDE DUDE
“Resignation of a Chancellor,” Times letters to the editor, 2-2-86
Hugh W. Glen, Laguna Niguel [and IVC instructor]
“Larry Stevens, under fire since he was appointed chancellor of the Saddleback Community College District in July, 1982, has resigned. It’s too bad he stayed as long as he did. Unlike Robert Lombardi, his predecessor, Stevens was disliked from the start—and for good reason.”
“Despite warnings from top-level district administrators, Stevens insisted on making so many policy changes—needed and unneeded—he alienated all segments of the college community to the extent that he could never gain their respect as a skilled administrator. And he forever lost their trust shortly after his employment.”
“Having announced major policy changes, Stevens met with faculty for a question-and-answer session. There he refused to respond to many questions raised by faculty about the changes. Rudely he ignored faculty members who asked questions that displeased him.”
“…Stevens was not forced out by the faculty. His actions simply guaranteed his self-destruction.”
“The damage Stevens inflicted on the district will not disappear quickly. It will likely take as long to re-establish the trust that existed between the trustees and district employees before Stevens arrived as the tie it took for Stevens to destroy it. But at least the healing process has begun.”
HABURA KEPT AS INTERIM CHANCE
“Saddleback Trustees Change Chancellor Plan,” LA Times, 2-26-86
“David Habura will continue as acting chancellor of the Saddleback Community College District until a new, permanent chancellor is appointed, district trustees have announced….”
“Habura … took over as acting chancellor on Jan. 7 after embattled Chancellor Larry
Stevens agreed to resign….
“When Habura took over on Jan. 7, district officials said he would remain as acting chancellor only until the end of that month, when an interim chancellor would be appointed to serve during a months-long search for a permanent chancellor.
“However, the trustees, at their meeting Tuesday night, decided to keep Habura in the acting chancellor position….”
“As acting chancellor, Habura will be paid the same annual salary--$70,525—that Stevens was, the trustees said. Habura is not restricted from applying to be permanent chancellor, but he has announced that he will not be a candidate.”
“Habura came to the community college district in 1983.”
“Saddleback Selects Habura as Its Interim Chancellor,” Tustin News, 2-27-86
“Saddleback … Board of Trustees Monday selected acting chancellor David Habura to continue in that position indefinitely until a permanent chancellor can be named.”
“In a split 4-2 vote taken during a secret meeting excluding the press and public, the board approved a new contract with Habura, the former executive vice chancellor wh o replaced Chancellor Larry Stevens when Stevens resigned Jan. 6.”
“Voting against the new contract were trustees Iris Swanson and Shirley Gellatly. Trustee Bob Moore was absent.”
“Gellatly said she had no argument with Habura’s selection but said, “there were some items in the contract that I was opposed to.” Habura will receive the same pay as Stevens; further, the contract allowed either party to pull out “with 30 day written notice.”
“Gellatly said that, in addition to her questions concerning the contract, she objected to the selection process….”
Board President Harriett Walther explained that two internal candidates “reached the interview stage, but neither satisfied the board….”
“ ‘The majority of the board thought Dr. Habura was doing such a fine job that he would be the perfect actig chancellor,’ Walther said.”
Walther reported that Habura doesn’t want the permanent job.
“Habura said refusing the permanent job ‘gives me the freedom to act out of conscience.’”
CURIOUS FACTOID: COUNTERFACTUAL IRVINE "CIVIC CENTER"
“Plans Call for Irvine’s First Real City Hall, But No ‘Downtown,’” LA Times, 3-2-86
[Curious factoid:] “In 1981, support revived for an expanded civic center at Jeffrey and Barranca, clustered around what was then called the north campus of Saddleback Community College. This complex would have included the city hall, the hospital and school and water district head-quarters. The plan fell victim to the ongoing hospital dispute.”
CLASSIFIED PAY PRICE FOR FACULTY RAISES;
GELLATLY DEFENDS MOVE
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| Shirley Gellatly |
“Saddleback Community Colleges to Lay Off 9, Transfer 4 in Budget Cut,” LA Times, 4-19-86
“Nine people will lose their jobs and four administrators are being reassigned to teaching or counseling positions in a budget-cutting move by south Orange County’s Saddleback Community College District.”
“Those to be let go on July 1 include Anne Ambrose, public information officer at Saddleback College; Susan Clark, public information officer at Irvine Valley College and Glenn Feingerts, photographer for the college district.
“The job cuts, made by the district’s board of trustees earlier this week, elicited cries of ‘union politics’ from some of the affected employees. They charged that the newly structured board is under the control of the Saddleback Faculty Assn., the teachers union for the college district.”
“Shirley Gellatly, vice chair of the board, denied the charge. She said the job cuts ‘were very difficult to make’ and were carried out because the college district faces a budget shortfall of about $1 million this year.”
“Gellatly added that the district would save about $960,000 by laying off the nine people and eliminating 14 job positions.”
“[Feingerts] speculated that the trustees cut the public information staff because of union animosity toward former district spokesman Bill Schreiber.”
“Schreiber, now an aide to Rep. Robert Badham (R-Newport Beach), resigned from the college district last May after he was repeatedly criticized by teachers and union officials. He was accused of being a ‘mouthpiece’ for then-Chancellor Larry Stevens, whom the teachers wanted to remove from his post. Stevens resigned earlier this year after three new trustees were elected in November on a ticket backed by the teachers union.”
Explained Gellatly: “We wanted to make the cuts as far away from actual instruction as possible. Teaching students is what this college is about, and it’s also what brings in the money. This board, however, certainly didn’t take the action it did because we think the jobs [that were abolished] are unnecessary. It’s just that we had to cut somewhere.”
“Gellatly added that ‘it is possible’ the two public information jobs might be restored at the board’s April 28 meeting. ‘That’ll be up for discussion,’ she said.”
“The four administrators whose present jobs will be abolished are Peter Espinosa, special assistant to the chancellor for government affairs and special projects; Annette Hayes, director of occupational projects; William Weisgerber, facilities and planning assistant and systems coordinator, and Ronald Steinke, director student services coordination.”
“Espinosa is scheduled to become a counselor, and the other three are scheduled to return to teaching.”
“Classified employees, angered at the layoffs, have charged that the teachers union has been feathering its nest at other workers’ expense. They note that teachers have persuaded the board to hire more faculty and to pool money for a teachers’ raise despite the need for budget cuts.”
“Gellatly said the district is hiring 10 more full-time faculty members because ‘this board wants to reduce the ratio of part-time teachers.’”
“She added that $760,000 has been set aside for an employees’ pay raise, but that the raise would also include the salaries of non-teachers.”
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| Republican Governor George Deukmajian |
“SCC Board Axes Workers, Then Hires Teachers, Draws Protest,” Tustin News, 5-1-86
“Saddleback Community College classified workers packed the board room Monday night to protest recent staff cutbacks, including the elimination of 10 positions.”
“Trustees were criticized for making the cuts in an effort to reduce a projected $1.2 million deficit for the 1986-87 budget while recruiting 10 new full-time faculty members at a cost of 300,000.”
“Dave DeBarry, sports information officer whose position is one of those being eliminated said that, ‘When (Chancellor) Larry Stevens left I though [sic] the Saddleback District would pull itself together.’ But he said with dissension in the district, ‘it makes OPEC look like a close-knit family.’”
Added DeBarry: “Over a half a million dollars have been spent [on the Stevens’ buyout and new hiring], no wonder cuts are being made. … If cuts need to be made, they should be made across the board.”
“James Baumgartner, who said he was speaking as a concerned citizen and also as an expert on employee relations, said the board’s recent layoffs ‘show nothing but callous disregard for a class of employees.’”
“Noting the teaching staff will be the beneficiaries of classified staff cutbacks, Baumgartner said ‘One class of employees cannot be allowed to trample on another.’”
“Tamara Hails, treasurer of the CSEA, presented the board with a petition signed by 124 classified employees stating that the action of the board, ‘Will have a severe traumatic affect on the classified employees. Resentment is at an all-time high, morale is at an all-time low.’”
“Board president Harriett Walther, responding the criticism, said, ‘We’re not insensitive to human concerns. We will continue to be aware of human concerns for our students and staff. We do appreciate you for being here.’”
“Saddleback College president Constance Carroll, who earlier had urged the hiring of new full-time faculty members, again defended the move, saying that Saddleback College, with 196 full-time faculty members, had less than the average number for a college of its size.”
“ ‘From accreditation standpoints, it’s very serious,’ she said.”
“SCC’s Hiring Freeze Puts 10 Employees Out of Work,” Tustin News, 5-1-86
“In secret session April 8, the Saddleback Community College Board of Trustees voted to eliminate 10 classified positions.”
“Board vice-president Shirley Gellatly cited the district’s deficit, projected to be $1.2 million in the 1986-87 fiscal year, in defending the staffing cuts.”
“ ‘We were working with a deficit this year. Cuts had to be made. This was not an easy decision to make,’ she said.”
“In the same meeting, the board voted a hiring freeze on all classified employee positions. Matt Suarez, president of the Saddleback College chapter of the California School Employees Association praised the move….”
“He expressed concern, however, for the people being laid off, citing in particular one Mary Lou Ellis who had been hired through a CETA program.”
“ ‘It’s not clear that she’ll be able to get a jo elsewhere,’ he said. Suarez said that while some of the affected personal [sic] could be reassigned, others had skills that were to specialized.”
“ ‘I’m sure the board will do whatever they can to help these people,’ he added.”
SCHREIBER'S "TOLD YOU SO"
(But is he right?)
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| Bill Schreiber, Public Relations |
“Prophesies Come True,” Letter to the Editor, Tustin News, 5-1-86
William L. Schreiber, Former Exec. Assistant to the Chancellor, SCCD
“Dear Editor:”
“Not too long ago, when I served as an administrator in the Saddleback Valley [sic] Community College District, I made some private predictions….” Schreiber says he predicted that, if the faculty union were to succeed in getting their trustee candidates elected, Chancellor Larry Stevens and associated administrators would soon lose their jobs. In January, Stevens resigned.
“I also anticipated that the union would direct its Board puppets to remove some—if not all—of Stevens’ administrators at the District level. While this was vigorously denied by the Board, it has nonetheless taken place with the elimination of two more District administrators in recent weeks, with at least one more to come."
“The topper came when one of my most dire predictions came to pass within the past few weeks.”
“During the lengthy Stevens-era battle with the union over a new contract, I noted privately that if the teacher leaders were told their pay raise could only be given if 50 or 100 classified (non-teaching) support staff members were laid off, they would say ‘lay the suckers off.’”
“Frankly, I hoped that day would never come, even under the reins of a union-controlled Board. But it has.”
“In tandem with their latest administrative cuts, the Board has terminated the first wave of classified staff members to accumulate an $800,000 pool for faculty salary raises—a faculty that already is far and away the highest paid in the entire state of California….”
“The people being terminated, some of whom have been loyal and hard-working staffers for five or more years, make less than $25,000 a year, yet they are to be the union’s sacrificial lambs….”
“I still count many Saddleback classified staffers among my friends and have learned that few now can feel truly secure in their positions….”
“It is truly unfortunate to see myopic self-interest in total control of an institution that is so important to the vitality and future of our community. Perhaps, someday, vision will be restored and the deceptions will stop. To date, however, there seems to be little hope for either one. –WS
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