Board meeting on Monday

Here's my report on the AGENDA for the December 11, 2006, meeting of the SOCCCD Board of Trustees.

CLOSED SESSION (5 p.m.—6 p.m.)

Nothing here jumps out at me. Section A is

1. ...Appointment/Employment
a. Assistant Dean, Student Services, SC

2. ...Evaluation of Performance
a. Chancellor

3. ...Discipline/Dismissal/Release

We're still waiting to hear about the fate of IVC Chief of Police Kreza and his assistant, who were placed on "administrative leave" a couple of months ago. Do you suppose the board will ever tell us what's up? They've really kept a lid on this one. Impressive! Disconcerting!

● Section D concerns litigation:

1. Anticipated Litigation/Significant Exposure to Litigation

2. Initiation of Litigation – Three Cases

Do bear in mind that some agenda items—e.g., the two above—appear repeatedly without yielding reported actions.

OPEN SESSION (6:00 p.m. to—God only knows)


Immediately after public comments, the board will recess (before the public) to its “annual Organizational Meeting.” That's when the trustees elect their officers.

As I have indicated previously, if TOM FUENTES wants to preside over the board during the next year, then the job is likely his for the asking. But I’m told that he does not want it. According to my sources, the AMAZING MUSTACHIOED QUISLING will continue as President of the Board.

As long as it isn’t Fuentes, I’m happy. His contempt for, and distrust of, faculty is palpable. (I've decided to employ understatement for a change.)

The agenda looks pretty light. The Consent Calendar items are 2-17, including

• #2: Saddleback guest lecturer honoraria. ($100 bucks a pop. The trustees control the purse strings! On the other hand, you could probably scrape up a hundred bucks just picking up change around the Saddleback vending machines.)
• #12: approval of the district 2008-2009 Academic Calendar. Snore.
• #16: payment of bills.

For some reason, over five and a half million dollars in checks is listed without description. Aren’t agendas supposed to give the public a heads-up about what the trustees might do? What kind of heads-up is that? Who writes these agendas? Dennis Hastert?

I know, I know. The item is likely a bunch of innocent expenditures. But just how hard is it to write something like, "Several dozen routine expenditures such as XXX"? Mathur is so focussed on pleasing his "bosses" (namely, the trustees) that he does nothing for the poor "taxpayer," who will surely learn little from the above verbiage. It might even make him/her suspicious.

Among the Deputy Chancellor’s items:

• #18: SOCCCD: BOARD POLICY REVISIONS: BP5505: GRADE GRIEVANCE POLICY

It’s just for “review and study.” The Academic Senates seem happy with the changes. The existing policy, which is old, is a potential litigation magnet, among other things. It goes out of its way to invite issues and problems.

• #19: SADDLEBACK COLLEGE: AWARD OF BID: REMEDIATION AND REPAIR OF THE BGS BUILDING

This is for six and a half million dollars. Is it just me or does it seem as though the board has been working on the BGS MOLD project for decades?! Folks in the trenches (er, the fungi) have been grumblin' all the while. Do the trustees care? "Let them eat mushrooms!" they say.

• #20: SOCCCD: BOARD POLICY REVISION: …BP 1600: PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS, PB 4056: CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING… Is this good?


VAGUENESS AGAIN

• #21: ACADEMIC PERSONNEL ACTIONS [including]

….Administrator Contract Extension; Additional Compensation: General Fund; Additional Compensation: Categorical/Non-General Fund; Resignation.Retirement/Conclusion of Employment. [My emphasis.]

I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t know what the italicized stuff is about. How vague can you get?

You’ll recall that, recently, Chancellor Mathur tried to sneak his raise through, unnoticed, in this "Academic Personnel Actions" section (see Blow by blow). As I recall, back then, he (or Bob King) used two little words—“additional compensation”—to describe the item. Compensation for whom? How much? How come? When the item's nature was finally revealed (on the day of the board meeting), IVC Academic Senate President Wendy G complained about this connivery, as did some trustees.

In the end, owing mostly to Wagnerian peevitude, King was told to reagendize the COLA item, only properly next time. (No wonder everybody was pissed. Nevertheless, this board stands behind Mathur like George W stands behind his disastrous war.)


My problem is with the vagueness of the agenda. In this instance, as before, you can't tell what this item is about. As near as I can tell, that's illegal.

The Brown Act prohibits (among other things) undue vagueness. Why? —In order to permit genuine HEADS-UPPERY for all the poor taxpayers that Fuentes pretends to care about. (See The Ralph M. Brown Act.) According to the Brown Act,

”…[P]rior to a regular meeting, the [board] must post an agenda containing a brief general description of each item to be discussed or transacted at the meeting…. The purpose of the brief general description is to inform interested members of the public about the subject matter under consideration so that they can determine whether to monitor or participate in the meeting of the body….” (Brown Act—This link is to a smallish pdf file)

Seems plain enough to me.

You'll recall that the SOCCCD board is notorious for its "persistent and defiant" violations of the Brown Act (seven or eight years ago). You'd think they'd learn. (The most egregious violator back then—Williams—is still on the board.)

Item #23 concerns a Memo of Understanding between the district and the faculty union. Maybe our unionist bretheren and sisteren can tell us what that's about.

At a recent "open forum" with the Chancellor, the fellow seemed to take credit for the faculty contract. (See "A 'thankless job'.") That's rich, boy. He was the reason that negotiations were bogged down for years.

Item #24 concerns the board’s effort to help fix the ROYAL MESS they’ve made of our Study Abroad programs. They’ll change the liability insurance level from the current $50 million (ridiculous! disastrous!) down to “within the limits of $5-10 million per program occurrence,” as per VC Serban’s recent recommendations.

I think the board owes the "taxpayer" a public apology.

At the aforementioned open forum, I complained about the Study Abroad SNAFU. Mathur responded by noting that good things are happening, e.g., this agenda item. Yeah, I said, but what about causing the SNAFU—or, in his case, allowing it to occur—in the first place?

The Chancellor seemed to say that we should focus on the positive, not the negative.

Sometimes, though, negatives are very positive. Imagine the joy in Mudville were Mr. Mathur to resign? As Raghu might put it, it would be a "win-win."

Raghu, please bring us joy!

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there'll be no joy in Mudville—'till Raghu Mathur's out!

Making Kings

Have you followed the George Jaramillo case? It tells you a lot about Orange County and the Machine.

Until a few years ago, Jaramillo was corrupt OC Sheriff Mike Carona’s right-hand man. (Recall that, a few years ago, Carona received the IVC Foundation’s “Hometown Hero” designation.) Everyone expected Jaramillo to succeed Carona as Sheriff.

Then, in 2004, things changed. As this morning’s OC Register explains (Jaramillo trial):

Jaramillo…is accused of profiting from a relationship with Newport Beach businessman Charles Gabbard, who has also come under fire for raising campaign money for Carona. Gabbard's company, CHG Technologies, was marketing an anti-pursuit device and hired Jaramillo as a consultant. Jaramillo is also charged with improperly using the Sheriff's Department helicopter for a personal trip taken by him and his wife, Lisa.

This morning’s Times (Ex-O.C. sheriff's official) explains that

George Jaramillo still faces … charges related to his work as a paid consultant for CHG Safety Technologies Inc., including charges of taking a bribe and obstructing justice…He is … accused of lying twice to a grand jury, using a department helicopter for personal travel, and ordering deputies to develop his film, research convalescent homes for his mother and attend a relative's graduation ceremony.

Michael Shroeder’s name comes up a lot in this case, which is now set to go to trial in January:

At the pre-trial hearing, the talk centered mostly on Jaramillo's recently filed motion to recuse the Orange County District Attorney's Office from the case because of the possibility he would get an unfair trial.

The motion also alleges Carona and his lawyer, Michael Schroeder, influenced Rackauckas to file charges, and that prosecutors had some evidence in the case given to them illegally by Schroeder.

Jaramillo's motion said he was viewed as a political threat to Carona and Rackauckas, who he termed the "frontmen for the notorious Orange County kingmaker, Michael Schroeder."

[Jaramillo’s lawyer Robert] Corrado said he is ready to go to trial and call on Schroeder, who advises both Carona and Rackauckas, and their wives, to testify. Schroeder's wife, Susan, works for the district attorney. Rackauckas' former wife helped Lisa Jaramillo raise money for several candidates.

"Let's get them on the witness stand before God and everybody and the news and see what they have to say," Corrado said after the hearing.

Yes, let’s do get them on the witness stand. Let’s let everyone see just how things work in this ridiculous county.

Back in 2000, when then-OC GOP chief Tom Fuentes was selected to replace Steven Frogue, who had resigned from the SOCCCD Board of Trustees just five months prior to election, Fuentes called for a meeting with a group I was then working with. Don Rickner and I showed up at the meeting. At Fuentes’ side was Michael Shroeder. Schroder and Fuentes seemed joined at the hip. The purpose of the meeting was never made clear.

A year or so earlier, Schroeder had sent me a very complimentary note, thanking me for my efforts in opposition to Frogue. At the time, Schroeder was the chief of the state GOP, and he had gotten the state party to join our (ultimately unsuccessful) efforts to recall Trustee Frogue. I had no idea who Schroeder was and why he would bother to send a note.

At about that time, current SOCCCD Chancellor (and then-IVC President) Raghu P. Mathur was meeting with Fuentes and Schroeder.

I think Schroeder and Fuentes were making Kings, as usual.

Let's hope that the Jaramillo trial goes forward and that a little light can be shed on the Machine and how it works, and how it occasionally breaks down.

The IVC Holiday Party is a smashing success

Couldn't ask for better weather.

The Ashley Johnson Trio sounded great.

There was a seriously good vibe and everybody seemed to have a great time.

What a great turnout!

Lots of good people, big smiiles.

A good number of classified employees. Lots of faculty, too.

"California Santa" was a big hit.

About $680 was raised for student scholarships. That's great.

Happy Holidays, everybody!

The Chancellor's Open Forum or "We all Have a Role to Play"

How Rebel Girl saw Tuesday afternoon (with apologies to Chunk):

Schoolhouse Rock. All the boys sat on one side of the room and the girls sat on the other and neither seemed ready to ask the other to dance. It's true! You should have been there. Natch, like all those grade school dances there were more girls than boys but dang if the fellas still play shy. There they were, all seven of them, including Chunk, huddled along two sides while the ladies filled out the rest. What's that about? Granted most of the fellas, except for Chunk and S.R., were what Rebel blithely calls "suits," so maybe it wasn't a boy vs. girl thing, cooties and all that, maybe it had more to do with hierarchy and patriarchal privilege in the institution…in other words, a boy-girl thing.

Smokin' in the Boys Room. In the back of the room, having arriving fashionably late, slouched K.S. and Rebel Girl, the two stalwart female profs who close the place down most Thursday nights, Rebel with her writers, K.S. with her cadre of mostly female students wielding scalpels above the prone forms of small, dead animals. The two lobbed a few questions – stipends, reassigned time, the justice of the DRAC model and the possibility or lack thereof of increased justice in the future. They watched as the Chancellor, as is his wont, unspooled his vision, a tapestry of aphorism and narcissism.

The two were inspired by the Chancellor's visiony vision. What we need, he intoned at one point, is a clearinghouse of ideas and goals. The two quickly responded to his challenge and spent the remainder of the meeting building just such clearinghouse of ideas and goals. They used popsicle sticks and Elmer's Glue-All and plan to place it in the parking lot near the mobile home that serves as our bookstore. It can also operate as a birdhouse. It will be a perfect neighbor, quipped one Eng prof, to the beloved marketplace of ideas.

Back in the Day. The Chancellor told a heartwarming story about his days as a teacher. Once he phoned an absent student to let her know of her earned A on an exam. He disabused the poor thing of her own notion of her own mediocrity. Implied moral: if we all could be more like Raghu, student retention would go way up. Start dialing.

Wasted Days and Wasted Nights. The Chancellor made several elliptical comments about how the board, or members of the board, would object to alcohol being served at on-campus events such as the Foundation Dinner and the Summer Jazz picnic. Don't go there, he seemed to be saying. Please. Pretty please. Keep serving that sparkling apple cider at 99 cents a pop from Trader Joe's. Don't violate the sanctity of the college.

They're Making a List and Checkin' it Twice. Sometime during the discussion of ad-hoc student retention strategies, the office of budget management revealed that when students come to them for refund for dropped classes, they ask the students which class it is, the name of the professor and the reason for withdrawal. They put this information on a list and forward it to the Office of Instruction.

In the Still of the Night. Rebel Girl minded her tongue for once and didn't ask about the state of security of campus, especially late at night. She didn't mention the student who recently died in the middle of the night in the parking lot, whose death went unnoticed for over 10 hours and who had to be found by his father the next morning. She thinks about that event often and wonders what went wrong here that night, what other matters were so pressing that no one noticed a car sitting in a well-lit narrow strip of the parking lot with its windows rolled down and a young man inside.

All the World's a Stage. Throughout the meeting, the Chancellor repeatedly told everybody how we each have a role to play.

His role, he said, in response to a pointed question from Chunk, is to put things on the table.

- Rebel Girl

Pearl Harbor Day

● In this morning’s OC Reg: Orange County Pearl Harbor Day events.

I think they've dug up Francis Scott Key to warble a few bars of the Star Spangled Banner over at OCC.

Meanwhile, at IVC, the organizing committee for the yearly College Holiday Extravaganza has arranged for the Japanese Air Force to strafe the college with vintage Mitsubishi Zeroes at about noon today. (Well, no. One committee member tried to fly the idea, but it got shot down by colleagues. What a total buzzkill!)

● This story, from the LA Times, was mentioned in this morning’s Inside Higher Ed: Cal State panel fails to suspend Cyprus program

A trustee committee for the Cal State system declined Wednesday to suspend an overseas study program on conflict resolution held on the divided island of Cyprus.

Representatives of the Cyprus government had pushed for the suspension because the course, sponsored by San Diego State University, is offered on the Turkish-run portion of the island.

They told the special committee of California State University trustees that it was "illegal and immoral" for the university system to operate the program at Eastern Mediterranean University. Some accused the Turkish administration on the island of human rights abuses.

Faculty and students, however, said the push by what some called the "Greek lobby" threatened academic freedom and the role of higher education in foreign policy....

Owing to cluelessness and meddling, our own SOCCCD trustees have managed to turn a vibrant set of “Study Abroad” programs into slim pickins in recent years.

● From today’s Inside Higher Ed: Study Blasts Speech Codes:

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education on Wednesday released a study finding that speech codes are “commonplace” in American higher education, despite court rulings against them at public institutions and policies at many private colleges that would preclude them. Speech codes are “more pervasive and restrictive than ever,” according to Greg Lukianoff, the president of FIRE.

A "thankless job"

I showed up for the Chancellor’s “forum” up on the 2nd floor of the Library in a room I’d never been in before. It was snazzy, boy.

At first, it didn’t look like there’d be much of a turnout, but, in the end, I counted 19 people, not counting Mathur and Roquemore, who sat up front by themselves like Heckle and Jeckle.

Raghu explained that he thought he’d try “something different” than his usual practice of meeting with each School separately. Hence the “forum.” So, evidently, it was Raghu’s idea.

I asked about reassigned time for Academic Chairs. Thanks to former Trustee Dot Fortune (you remember her: she resigned amid accusations that she had moved to Central California!) and the corrupt bastards who once controlled the faculty union, reassigned time was essentially eliminated, except for union officers, about 8 years ago. Recently, owing to some hard work by Bob Cosgrove, the Chancellor granted the two Academic Senates a significant increase in reassigned time, but the situation for non-union duties like department chair has not improved.

The specific problem to which I referred is that some department chairs are expected to do a very substantial amount of work—tens of hours per week—on top of a full load of instruction, and that workload is insane. Raghu had nothing to offer except to say that reassigned time is a “contractual matter.” We were advised to talk to the union.

Lisa noted another problem: chairs are expected to work during the summer without compensation. “The assumption,” she said, seems to be “that my [time] isn’t worth anything.” Again, Raghu was unhelpful. “Let’s collect the data,” he said. Again, we were advised to go talk to the union.

Someone asked about DRAC, the committee that decides how district funds are distributed. Kathy, who serves on DRAC, said something about how DRAC is like a gizmo with a funnel at each end, and that’s when I fell into a deep coma. I flickered back into consciousness just in time to hear Kathy explain that DRAC is a “much less rancorous place” than it used to be.

Raghu explained the importance of increasing enrollments, which have been shit-tay of late. I asked what he was doing about it, and he said something clever like, “What do you want me to do about it?” Well, hell if I know.

Donna Sneed noted the recent bad press concerning low community college transfer rates. She also referred to the possibility that we at IVC are losing students to Orange Coast College owing to that college’s oft-repeated assertion that it has the “highest transfer rate” or the "most transfers."

A recent Register article that celebrated OCC’s “top ranking” in “Transfers to California State University campuses” (OCC tops) seemed to contain a glaring fallacy, for the relevant statistic (to students who seek to transfer) isn’t the number that OCC transfers, but, rather, the rate at which it transfers (per 100). (Obviously, a small college can have a high rate while a very large college with a lower rate will have much higher numbers.) And yet the article refers only to OCC’s high number of transfers, and the issue of “rate” isn’t even mentioned. Further, the article occasionally lapses into talk of a “transfer rate” as though that were the same thing as the transfer number. Sheesh!

Donna noted that, while OCC never tires of trumpeting its high transfer factoid, IVC doesn’t even know what its transfer rate is, and despite her best efforts, Donna has been unable to get clear data from the state.

If Raghu had anything helpful to say about all this, I sure don’t remember it.

Eventually, the Foundation’s Al Tello noted a problem with Foundation fundraising. More money would be raised if the Foundation were allowed to sell booze at functions. It appears that that is legal, but one or some trustees are resisting the idea.

Sheesh, what’s that all about? Sell booze, I say. Lots of it.


At some point, I mentioned the growing popularity of Study Abroad programs. Two years ago, we had about 14 of ‘em in the district. Now we’re down to two or three. Why? Because the trustees FUBARed Study Abroad into oblivion, that's why.

My question was: Raghu, why didn’t you try to stop them? Shouldn’t you be guiding them away from such folly?

Raghu’s answer seemed to be: well, now, good things are happening. Isn’t a reduction of the liability insurance for trips on the agenda for the next meeting?

Yeah, that’s great, I said, but how come you didn’t say anything when the discussion first came up two years ago? You just sat there as Fuentes yammered about Spain “abandoning our fighting men and women” and Williams fretted about marauding anti-American Italians.

Raghu said that the board votes the way it votes and there’s nothing he can do about it.

That would be a fine answer, I said, if you (Raghu) had done everything in your power to try to steer the board away from their disastrous decision, but you didn’t do that at all. Nope.

Raghu said something like, “Golly, you have no idea the wonderful things I do when you’re not around to see it! I’m really quite remarkable, and selfless, too!”

I mentioned other cases. What about the ALA decision? That was pretty embarrassing. The Accreds said they read about it and it weirded them out from hundreds of miles away! How come you didn’t try harder to steer these people away from that SNAFU?

Mathur pulled another “When you’re not lookin’, I’m workin’ it, baby, like a sonofabitch.” Well, he didn't put it quite that way, but you get the idea.

At one point, he trotted out his best example of Mathurian selflessness and sacrifice: he explained that the faculty contract was approved on a 7-0 vote instead of 5-2. That was his doing, he said. He doesn’t get credit, he said. He doesn’t ask for it. He performs his miracles and then slips quietly into the night. He’s just that kind of guy.

I kept thinking: “Um, what difference does it make if its 7-0 or 4-3, as long as the damn contract is approved?” But whatever.

Eventually, Raghu commenced speachifyin’ about how he’s the kind of guy who “gets things done.” He’s not interested in “settling scores.” No, not him. The bottom line, he said, is that we’ve got to work with people, even if we don’t like ‘em.

At one point, I forget when, he declared that being Chancellor is a “thankless job.” I kept thinking, “Yeah, but those 290 thousand bones you get have gotta wipe away the tears pretty well!”

“I’m a pretty independent person,” he said. He added that he's always working in the background, making his miracles. “Do I always have to say something when I hear bizarre things?”—he was referring to Fuentes’ twaddle about Spain, I suppose.

No! He does things the “professional” way. He’s not the kind to follow a “negative agenda.”

That “negative agenda” stuff. That’s was about me, I guess.

That reminds me! IVC faculty & staff: don’t forget about the Holiday Party Spectacular on the 7th. We’ll have cool entertainment, good food, games, prizes, and general foolishness. “California Santa” will be there with his Harley-Davidson sled, and I’ll be takin’ the pictures of the kiddies on CS's lap! BE THERE OR BE SQUARE!

It's "creepy"

Well, it’s finally happened. The hellmouth has opened up right here in OC.

● A couple of joggers happened upon a human skeleton yesterday in Dana Point near a High School (Corpse found). Apparently, it’s been there for at least a year. Somebody speculated that someone just fell in a pond there and died. Yeah, but wouldn’t somebody notice they were missing? (See also Remains found.)

● Some of my students were telling me that University High was planning to use student fingerprints to speed up lunch lines. Well, sure enough, the story was true (see Plans dropped). Irvine Unified has nixed the plan for now, but it turns out that “A quarter of the school districts in West Virginia use fingerprint scans to identify students.” It’s “creepy,” said one student. (See also Plans called off.)

● Meanwhile, “Huntington Beach police have stopped hiding guns in cars of people they pull over — a way to test how rookie officers search a suspect's vehicle — because ‘it's probably not the way we should be operating’….” (Police drop tactic). A police spokesman said, “How long it's been going on, we don't know….”