Despite being caught with their hands in the cookie jar, the Trustees at Rancho Santiago Community College District continue moving forward with the same wasteful spending habits recently exposed by the Voice of OC which wrote extensively about spending on Trustee travel instead of investing in students, staff and the community they were elected to serve.
Board members meet tonight at 4:30 p.m. at 2323 North Broadway in Santa Ana.
As the Trustees get set to meet this Monday January 11, they are poised to approve an authorization for travel for a Trustee to attend conferences in Sacramento and Washington DC at a cost of up to $4500, courtesy of the taxpayers of the Rancho Santiago Community College District.
The one-day Community College League of California conference cost $495 to attend while the opening reception is entitled “Better Supporting Financially Needy Community College Students” and is being held at the Sheraton Grand where rooms currently run $209 to $843.
Students at Santa Ana College had to sell hot dogs in order to raise $4500 so as to fund a math class needed for transfer to a four year university so one would think that Trustees would err on the side of caution when it comes to spending on unnecessary and frivolous travel.
Our community deserves better than well traveled Trustees and underfunded classrooms.
Thomas Gordon is a Santa Ana resident who frequently monitors public agency meetings and issues in his city and can be reached at thomas.anthony.gordon@gmail.com
Voice of OC is interested in hearing different perspectives and voices. If you want to weigh in on this issue please contact Voice of OC Publisher Norberto Santana at nsantana@voiceofoc.org.