Many Orange County residents can recall the 1987 indictments of four Orange Unified (OUSD) board members for willful misconduct in office.
The four were indicted for their failure to obey various California Educational Code requirements related to a bid rigging scheme orchestrated by a rogue administrator. The prosecuting attorney at the time stated the OUSD board members were “not minding the store”. The penalty was not criminal but had the board members fought the indictment in court and lost, they would have been removed from office. Three of the four resigned and the fourth, Joe Cherry ran for another term. He was defeated by me.
It appears the elected trustees of the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) could find themselves in a similar situation as the OUSD board members did four decades ago.
A scathing report by the fraud investigative firm, Weaver found current and former RSCCD administrators involved in conflict-of-interests, a pattern of failing to accurately report millions of dollars held in an account by a vendor, the Alliance of Schools for Cooperative Insurance Programs (ASCIP) and education code violations.
Weaver Forensic Audit Report, Courtesy of Weaver
Last year ASCIP held over $7 million that wasn’t reported to the college district’s auditors. The pattern of failing to report this off-the-books account goes back over 20 years and has continued each year under the six-year tenure of Chancellor Marvin Martinez.
In a June 2024 board meeting, Trustee Phil Yarbrough demanded the return of the funds which prompted the investigation by Weaver. Yarbrough has been alone in his public criticism of the account.
The RSCCD trustees have a chance to get ahead of this situation and can take appropriate action to protect the district in the future and hold those accountable.
After Weaver gave their presentation to the RSCCD board on March 10, RSCCD board president Daisy Tong promised there would be discussions again on the matter.
So far, crickets.
The RSCCD board meets again on April 28.
Dr. Barry Resnick retired in 2022 after 42 years as a professor of counseling with the Rancho Santiago CCD. He has resided with his family in Orange for 38 years. From 1989-’93 he served as a trustee and president on the OUSD board.
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