$332,000 Consultation Fee Debated By Candidates

by Richard David Boyle

Crafton Hills College’s spending of $332,000 for a part time outside consultant to try remove the probation rating and prevent actual loss of accreditation was debated by two candidates in the Press Enterprise.
Board Trustee candidate Richard David Boyle attacked the waste of taxpayer money to hire Matthew Lee, a free lance writer and friend of college president Gloria Harrison, while ten classes were shut down and hundreds of students turned away. ‘This is worse than Bell where at least those who gouged taxpayers purported to work full time,” said Boyle.
James Ramos, also a candidate and presently Board president said he wants the district to “continue fiscal discipline” and said the $332,000 was “well spent when you look at the outcome.”
Boyle who has spoken with the Accreditation Commission in Novato said he was told it was shocking that a district would spend a third of million dollars on some consultant while ten badly needed classes were closed and students denied an opportunity to graduate. The Accreditation Commission has not yet decided on the issue of probation or removal of accreditation and will vote in 2011.
“Crafton Hills is still on probation despite this frivolous waste of tax money,” said Boyle, “and to pay for this waste they hit students with higher parking, library and health fees.”
Ramos, who is boss of the San Manuel tribe and casino, where according to court records from a 2007 Federal DEA investigation of murder plots, drug dealing and money laundering for the Mexican Mafia, each of the 200 adult members make $100,000 per month tax free, said Boyle.
“To Ramos $332,000, a three months paycheck, is no big thing,” said Boyle, “but for hard pressed students and struggling taxpayers it is a lot of money especially when they are now facing higher taxes and fees to cover this consultant’s charge for services.”
Incumbent Don Singer, who also voted to pay Lee his hefty pay for part time “consultation” said with “money being tight, are we getting the bang for the buck?” Singer and Ramos also voted to give 32 district faculty members early retirement, but only hired five replacements.
“They voted to pay retired professors to sit at home,” said Boyle “while they fired one deaf sign language teacher and cut classes, turning away students who badly need a degree to get a job.” Boyle doubted the incumbents were “getting the bang for the buck by voting for five million dollars for consultants, outside lawyers, travel to Hawaii, lavish Hilton Hotel lunches and outside speakers from Evil Twin Agency.”
Boyle also disagreed with another candidate, Don Nydam, who told a San Bernardino Valley College audience that wanted to fire all part time adjunct teachers and hire only full time tenured professors. “The vice chancellor told me that would double the budget from $3.5 million to $7 million,” Boyle said. “That would mean both higher taxes and student fees, not wise fiscal management in these hard times.”
Boyle, a former professor at USC, Stanford, San Francisco State University and Crafton Hills College is President of Teachers for a Change.
www.teachersforachange.biz