| Stutz, Artiano Shinoff & Holtz has cost MiraCosta College $3.0 million for an investigation that exposed the theft of $305 worth of water for palm trees |
| http://www.severance.com/mccmess/2007_05_17OttilieLe ttertoShinoff.pdf http://www.severance.com/mccmess/2007_05_29Carranza MemotoAustin.pdf http://www.severance.com/mccmess/RichartandAdamsLette rs2-02-07.pdf |
| Please cut and paste the following addresses into your Internet browser for excellent information on the MiraCosta Mess. |
| For links to documents and articles about the MiraCosta fiasco , visit the |
| Tom Severance is chairman of the Business Department at MiraCosta College, and a full-time instructor. |
| Click here for more articles about MiraCosta College from San Diego Education Report Blog |
| "...What is even more maddening is that MiraCosta College in-house attorney Dan Shinoff is hired to represent the college’s board, but instead acts as if he reports exclusively to Munoz Richart. This is defective government at its best..." Ken Leighton |
| MCC settles with former administrator for $500K North County Times By: PHILIP K. IRELAND - Staff Writer December 11, 2007 OCEANSIDE -- For the second time in six months, MiraCosta College trustees agreed Tuesday to pay a high-dollar employee not to work for them. MiraCosta's board of trustees approved a settlement of more than $500,000 with Julie Hatoff, the former vice president of instruction who was dismissed last spring during an investigation into the illegal sale of palm trees from the campus horticulture department. In a similar action last June, the board unanimously voted to pay $1.6 million to former college president Victoria Munoz Richart in a legal settlement. Under both agreements, the former top-level administrators will not work for the college but will continue to draw pay and benefits for 18 months. Under Tuesday's agreement, Hatoff is scheduled to get salary and benefits totaling $226,200 over the next 18 months. She will also get a lump-sum payment of $311,282 from the college for "further consideration," according to the settlement agreement... Hatoff had sued MiraCosta, alleging breach of contract, negligence, extortion, harassment and violations of labor law. She had sought $24 million in damages. As a condition of the settlement agreement, neither party admitted wrongdoing. The deal caps months of legal wrangling and political intrigue. A 36-year employee of MiraCosta College, Hatoff oversaw all educational programs as its top instructional administrator. She was one of several employees investigated by the college's private attorney during the palm-tree probe. In December 2005, a whistle-blower said officials in the horticulture department were raising and selling palm trees for personal profit. The college's ensuing 17-month probe led authorities to charge one school employee, Alleen Texeira, with theft. She pleaded guilty to a single theft, worth $305. College officials accused Hatoff of failing to properly supervise employees and refusing to cooperate in its investigation, which concluded that Hatoff knew of the illegal activities but did nothing to stop them. However, a separate investigation by the San Diego County district attorney's office found no evidence of illegal activity by Hatoff. Hatoff was placed on leave from her job as vice president of instruction in August 2006. She continued to draw her annual pay as an administrator of $200,000 a year until her dismissal last June. After June, she returned to the college as an instructor on paid leave and continued to collect monthly pay and benefits of $150,800. She returned briefly to the classroom this fall. Tuesday's settlement ends Hatoff's active employment as of Dec. 31. She will return to administrative leave through June 30, 2009. The agreement ends all legal actions by both parties. Carolyn Batiste, one of two trustees to oppose the settlement, said the deal "hopefully ends a historically dark period" in MiraCosta's past. Batiste opposed the settlement, saying she believed that the district would have defeated Hatoff's suit. Trustee Greg Post also opposed the settlement, calling the last few years a "tragedy." He said Hatoff brought her problems upon herself when she stopped cooperating with the investigator hired by the district. Trustee Gloria Carranza, long a Hatoff supporter, thanked the administrator at Tuesday's board meeting. "I think she should be lauded for her stellar accomplishments at MiraCosta College," Carranza said. "She was dedicated to teaching and students throughout her 36 years." |
| Did MiraCosta College commit extortion against Julie Hatoff? When you desperately try to get someone charged with a crime (such as Dan Shinoff and Victoria Richart's use of $1.5 million in public money to conduct an investigation into a $305 unpaid water bill for palm trees at MiraCosta Community college) in order to get an advantage in a civil matter (a conflict between President Richart and the faculty), isn't that extortion? |
August 7, 2007
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/200
7/08/08/news/coastal/17_48_548_7
_07.txt
MiraCosta hires interim president;
agrees to 're-notice' Richart
settlement
By: PAUL SISSON - Staff Writer
OCEANSIDE -- MiraCosta College
trustees named veteran
administrator John Hendrickson its
interim president and canceled
the suspension of former
college VicePresident Julie
Hatoff on Tuesday after more
than six hours of closed-door
deliberations.
Trustees also voted to
"re-notice" for the board's
next meeting a controversial
$1.5 million settlement
reached in June with former
MiraCosta President Victoria
Munoz Richart.
By re-noticing the meeting,
college officials said they
hope to deflect a lawsuit by
a local attorney Leon Page,
who claims the board
violated the state's open
meeting law when it made
the closed-session deal with
Richart.
Page has demanded that the
settlement be abandoned
and all payments to Richart
cease.
A written statement released
by the college Tuesday
denies that the board
violated the open-meeting
law, known as the Ralph M.
Brown Act, but says the
college will
re-notice the meeting in an
effort to avoid further
litigation.
It was unclear whether the
board would be required to
vote on the settlement again.
Page said Tuesday he
believes the board's action
falls short of his demands
that the settlement be
vacated. He said he intends
to file a civil lawsuit against
the
college today.
The deal with Richart capped
more than a year of
controversy at MiraCosta,
much of it stemming from an
investigation into the illegal
sale of palm trees by the
college's horticulture
department.
One employee was
eventually charged with theft
totaling $305 after Richart
conducted a $1.2 million
investigation. That
investigation involved
placing Hatoff, the
college's vice president of
instructional services, on
involuntary administrative
leave.
On a unanimous vote,
trustees ended that leave
Tuesday, stating that Hatoff
has a "right of retreat" to
retain her former job as an
English professor at
MiraCosta.
College spokeswoman
Bonnie Hall said she did not
know whether Hatoff, who
has a lawsuit against the
college, will return to a
teaching job at MiraCosta.
Hatoff did
not return a call for comment
Tuesday.
Larry Herrmann, co-chair of
Restore MiraCosta, a public
action committee formed to
recall majority board
members who supported
Richart, said he and others
who have
supported Hatoff were
pleased by the board's
decision to cancel her
administrative leave.
"Her right to retreat was
there from the beginning, and
we're glad they're finally
acknowledging that," he said.
The college is continuing to
seek a permanent president
to fill the vacancy left by
Richart, but named an
interim leader Tuesday.
Trustees voted 3-0 with
three abstentions and one
member absent to hire
Hendrickson, who recently
served a one-year stint as
the college's interim director
of
business and administrative
services, to serve as
MiraCosta's interim
superintendent and president.
Hendrickson will guide the
board through the process of
finding a permanent
president to take his place.
Reached Tuesday, the
veteran community college
administrator said he was
excited to return to
MiraCosta to fill another
interim post.
"When I heard they had
another need for an interim, I
jumped at the opportunity,
because I enjoyed every day
at the college when I was
there," Hendrickson said.
Charles Adams, chairman of
the MiraCosta's governing
board, said Tuesday that the
board selected Hendrickson
from a field of four
candidates. He said that the
new
interim president's previous
work in an interim capacity
at the college spoke well for
him.
"There were other
employees and
administrators who spoke
well of him, and some of us
board members had worked
with him previously, and we
felt like we knew him,"
Adams said.
Adams and fellow board
members Carolyn Batiste
and Rudy Fernandez all
voted for Hendrickson's
appointment, while Trustees
Judy Stratton, Jacqueline
Simon, Gloria
Carranza and Carolyn Batiste
all abstained. Member Greg
Post, who was called away
for a family emergency, did
not vote.
Stratton said Tuesday
evening that she abstained
because she was not
comfortable with
Hendrickson's contract,
though she declined to
specify her objections to the
pact.
"I just felt like it was not one
I was comfortable with,"
Stratton said.
Carranza declined to state
her reasons why she
abstained; Simon did not
return a telephone call
seeking comment.
An employment agreement
with the administrator states
that he will "be placed on
the district's academic
salary schedule in
accordance with his
experience and
academic credits and
background" but does not
specify a salary. He will also
receive a monthly travel and
housing allowance of $3,000.
Hendrickson lists 38 years
of experience in the public
administration and
consulting fields, including
12 years in senior
management positions at
four California
community colleges. He is
currently the director of
financial and resource
Planning for Kitchell CEM, a
firm that provides
construction management for
public
agencies. He holds masters
degrees in educational
leadership and public
administration from the
California State University
system.
-- Contact staff writer Paul
Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or
psisson@nctimes.com.
.
Comments On This Story
Note: Comments reflect the
views of readers and not
necessarily those of the
North County Times or its
staff.
What a joke! wrote on Aug 7,
2007 7:39 PM:The board
returns Ms. Hatoff to the
classroom - what a
magnanimous gesture of
nothing! She had tenure
rights and they have nothing
to do with her right to return
to the classroom. All they
wanted to do was stop her
from asking questions of the
mighty majority which she
would do in the deposition
phase of her action. The
transparency we seek as a
public right is once again
denied us. These absolute
dictators must be removed
from public office. They have
no interest in saving the
taxpayers' money: on the
contrary, they just do what
the self-serving lawyers tell
them. They will try again to
extort money for Richart.
Join the recall efforts. Sign
to get the recall on the ballot!
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/200
7/08/08/news/coastal/17_48_548_7
_07.txt
MiraCosta hires interim president;
agrees to 're-notice' Richart
settlement
By: PAUL SISSON - Staff Writer
OCEANSIDE -- MiraCosta College
trustees named veteran
administrator John Hendrickson its
interim president and canceled
the suspension of former
college VicePresident Julie
Hatoff on Tuesday after more
than six hours of closed-door
deliberations.
Trustees also voted to
"re-notice" for the board's
next meeting a controversial
$1.5 million settlement
reached in June with former
MiraCosta President Victoria
Munoz Richart.
By re-noticing the meeting,
college officials said they
hope to deflect a lawsuit by
a local attorney Leon Page,
who claims the board
violated the state's open
meeting law when it made
the closed-session deal with
Richart.
Page has demanded that the
settlement be abandoned
and all payments to Richart
cease.
A written statement released
by the college Tuesday
denies that the board
violated the open-meeting
law, known as the Ralph M.
Brown Act, but says the
college will
re-notice the meeting in an
effort to avoid further
litigation.
It was unclear whether the
board would be required to
vote on the settlement again.
Page said Tuesday he
believes the board's action
falls short of his demands
that the settlement be
vacated. He said he intends
to file a civil lawsuit against
the
college today.
The deal with Richart capped
more than a year of
controversy at MiraCosta,
much of it stemming from an
investigation into the illegal
sale of palm trees by the
college's horticulture
department.
One employee was
eventually charged with theft
totaling $305 after Richart
conducted a $1.2 million
investigation. That
investigation involved
placing Hatoff, the
college's vice president of
instructional services, on
involuntary administrative
leave.
On a unanimous vote,
trustees ended that leave
Tuesday, stating that Hatoff
has a "right of retreat" to
retain her former job as an
English professor at
MiraCosta.
College spokeswoman
Bonnie Hall said she did not
know whether Hatoff, who
has a lawsuit against the
college, will return to a
teaching job at MiraCosta.
Hatoff did
not return a call for comment
Tuesday.
Larry Herrmann, co-chair of
Restore MiraCosta, a public
action committee formed to
recall majority board
members who supported
Richart, said he and others
who have
supported Hatoff were
pleased by the board's
decision to cancel her
administrative leave.
"Her right to retreat was
there from the beginning, and
we're glad they're finally
acknowledging that," he said.
The college is continuing to
seek a permanent president
to fill the vacancy left by
Richart, but named an
interim leader Tuesday.
Trustees voted 3-0 with
three abstentions and one
member absent to hire
Hendrickson, who recently
served a one-year stint as
the college's interim director
of
business and administrative
services, to serve as
MiraCosta's interim
superintendent and president.
Hendrickson will guide the
board through the process of
finding a permanent
president to take his place.
Reached Tuesday, the
veteran community college
administrator said he was
excited to return to
MiraCosta to fill another
interim post.
"When I heard they had
another need for an interim, I
jumped at the opportunity,
because I enjoyed every day
at the college when I was
there," Hendrickson said.
Charles Adams, chairman of
the MiraCosta's governing
board, said Tuesday that the
board selected Hendrickson
from a field of four
candidates. He said that the
new
interim president's previous
work in an interim capacity
at the college spoke well for
him.
"There were other
employees and
administrators who spoke
well of him, and some of us
board members had worked
with him previously, and we
felt like we knew him,"
Adams said.
Adams and fellow board
members Carolyn Batiste
and Rudy Fernandez all
voted for Hendrickson's
appointment, while Trustees
Judy Stratton, Jacqueline
Simon, Gloria
Carranza and Carolyn Batiste
all abstained. Member Greg
Post, who was called away
for a family emergency, did
not vote.
Stratton said Tuesday
evening that she abstained
because she was not
comfortable with
Hendrickson's contract,
though she declined to
specify her objections to the
pact.
"I just felt like it was not one
I was comfortable with,"
Stratton said.
Carranza declined to state
her reasons why she
abstained; Simon did not
return a telephone call
seeking comment.
An employment agreement
with the administrator states
that he will "be placed on
the district's academic
salary schedule in
accordance with his
experience and
academic credits and
background" but does not
specify a salary. He will also
receive a monthly travel and
housing allowance of $3,000.
Hendrickson lists 38 years
of experience in the public
administration and
consulting fields, including
12 years in senior
management positions at
four California
community colleges. He is
currently the director of
financial and resource
Planning for Kitchell CEM, a
firm that provides
construction management for
public
agencies. He holds masters
degrees in educational
leadership and public
administration from the
California State University
system.
-- Contact staff writer Paul
Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or
psisson@nctimes.com.
.
Comments On This Story
Note: Comments reflect the
views of readers and not
necessarily those of the
North County Times or its
staff.
What a joke! wrote on Aug 7,
2007 7:39 PM:The board
returns Ms. Hatoff to the
classroom - what a
magnanimous gesture of
nothing! She had tenure
rights and they have nothing
to do with her right to return
to the classroom. All they
wanted to do was stop her
from asking questions of the
mighty majority which she
would do in the deposition
phase of her action. The
transparency we seek as a
public right is once again
denied us. These absolute
dictators must be removed
from public office. They have
no interest in saving the
taxpayers' money: on the
contrary, they just do what
the self-serving lawyers tell
them. They will try again to
extort money for Richart.
Join the recall efforts. Sign
to get the recall on the ballot!
MiraCosta College - Trustee
Jacqueline Simon
A public California community
college serving coastal North San
Diego County.
www.miracosta.cc.ca.
us/OfficeOfThePresident/Governing
Board/JacquelineSimon.htm
Jacqueline Simon was elected to
the Board of Trustees of MiraCosta
College in November 2004. She is a
resident of Carlsbad representing
Area 3, which includes Carlsbad
and Encinitas.
As an educator with over 17 years
of teaching experience at the
community college level, she brings
a unique perspective to the board.
Her educational background
involves her directly with many of
the issues and challenges facing
our community colleges today and
gives her insight into the immediate
needs of both faculty and students.
She believes that MiraCosta’s
curriculum policy should strongly
comply with academic goals and
transfer requirements of four-year
institutions so that students will
have the opportunity to transfer to
any college of their choice. She
also advocates that local funding be
apportioned to promote expanding
educational opportunities.
She holds a Master of Arts degree
in Speech from California State
University East Bay (formerly called
California State University at
Hayward) and a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Journalism from San Jose
State University. She currently
teaches speech and communication
at community colleges within the
San Diego and Riverside county
districts along with outreach
programs such as the Hill House,
continuing education for recently
paroled individuals working to better
themselves and their future.
Ms. Simon also has numerous
years experience in the corporate
environment as a Senior Technical
writer. In this capacity she has
authored and produced numerous
technical and educational
publications for many of San Diego’
s top organizations. She is a Senior
Member of the Society for Technical
Communication.
Jacqueline also takes an active
interest in the arts and culture of
our community having been an
active member of the Museum of
Photographic Arts since its
inception and has held several
memberships over the years
supporting the arts through
organizations such as the San
Diego Museum of Art, the Museum
of Contemporary Art La Jolla, the
Mingei International Museum and
Save Our Heritage Organization.
Being an advocate of the arts,
Jacqueline hopes to create new
venues for North County by
involving MiraCosta as host and
sponsor for promoting and
recruiting new and existing artistic
endeavors such as increasing the
utilization of the MiraCosta Theater.
Jacqueline welcomes this unique
opportunity to serve as a MiraCosta
trustee to ensure that MiraCosta
College becomes the premiere
institute of learning and educational
opportunity benefiting not only our
youth but also our community.
Jacqueline Simon
A public California community
college serving coastal North San
Diego County.
www.miracosta.cc.ca.
us/OfficeOfThePresident/Governing
Board/JacquelineSimon.htm
Jacqueline Simon was elected to
the Board of Trustees of MiraCosta
College in November 2004. She is a
resident of Carlsbad representing
Area 3, which includes Carlsbad
and Encinitas.
As an educator with over 17 years
of teaching experience at the
community college level, she brings
a unique perspective to the board.
Her educational background
involves her directly with many of
the issues and challenges facing
our community colleges today and
gives her insight into the immediate
needs of both faculty and students.
She believes that MiraCosta’s
curriculum policy should strongly
comply with academic goals and
transfer requirements of four-year
institutions so that students will
have the opportunity to transfer to
any college of their choice. She
also advocates that local funding be
apportioned to promote expanding
educational opportunities.
She holds a Master of Arts degree
in Speech from California State
University East Bay (formerly called
California State University at
Hayward) and a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Journalism from San Jose
State University. She currently
teaches speech and communication
at community colleges within the
San Diego and Riverside county
districts along with outreach
programs such as the Hill House,
continuing education for recently
paroled individuals working to better
themselves and their future.
Ms. Simon also has numerous
years experience in the corporate
environment as a Senior Technical
writer. In this capacity she has
authored and produced numerous
technical and educational
publications for many of San Diego’
s top organizations. She is a Senior
Member of the Society for Technical
Communication.
Jacqueline also takes an active
interest in the arts and culture of
our community having been an
active member of the Museum of
Photographic Arts since its
inception and has held several
memberships over the years
supporting the arts through
organizations such as the San
Diego Museum of Art, the Museum
of Contemporary Art La Jolla, the
Mingei International Museum and
Save Our Heritage Organization.
Being an advocate of the arts,
Jacqueline hopes to create new
venues for North County by
involving MiraCosta as host and
sponsor for promoting and
recruiting new and existing artistic
endeavors such as increasing the
utilization of the MiraCosta Theater.
Jacqueline welcomes this unique
opportunity to serve as a MiraCosta
trustee to ensure that MiraCosta
College becomes the premiere
institute of learning and educational
opportunity benefiting not only our
youth but also our community.
| MiraCosta struggled through 2007 By: PHILIP K. IRELAND North County Times Jan. 2, 2008 Lawsuits and buyouts cost the college millions OCEANSIDE -- Though MiraCosta College continued to roil in 2007 as attorneys wrangled lawsuits, an embattled chief executive left with a big pile of cash, and trustees continued their public bickering and private deal-making, an end to the strife may be in sight. The political infighting cast a shadow on the breezy hilltop campus of well-maintained buildings, green trim lawns and tall trees, shading such positives as the dedication of a $8.7 million horticulture building and the launch of a new nursing program. The turmoil began in late 2005 with allegations that employees in the horticulture department were selling district-owned palm trees for personal profit. The scandal ripped the once-placid community college into divided camps, pitting teachers against the college president and trustee against trustee. An ensuing investigation led to the early retirement or dismissal of several employees, multiple lawsuits, a stunning public-session allegation of hate crimes, and the expenditure of millions in taxpayer money -- including more than $2 million to buy top-level administrators out of their contracts. But 2008 may see the end of the controversy. Just a few lawsuits are left to settle. And in November, three of seven trustees will face elections, which could break the 4-3 split that typifies votes on most issues involving the palm tree scandal. The year in review College-watchers saw several actions last year that grew out of the scandal: A private investigator employed by the college finished his 18-month inquiry into palm tree sales in April, concluding that an employee sold trees for personal profit, and that several administrators knew of the practice but took no action. Also last spring, a deputy San Diego district attorney concluded a separate palm tree investigation, resulting in a guilty plea by horticulture department employee Alleen Texeira for the theft of $305. In a March vote, four out of five instructors said they had no confidence in the ability of the governing board to effectively run the district. In June, someone defaced the home of Trustee Charles Adams -- who is black -- with "KKK," a reference to the hate group Ku Klux Klan. A few days later Adams accused two faculty leaders and fellow trustees with the hate crime during a public board meeting. Adams later apologized for the accusations. Former college President Victoria Munoz Richart negotiated a $1.6 million severance package in June, saying trustees had improperly evaluated her performance in public. In July, district officials tallied legal spending on the investigation at $1.2 million. Local legal activist Leon Page filed suit against the college in the fall seeking to overturn Richart's severance deal as an illegal gift of public funds. The San Diego County district attorney's office launched a probe in August into the legality of the Richart deal. A political action group representing teachers filed papers in July to recall Trustees Adams and Greg Post, but later ended the recall effort. During a special visit to the college in September to gauge the scandal's impact on students, an agency that certifies colleges across the West criticized trustees for their continued failure to resolve nearly two years of political turmoil. Former Dean of Instruction Eileen Kraskouskas, fired as a result of the investigation, withdrew her wrongful termination suit against the college in August after a judge dismissed a similar lawsuit against Richart. Former Vice President of Instruction Julie Hatoff was dismissed in December, negotiating a $535,000 severance package that ended two competing legal actions. Entrenched attitudes That long list of contentious issues polarized trustees into two voting blocs. Trustees Adams, Post, Carolyn Batiste and Rudy Fernandez formed a voting majority that backed Richart. They repeatedly blocked attempts by minority Trustees Gloria Carranza, Judy Strattan and Jacqueline Simon to discuss issues regarding the scandal, the ensuing investigation, the mounting legal costs and myriad political and moral questions that grew out of the controversy. Many instructors, backed by minority trustees, say Richart used the palm-tree investigation as a pretext for eliminating administrators who challenged Richart's primacy. Richart and the board majority said they were required by law and morality to ferret out wrongdoing. Post was among four elected officials who stood steadfastly behind Richart. In June, Post defended spending more than $1 million in taxpayer money to investigate and prosecute the case, saying that wrongdoing must investigated and ended at any cost. The campus divide was perhaps at its widest when board President Adams stood up in a summer meeting, pointed his finger at faculty leaders Jonathan Cole and Abdy Afzali and at Trustees Carranza and Strattan, accused them of vandalizing his home with a symbol of hate. The accusations brought audible gasps from the audience and immediate denials from those Adams accused. A light in sight Despite the political intrigues and entrenched attitudes of faculty and trustees alike, little of the controversy has affected students, said Academic Senate President Jonathan Cole. "The legal wrangling did not get into the classroom," Cole said. "The quality of education at MiraCosta College has not suffered and we're very proud of that." Few of more than a dozen students interviewed this fall said they had even heard of the palm-tree controversy. Student Trustee Benjamin Weiner told board members that the scandal has not created problems for students. Student Tyler Jones, former editor of the MiraCosta College newspaper, said "The Chariot" has published two articles about aspects of the controversy. But in general, students have more important things to worry about, he said. "It's business as usual in the classroom," Tyler said. Looking forward, Cole said selection of a new college president will be big news in 2008. Cole lauded the work of interim college President John Hendrickson, hired in July to lead the district in the search for Richart's permanent replacement. Hendrickson has assembled a representative team to help with the search, Cole said. "(Hendrickson is) good at bringing together different constituencies into that search process," Cole said. "Everybody is feeling much more hopeful about the district. He's done a good job stabilizing the district, and a good job opening up communication."... |
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/01/16/opinion/batra/21_31_
081_15_08.txt
http://www.severance.com/mccmess/2008_01_11
Richart
Opposition to Motion to Compel.pdf
Page is going to depose MCC Board members and Jim Austin:
http://www.severance.com/mccmess/2008_01_15
Notice of Depositions.pdf
Page's reply: Winet failed to state a valid legal reason why
Richart shouldn't be deposed:
http://www.severance.com/mccmess/2008_01_16
Page
Reply Declaration.pdf
081_15_08.txt
http://www.severance.com/mccmess/2008_01_11
Richart
Opposition to Motion to Compel.pdf
Page is going to depose MCC Board members and Jim Austin:
http://www.severance.com/mccmess/2008_01_15
Notice of Depositions.pdf
Page's reply: Winet failed to state a valid legal reason why
Richart shouldn't be deposed:
http://www.severance.com/mccmess/2008_01_16
Page
Reply Declaration.pdf
| Judge Anello's tentative ruling disqualifies MCC attorneys from Hatoff case North County Times By: PHILIP K. IRELAND August 23, 2007 VISTA ---- Lawyers working for MiraCosta College should be disqualified from defending the school against a $24 million lawsuit filed by former vice president of instruction Julie Hatoff, according to a Superior Court judge's tentative ruling Thursday. In his ruling, Judge Michael Anello found that attorney Daniel Shinoff and the law firm Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff and Holtz failed to make clear to Hatoff that Shinoff represented the college ---- not her ---- when he interviewed her during an investigation into the illegal sale of palm trees from the campus' horticulture department. Hatoff was cleared of wrongdoing by the county district attorney's office, but her lawsuit alleges that she was subsequently dismissed from her $200,000-a-year administrative job because of statements she made to Shinoff under the promise of attorney-client privilege. Hatoff is still an English professor at the school. Anello is scheduled to issue a final decision Friday on the motion to disqualify the law firm, after hearing arguments from Hatoff attorney Tracy Warren and from Jack Sleeth, a lawyer representing the college. Like Shinoff, Sleeth is employed by Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff and Holtz. Reached by phone Thursday, Warren declined to comment on the tentative ruling. Shinoff and Sleeth could not be reached for comment. Shinoff led the college through its 17-month internal investigation into the palm tree affair. The scandal erupted in December 2005 when a whistleblower alleged that officials in the horticulture department were raising and selling palm trees for personal profit. The ensuing probe led authorities to charge one school employee, Alleen Texeira, with a single count of theft. A handful of other employees, including Hatoff, were disciplined or resigned. College officials accused Hatoff of failing to properly supervise employees and refusing to cooperate in the investigation. She was placed on administrative leave as vice president of instruction in August 2006 and dismissed from the post in June. Hatoff has not been charged with any crime and was cleared of wrongdoing after an investigation by the county district attorney's office, according to deputy district attorney Mike Still. Anello's ruling found that when interviewing Hatoff, Shinoff appeared to violate one of the California Rules of Professional Conduct, a document that guides the behavior of attorneys in California. The rule in question essentially states that when dealing with an organization's employees, an attorney must explain clearly who he is working for when it becomes apparent that the organization's interest may conflict with those of the employee. "Instead, Shinoff promised me and others attorney-client privilege if we cooperated in the investigation and maintained confidentiality," Hatoff alleges in her lawsuit. Sleeth said earlier this week that Hatoff was never Shinoff's client. Therefore, he said, rules regarding conduct with clients do not apply. In his ruling, Anello rejected that argument, stating that the notification rule still applies. Hatoff sued the college in May, alleging breach of contract, negligence, extortion, harassment and labor law violations. The lawsuit names the college, former college President Victoria Munoz Richart, all seven members of MiraCosta's governing board and former trustee Henry Holloway. Hatoff is seeking $14 million in general and special damages, as well as punitive damages of $5 million from Richart, and $1 million each from the board members who supported Richart ---- board president Charles Adams and trustees Carolyn Batiste, Rudy Fernandez, Gregory Post and Holloway. In Hatoff's lawsuit, there are several other motions pending, including one by the college to dismiss the case and another that seeks to shield four college trustees from testifying in depositions. |
| MiraCosta president a roundtable no-show Ken Leighton http://www.thecoastnews. com/articles/2274/ February 09, 2007 I turned in my first appearance on KOCT’s “Journalist Roundtable” last week and it was not without surprises. (The show replays throughout the month — see KOCT.org for times). Among the surprises, Vista school board member Stephen Guffanti said that the Vista teachers union “supported rapists.” But more on that next week. The biggest bombshell came two days before the live show when MiraCosta College President Victoria Munoz Richart said she could not participate because of “scheduling conflicts.” MCC spokesperson Bonnie Hall said Richart would not be explaining what those “conflicts” were, but I would imagine that the overwhelming nonsupport of her teaching staff had something to do with her decision to not take part in the show. For the first time in the school’s history, a MCC president has been given a vote of no confidence by the teaching staff. Jonathan Cole, president of the MCC faculty senate, said 78 percent of the full- time faculty showed up Nov. 30, 2006, to vote on a resolution of “no confidence.” Of those who voted, 91 percent voted “no confidence.” MCC instructor Tom Severance put together a Web site, www.severance. com/mccmess, that documents the staff’s unhappiness with Richart. The site contains a collection of signed letters from these highly paid teaching professionals which spell out specifically why they think Richart has to go. “The staff is deeply concerned that Richart has been unable to provide more information about ongoing events,” Cole said. The Web site refers to a Seattle Post- Intelligencer article that points out that while Richart was president of the Cascadia district in Washington, the staff there voted to unionize. The Web site suggests Richart may trigger an effort to unionize at MiraCosta. What has not been said in these anti- Richart tirades, is that the MCC board is directly responsible for hiring Richart. I think as this all plays out, we will all get to know the names of these board members and how they vote. That same MCC board voted to forbid any of their fellow members to speak to press on matters relating to their college. This is, of course, a joke. Judy Strattan was recently elected to the MCC board. Stratton unseated a longtime incumbent (she got 60 percent at the polls) and then openly violated the gag rule when she spoke to a North County Times reporter. And guess what? The board can do nothing about it. Judy Strattan will continue to speak up and speak out and the board majority can do nothing but complain in closed session and look like rank amateurs... Regarding Richart’s KOCT no-show and her board’s unenforceable gag rule I say: You can run but you cannot hide. |
MiraCosta faction
opposes severance
3 trustees say public
must decide on action
By Lola Sherman
San Diego Union Tribune
June 27, 2007
NORTH COUNTY – The three-
member minority on the MiraCosta
College governing board is hoping
a contract giving more than $1
million in cash and benefits to
departing college President
Victoria Muñoz Richart can be set
aside.
Board members Gloria Carranza,
Jacqueline Simon and Judy
Strattan spoke out yesterday at
Carranza's Carlsbad home.
They said taxpayers have every
right to be irate over the amount
of money given Richart to leave
the campus she has headed for
three years. But they said they
have failed to budge the four-
member board majority on any
issue over the past year and a
half, so it will be up to the public to
take up the gauntlet at this point.
“You must decide if it is important
enough to question the legality of
the recent settlement with the
president,” they said in a “report
to the public.” But, because the
terms of the settlement reached
by the board June 20 after an all-
night closed session require that
they not discuss it, the three did
not specify what is wrong with the
deal, other than its cost.
They posed the choice of a recall
of trustees to the public.
“You must decide if you want
different trustees to become
stewards of your tax dollars,” their
prepared report said.
Strattan acknowledged that by
calling a news conference, the
three were violating what she
called a “gag order” imposed by
board policy, requiring that only
the board president speak for the
entire board.
Board President Charles Adams
was informed of their intent, she
said.
Adams, contacted at home
yesterday, said he had not
received any notification and that
the three trustees are breaching
the contract with Richart by talking
about it.
Strattan said she was being
meticulous in discussing only the
“process” that was followed during
the closed session, which ended
at 5:40 a.m., after which the
settlement was disclosed.
And, she said, Adams already had
breached the pact's confidentiality
provision by disclosing previously
that the board went into the
meeting “to hammer out a deal”
with Richart and by saying the
board was told Richart might get
even more from a jury if she sued
and won.
The settlement pays her $650,000
in undisclosed “damages” and her
$18,155 salary plus $3,150 a
month in expenses for 18 months.
The board also is giving Richart,
58, and her husband health
benefits to age 65 and Medicare
supplements to age 75, as well as
five additional years of retirement
credit. It also is paying her legal
and has indemnified her from any
future legal action. Four lawsuits
against the district are pending.
The schism between the board
minority and majority became
evident after Richart announced a
probe into the illegal sale of palm
trees belonging to the college in
May 2006.
But Strattan noted that the faculty
had brought up concerns about
Richart's leadership style
unrelated to what has been
dubbed “Palmgate.” It resulted in
two administrators being placed
on leave and one suing, saying
she was forced to retire.
Carranza said yesterday that she
would like to bring back to campus
one of those administrators, Julie
Hatoff, vice president for
instruction. The other, Alleen
Texeira, pleaded guilty to a grand-
theft charge involving an
overpayment to her then-fiance
for the sale of palms and has
been allowed to retire and move to
Hawaii.
Carranza said that if the
settlement is revisited, the three
dissenting board members should
be given their own legal counsel
because Richart had threatened
to sue them.
Technically, all seven signed the
settlement agreement, and the
three minority members would not
disclose what caused them to
acquiesce to a deal with which
they were in disagreement.
They would not speculate as to
whether the board will be able to
agree on an interim president to
replace Richart.
Strattan said that decision should
come in the fall.
In the meantime, the board is
supposed to vote at a closed
session today on an acting
president who will serve the
college for a month or two.
Usually, that is an administrator
already in place, but that may not
be an easy call, either.
Dick Robertson, who has been
holding down Hatoff's job on an
interim basis and well as his own
as vice president for student
services, is the senior
administrator. But the board
majority could lean toward Jim
Austin, vice president for business
and administrative services, who
has been on campus only six
months.
opposes severance
3 trustees say public
must decide on action
By Lola Sherman
San Diego Union Tribune
June 27, 2007
NORTH COUNTY – The three-
member minority on the MiraCosta
College governing board is hoping
a contract giving more than $1
million in cash and benefits to
departing college President
Victoria Muñoz Richart can be set
aside.
Board members Gloria Carranza,
Jacqueline Simon and Judy
Strattan spoke out yesterday at
Carranza's Carlsbad home.
They said taxpayers have every
right to be irate over the amount
of money given Richart to leave
the campus she has headed for
three years. But they said they
have failed to budge the four-
member board majority on any
issue over the past year and a
half, so it will be up to the public to
take up the gauntlet at this point.
“You must decide if it is important
enough to question the legality of
the recent settlement with the
president,” they said in a “report
to the public.” But, because the
terms of the settlement reached
by the board June 20 after an all-
night closed session require that
they not discuss it, the three did
not specify what is wrong with the
deal, other than its cost.
They posed the choice of a recall
of trustees to the public.
“You must decide if you want
different trustees to become
stewards of your tax dollars,” their
prepared report said.
Strattan acknowledged that by
calling a news conference, the
three were violating what she
called a “gag order” imposed by
board policy, requiring that only
the board president speak for the
entire board.
Board President Charles Adams
was informed of their intent, she
said.
Adams, contacted at home
yesterday, said he had not
received any notification and that
the three trustees are breaching
the contract with Richart by talking
about it.
Strattan said she was being
meticulous in discussing only the
“process” that was followed during
the closed session, which ended
at 5:40 a.m., after which the
settlement was disclosed.
And, she said, Adams already had
breached the pact's confidentiality
provision by disclosing previously
that the board went into the
meeting “to hammer out a deal”
with Richart and by saying the
board was told Richart might get
even more from a jury if she sued
and won.
The settlement pays her $650,000
in undisclosed “damages” and her
$18,155 salary plus $3,150 a
month in expenses for 18 months.
The board also is giving Richart,
58, and her husband health
benefits to age 65 and Medicare
supplements to age 75, as well as
five additional years of retirement
credit. It also is paying her legal
and has indemnified her from any
future legal action. Four lawsuits
against the district are pending.
The schism between the board
minority and majority became
evident after Richart announced a
probe into the illegal sale of palm
trees belonging to the college in
May 2006.
But Strattan noted that the faculty
had brought up concerns about
Richart's leadership style
unrelated to what has been
dubbed “Palmgate.” It resulted in
two administrators being placed
on leave and one suing, saying
she was forced to retire.
Carranza said yesterday that she
would like to bring back to campus
one of those administrators, Julie
Hatoff, vice president for
instruction. The other, Alleen
Texeira, pleaded guilty to a grand-
theft charge involving an
overpayment to her then-fiance
for the sale of palms and has
been allowed to retire and move to
Hawaii.
Carranza said that if the
settlement is revisited, the three
dissenting board members should
be given their own legal counsel
because Richart had threatened
to sue them.
Technically, all seven signed the
settlement agreement, and the
three minority members would not
disclose what caused them to
acquiesce to a deal with which
they were in disagreement.
They would not speculate as to
whether the board will be able to
agree on an interim president to
replace Richart.
Strattan said that decision should
come in the fall.
In the meantime, the board is
supposed to vote at a closed
session today on an acting
president who will serve the
college for a month or two.
Usually, that is an administrator
already in place, but that may not
be an easy call, either.
Dick Robertson, who has been
holding down Hatoff's job on an
interim basis and well as his own
as vice president for student
services, is the senior
administrator. But the board
majority could lean toward Jim
Austin, vice president for business
and administrative services, who
has been on campus only six
months.
| Trustee Gloria Carranza |
| Trustee Jacqueline Simon |
Judy Strattan joined the MiraCosta
College Board of Trustees on
December 5, 2006.
Judy’s approach to working with
the community, Board colleagues
and campus constituents is
consistent, honest, accessible and
collaborative.
Judy earned a doctorate in
Educational Leadership from the
University of San Diego. She
served MiraCosta College from
1978 to 1987 as dean of students;
Columbia College, 1987-1993 as
vice-president of Student
Services; and Barstow College,
1993-1997 as
president/superintendent. Judy
spent 15 years in teaching and
administration at the university
and community college level in
Illinois.
Judy believes in giving back time
and energy to the communities in
which one lives. She has served
as a city council member in Elgin,
Illinois and as a member of the
County Criminal Justice
Commission. She has also served
on women’s center advisory
councils, small business and
economic development councils,
college foundations, health
alliance committees, and
homeowner’s association boards.
Judy has also shown leadership
through her participation in the
Association of California
Community College Administrators
Association, Higher Education
Consortium of Central California
Articulation and Transfer Council,
Vocational Guidance and
Counseling Advisory Committee
for the California Community
College Chancellor’s Office and
the Accrediting Commission for
Community and Junior Colleges.
College Board of Trustees on
December 5, 2006.
Judy’s approach to working with
the community, Board colleagues
and campus constituents is
consistent, honest, accessible and
collaborative.
Judy earned a doctorate in
Educational Leadership from the
University of San Diego. She
served MiraCosta College from
1978 to 1987 as dean of students;
Columbia College, 1987-1993 as
vice-president of Student
Services; and Barstow College,
1993-1997 as
president/superintendent. Judy
spent 15 years in teaching and
administration at the university
and community college level in
Illinois.
Judy believes in giving back time
and energy to the communities in
which one lives. She has served
as a city council member in Elgin,
Illinois and as a member of the
County Criminal Justice
Commission. She has also served
on women’s center advisory
councils, small business and
economic development councils,
college foundations, health
alliance committees, and
homeowner’s association boards.
Judy has also shown leadership
through her participation in the
Association of California
Community College Administrators
Association, Higher Education
Consortium of Central California
Articulation and Transfer Council,
Vocational Guidance and
Counseling Advisory Committee
for the California Community
College Chancellor’s Office and
the Accrediting Commission for
Community and Junior Colleges.
| MiraCosta trustee Carolyn Batiste also currently serves on the California Community Colleges Board of Trustees. Perhaps that explains why CCCCO has been reluctant to seriously investigate MiraCosta, and instead sponsors “training sessions” urging trustees “to reconcile” instead of changing the policies that have cost the taxpayers so dearly. |
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| The MiraCosta Mess |
| MiraCosta minority trustees letter to Diane Crosier, executive director of SDCOE-JPA |
| Calendar dates for MiraCosta court cases |
Google Search
Donors
Note: David Hatoff, husband of Julie
Hatoff, the administrator who was
fired, and who is suing the school,
was the largest donor. ...
taxpayers-save-miracosta.com/dono
rs.html
MiraCosta College trustees at odds;
legal representation complex
...Known as a "joint powers
authority," the organization recently
granted the minority trustees an
attorney -- David Monks -- to
represent them in the Hatoff ...
www.northcountytimes.com/articles/
2007/08/28/news/top_stories/1_03_
548_27_07.txt
| Trustee Judy Stratton |
| The MiraCosta Minority Trustees |
| How much is MiraCosta paying to hide documents about the Victoria Richart deal? MCC paid $46K to provide documents in county probe North County Times By: PHILIP K. IRELAND DA's office investigating buyout deal with former president November 20, 2007 OCEANSIDE -- MiraCosta College has paid about $46,000 so far to a law firm with expertise in defending companies against allegations of white-collar crime. The firm, McKenna, Long & Aldridge, was hired in August to review and select documents requested by San Diego District Attorney's office, said Jim Austin, the college's assistant superintendent of business services. County investigators are probing the circumstances surrounding former President Victoria Munoz Richart's $1.5 million buyout deal with trustees, inked in a controversial all-night board meeting on June 20. The spending disclosure came Tuesday night as trustees ratified a contract with the law firm for an estimated $75,000. The fee could be more or less, depending on the how far the district attorney probe goes, Austin said. |
2008 ballot recommendations: George McNeil Jacqueline Simon Gloria Carranza (It's time to get rid of Daniel Shinoff's rubber stamp, Carolyn Batiste) |
| District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis drops criminal probe of MiraCosta deal |
| Compare: CCDC investigation was 1/100th the cost Probe into ex-CCDC executive costly one $33,000-plus spent to get $3,300 fine vs. Graham By Jeanette Steele San Diego Union-Tribune May 9, 2009 San Diego spent more than $33,000 to investigate conflict-of-interest charges against former downtown redevelopment executive Nancy Graham, all for a no- contest misdemeanor conviction that yielded a $3,300 fine. That kind of outlay – mostly under former City Attorney Michael Aguirre – is uncommon for the City Attorney's Office. City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, who unseated Aguirre in November's election, said the expenses were justified because the case was complicated, with research required on New York-based real estate giant Related Cos. The developer's California operation was granted a project by the nonprofit Centre City Development Corp., which guides downtown revitalization for the city. Graham, who was the agency's president, didn't disclose her financial ties to a Florida arm of the developer. The City Attorney's Office spent $16,000 on forensic accounting experts from a national consulting firm, about $10,000 of which was booked under Aguirre, who declined to comment Friday. Other big-ticket items: $8,661 to prepare documents for trial; $2,754 for rushed, out- of-state corporation records; and $1,533 for transcripts of audio recordings of public meetings. It cost $1,042 for copies of Florida court cases, one of which provided the pivotal proof that Graham had received money she hadn't declared. Goldsmith said he approved the single- count plea deal because a trial would have pushed the city's outside bills up by $75,000. He said they couldn't make Graham pay the city's costs, despite the conviction, because the law doesn't allow it on this kind of charge. “We saw the amount of expense, we paused and we negotiated with the defense lawyer, and we were actually very pleased that we actually got a conviction to what we believe we could have proven had we gone to trial,” Goldsmith said in an interview this week. Graham's attorney, former District Attorney Paul Pfingst, said, “To their credit, they cut their losses; they stopped the bleeding.” The May 1 entering of the plea may not be the end of the public's costs. Pfingst said the city's Ethics Commission is still investigating Graham. Also, the FBI's public-integrity unit in January subpoenaed records related to Graham's ties to downtown developers. Pfingst said he doesn't think the U.S. attorney will take any action. |
“Even if there was a technical violation of a city
reporting statute, it does not rise to the level of federal
interest,” he said.
The charge to which Graham pleaded no contest was
failing to disclose financial interests on a form that city
officials fill out yearly.
Graham once had a real estate development deal with
the Florida arm of Related, which won a $409 million
urban-renewal project from the San Diego agency in
2007.
Graham's former development company got about $7
million from the Florida venture, and $125,000 of that
came to her after Related Cos. had been awarded the
San Diego project.
Graham never reported income from the Florida
venture on her economic-interest forms.
Aguirre filed five misdemeanor conflict-of-interest
charges against Graham, but Goldsmith's office
reduced those to one. Goldsmith said the city would
have gone to trial and shouldered the expense if
Graham hadn't taken the deal.
Since this was Graham's first offense, and it was a
misdemeanor, it's unlikely that she would have served
any of the six months of jail time that conviction on the
charge could bring, Goldsmith said.
Pfingst wouldn't say where Graham, 62, is now or what
she's doing. Calls to her cell phone for comment
weren't returned. Graham was living in Tennessee with
her extended family after she left San Diego last
summer.
reporting statute, it does not rise to the level of federal
interest,” he said.
The charge to which Graham pleaded no contest was
failing to disclose financial interests on a form that city
officials fill out yearly.
Graham once had a real estate development deal with
the Florida arm of Related, which won a $409 million
urban-renewal project from the San Diego agency in
2007.
Graham's former development company got about $7
million from the Florida venture, and $125,000 of that
came to her after Related Cos. had been awarded the
San Diego project.
Graham never reported income from the Florida
venture on her economic-interest forms.
Aguirre filed five misdemeanor conflict-of-interest
charges against Graham, but Goldsmith's office
reduced those to one. Goldsmith said the city would
have gone to trial and shouldered the expense if
Graham hadn't taken the deal.
Since this was Graham's first offense, and it was a
misdemeanor, it's unlikely that she would have served
any of the six months of jail time that conviction on the
charge could bring, Goldsmith said.
Pfingst wouldn't say where Graham, 62, is now or what
she's doing. Calls to her cell phone for comment
weren't returned. Graham was living in Tennessee with
her extended family after she left San Diego last
summer.