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| Commentary on the Firing of Ted Martinez La Prensa January 6, 2006 By Beth Smith ... Martinez is a strong advocate for Grossmont College – always has been and probably always will be. He continued to choose championing for the students, programs and community that is Grossmont College, and unfortunately, this stance led to a conflict between him and Suarez. He did exactly what every college president is expected to do – bring to the attention of the district administration and board the problems and inequities facing Grossmont College with the intent to resolve the issues as soon as possible. However, it appears that Suarez did not want him to do the job he was hired to do... This relationship became especially strained in early 2004. The first, a seemingly minor accounting error, identified district expenses that were being charged to the college... The dollar amount varied between $200,000 to $300,000 per year, a sizeable amount that could have been redirected to hiring much needed faculty and staff. Suarez made no attempt to absorb the charges back into the district budget, offered no explanation for why the charges were there, and disgustingly, offered no apology to the college for years of “stealing” funds away from educational programs... The second issue is much more problematic... It is the allocation and spending of the capital construction bond revenue, locally known as Prop R, approximately $207 million dollars. East County voters passed the bond that was advertised as “R for repair,” citing the aging Grossmont campus and the need for some new construction within the district. When the district announced the split of the funds...Not only did the split emphasize new construction at the other campus in the district, but it nearly eliminated all repair funds from the budget for the college. Martinez again went to bat for the college requesting more of the split and a greater portion to repair the 40+ year old campus. All his requests were denied and the college has been suffering the results of the split since... The Grossmont Faculty challenged the processes used by the district to determine the Prop R split. The chancellor ... violated the faculty’s legal right to participate in the development of budget and planning processes...The Academic Senate voted no confidence in Suarez in March 2005... The board response to the vote of no confidence in Suarez was predictable, but the vitriol was not. With comments like “Bring it on” and a patronizing “You’re not happy?” litany, the board supported Suarez, mocked the faculty concerns, and left Martinez in the middle... Martinez stressed problem solving while Suarez sought to gain power. Martinez was left in a pickle. |
In June, the board voted to extend the contracts, out of the normal evaluation cycle, to the chancellor,
vice chancel...Not Martinez.
...Not once did the board acknowledge the comments of the speakers or the work of Martinez, but
instead the board showed a disappointing display of irreverence and disrespect for the speakers and
Martinez.
... on December 23, 2005, two days before Christmas, and an official day of closure for the college.
The board called a special closed meeting at 4:00 scheduled for that day. The agenda looked innocent
enough, but the campus soon learned that the board would take action against Martinez. Education
Code clearly states the processes and timelines for dealing with contracts of administrators, and the
board “just recently learned” that it had to take action six months prior to the end of Martinez’ contract
in June 2006. In a closed session, the board voted unanimously to terminate his contract and not
renew it...
On the other hand, the Cuyamaca College president has faced questions by this newspaper about the
integrity of its noncredit program where Alzheimer’s patients are enrolled as students in college
courses; operates a college that has been in the “red” for 27 years and the subsidy required to sustain
the college increases each year; and credit enrollment there has been declining.
Did the board fire the right president?...
Beth Smith is Academic Senate President. Grossmont College.
| Whistleblowing: A Study of Managerial Differences John P. Keenan and Associates International, 2 Hillsboro Drive, ... help curb fraudulent practices, and in so doing avoid costly lawsuits and negative publicity .... Reprisal involves taking an undesirable action against an employee or ... by JP Keenan - 2002 - · Culture and Whistleblowing An Empirical Study of Croatian and ... Keenan and Associates International, a firm presenting ..... Against harm to others .... with potential costly lawsuits, and negative publicity. ... by AA Tavakoli - 2003 |