Chancellor of troubled Peralta college district is out

Trustees of the financially troubled Peralta Community College District voted behind closed doors Friday to accept the early retirement of Chancellor Jowel Laguerre and replace him on March 1 with an acting administrator to oversee their four East Bay colleges, The Chronicle has learned.

The move follows votes of no confidence by faculty at two of the colleges this month and a unanimous decision Friday by the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission to fine Peralta $2,000 for spending nearly $39,000 of taxpayer money to mail 392,118 Christmas cards in 2017 in violation of the state law against sending sending mass mailings at public expense.

Laguerre has led the $150 million college district of 50,000 students — including Laney and Merritt colleges in Oakland, Berkeley City College and the College of Alameda — since 2015. But Friday’s finding of Peralta’s ethics violation isn’t its only brush with trouble.

This fall, the accreditation agency that oversees Peralta ordered enhanced fiscal monitoring of the district because of its poor fiscal management. The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges cited five years of declining fund balances, $31 million of “negative cash” in its treasury, plunging enrollment and failure to fix past problems identified by the accreditor, among other headaches.

The faculty senates at two of the colleges, Laney and Berkeley City College, cited the accreditor’s decision this month when they approved votes of no confidence in Laguerre. Both of the faculty governing bodies also accused the chancellor of ignoring faculty in district decision-making, a violation of the principles of shared governance.

By ignoring the faculty’s expertise, they said, the chancellor plunged the district into troubles they could have helped him with. They accused him of “questionable administrative practices (that) include a fiscally unsustainable expansion of district administration and budget.”

Laguerre did not respond to two requests for comment. He has denied mismanaging the district and has defended spending decisions.

Additional troubles surfaced in a recent audit of a parcel tax approved by voters in 2012 for “core academic programs.” The audit showed that tax spending on books and supplies dropped by 25 percent in the year after Laguerre’s arrival and tax spending for faculty salaries plunged by nearly two-thirds.

Trustees reached by The Chronicle declined to comment about the closed-session decision. At Tuesday’s regular meeting, the trustees are expected to announce the name of the acting chancellor.

Other district watchers who learned of the decision did not hesitate to express their views.

“I’m heartened that after 3½ years, the board has voted to end what has been a painful period for the Peralta colleges,” said Jeff Heyman, the district’s former public relations director for 18 years, who in 2017 filed a whistle-blower report alleging financial mismanagement in the Peralta district. A law firm the district hired to evaluate the allegations concluded the claims were invalid. The district paid the firm $150,000.

“I look forward to the district rebuilding itself into an educational institution that truly serves our community’s students and makes the faculty, staff and taxpayers proud,” Heyman said.

Jennifer Shanoski, a chemistry instructor at Merritt College and president of the Peralta Faculty Union, echoed the sentiment. She said: “I’m relieved and hopeful that the Peralta district can move on with leadership that reflects the values and needs of the faculty, staff and students that we serve.”