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The Contra Costa Community College District is set to discuss a citizen group’s call for censure of sitting Board President Andy Li at its meeting Wednesday, as controversy at high levels in the district’s executive and governing arms continues.
Following a request from Trustee John Marquez, which was not moved forward with by the district, Maria Alegria on behalf of LatinX for Inclusion asked last month for their request for Li’s censure to be added to the agenda for the upcoming meeting. Li represents CCCCD’s Ward 4, which includes most of the San Ramon Valley.
In an Oct. 13 letter, Marquez asked that an item considering the censure of Li be added to the Nov. 10 agenda, alleging that Li publicly discussed information from a closed session during a public meeting in violation of the Brown Act. In a public statement on behalf of LatinX for Inclusion, Alegria requested that the item be added to the agenda for the upcoming Dec. 8 meeting.
“President Li, I have reviewed that video of the Board’s discussion on Agenda Item 18B: Interact Communications $10M Contract, which you stated was discussed in closed session,” Alegria said in the Nov. 10 statement. “You were also cautioned by trustees Barrett, Marquez and Sandoval, as well as Attorney Meola about this.”
In video from the June 23 meeting in question, Li and Chancellor Bryan Reece are debating the $10 million price tag of a contract for marketing services aimed at increasing enrollment.
While Reece argued that the cost was necessary to boost the district’s falling enrollment, and that the district could afford it, Li argued that the process should instead be one in which companies describe what they could describe what they would be able to offer to the district, and offer competitive prices, rather than having a $10 million contract on the table up front.
The agenda item Reece and Li were discussing during the public portion of the meeting involved the recommendation that the board adopt a contract with Interact Communications for marketing services not to exceed $10 million.
The item came to the board after the $10 million price tag was set for a contract with VisionPoint Communications, which was rescinded by the board following allegations that Reece had improperly interfered in the awarding of that contract and that he had existing ties with the company, citing a contract that was awarded at Norco College with VisionPoint prior to Reece being fired as president there for undisclosed reasons in 2019.
“Is this a $10 million contract, or maybe less?” Li asked on June 23. “Because when we list it here, we kind of tell whether, say, we have approved up to $10 million. We kind of tell our bottom line. So what happened here, chancellor?”
Reece said he did not fully understand the question, but that his vision was that the district had a budget of $10 million for marketing services, and would then consider a contract for those services based on how effectively a company proposed they could help with the district’s enrollment troubles.
“It’s possible that it will come to under $10 million,” Reece said.
“Not possible, it is $10 million or maybe under,” Li said. “Because we tell them it’s up to $10 million. You know, in the closed session we discuss the amount for the contract so the district can negotiate and maybe lower, but if we tell them our bottom line then … there’s no negotiation.”
Reece said that what he saw as the negotiation was not the cost, but “how much work we can get out of them,” and how big of a campaign a company would be able to provide based on that amount, given the need to improve the district’s declining enrollment numbers.
“We need to invest heavily and aggressively in this direction,” Reece said. “So I feel like we say we have $10 million, how big of a campaign, and how sophisticated of a campaign can we launch with that money. That’s the negotiation part.”
“It’s really rare that we give them a price tag and let them tell us how they’ll spend it,” Li said. “This is rare. And $10 million is the highest amount … for a non-construction project in this district. So this is a concern I have.”
Kathryn Meola, the district’s legal counsel, interjected to add clarifications, and raise a concern about Li’s use of the term “in closed session.”
“I used all public information,” Li said. “I didn’t use any closed session information.”
“Ok, then I must have misunderstood,” Meola said.
Trustee Rebecca Barrett jumped in to remind Li to be careful about using the term “in closed session,” along with Marquez and Trustee Fernando Sandoval.
In addition to the June 23 comment, Alegria’s letter calling for Li’s censure alleges that he violated the Brown Act in discussing his reasoning for supporting the censure of Marquez, also for alleged Brown Act violations, in May.
“At the May 26, 2021 4CD Board Meeting you read a prepared statement on your reasoning for recommending censure of Trustee Marquez,” Alegria said in the written statement on Nov. 10. “You stated: that you had grave concerns with Trustee Marquez’s conduct as he violated the confidentiality of closed session discussion. This recommendation of censure of Trustee Marquez was an ‘action’ by the Board and was not listed on the agenda, under closed session or as a regular agenda item. You gave the public no opportunity to participate on this matter.”
At the Dec. 8 meeting, Alegria is set to have five minutes during the open session to continue making the case for Li’s censure for consideration by the governing board.
The Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board is set for their regular meeting on Wednesday (Dec. 8). Board members are set to meet in a closed session at 4 p.m., with the open session scheduled to start at approximately 6 p.m. The agenda is available here.
In other business
The governing board is set to discuss the discipline/dismissal/release/complaint of an unspecified public employee during closed session.
The board is set to discuss two cases of litigation, filed by the district’s executive vice chancellor of administrative services, Eugene Huff, who is on paid administrative leave, and other parties, also during closed session.
The board is set for a public hearing on redistricting, focused on equalizing the wards within the district based on population changes reflected in 2020 census data.
