Coast college district budget procedures questioned

Angelique Flores

COSTA MESA -- After some prodding by a teachers union, the Coast

Community College District Board of Trustees requested that the

administration look into its budget transfer procedures.

“The board of trustees has consistently violated Title V by not

showing transfers between major categories,” said Kristina Bruning,

president of the Coast Federation of Educators.

Bruning approached the board at last month’s meeting to question the

board’s compliance with Title V, a law that requires the board to

authorize all district expenditures.

Vice Chancellor C.M. Brahmbhatt said the district already complies.

While there is no evidence of any wrongful spending, Bruning said the

federation doesn’t want the board to rubber-stamp the budget district

managers bring to the board.

“There’s no major, huge, illegal, wrongful, bad act going on,” said

Jerry Patterson, the board’s president. “They’re just not doing things in

a manner that allows for public input.”

Patterson favors a resolution that would require the board to adopt a

written resolution when major purchases in the budget are exceeded, as

well as require trustees to approve the transfer of funds.

“That’s a step in the right direction,” Patterson said. “We’re not

there to do every check and detail, but they need to tell us about budget

amendments.”

Bruning raised the issue to the board six years ago, but no action was

taken.

“The union has what they want to do, administration wants to do what

they want, and the board doesn’t care,” Patterson said. “The board needs

to exercise more active involvement of the budget.”

At last week’s meeting, the board requested that administrators

develop a policy for voting on budget transfers.

“It’s fair,” Brahmbhatt said. “It’s a good check and balance system

for the board.”

Bruning said she won’t be satisfied until she sees the new policy that

will be presented to the board at the Nov. 1 meeting for discussion and

again in December for possible adoption.