Randy wrote on Aug 14, 2007 3:39 AM:Unruly professors were not the cause of the MCC problems. The unruly professors were the whistle-blowers who prevented the downhill slide of the institution from becoming worse!

Concerned Taxpayer wrote on Aug 14, 2007 6:44 AM:At last, a common sense approach to the MCCC mess!! Citizens should not sign the recall petitions-unless you want the faculty to be in total control. And then, how much higher will their salaries go? Let us taxpayers stay in control!

Tired of the Hypocrisy! wrote on Aug 14, 2007 8:08 AM:NCT editors: "Recalls should be used in very limited instances to remove public officials who have clearly violated the law or who pose some kind of threat to the public interest." ...So did this same thinking guide your opinions on the Gov. Davis recall? Yea, that's what I thought. You all should be ashamed.

Witnesses? wrote on Aug 14, 2007 8:13 AM:Did the "staff" who wrote this piece ever attend a Board meeting? I can't imagine anyone who witnessed Adams or Post, or Bastiste for that matter, thinking they should stay in this public office. They also would have witnessed the countless civil and respectful attempts to address the problems with Richart by a huge number of MiraCosta staff, teachers, and community members. This is the last resort -- no one on the Board majority listened for well over a year!

I am Arthur, King of the Britons.... wrote on Aug 14, 2007 8:15 AM:As the editors admit, "A recall might bring positive change..." Moreover, this newspaper betrayed its own formulation for recalling an elected official when it endorsed the 2005 recall of Bob Glick on the Rainbow Municipal Water District -- even though, by this newspaper's estimate, Glick had done a "fine job." Even if the MiraCosta recall is driven, in part, by disgruntled employees, the electorate -- not the employees -- will pick the next Trustees on the replacement ballot. I have faith that the electorate, given the opportunity, will pick the replacements wisely.

You are wrong wrote on Aug 14, 2007 9:14 AM:One would think, since NCTimes' reporters have covered this story for a long time, that the editorial staff would get it straight. To use the word "unruly" to describe the professors is outrageous. Not once were they anything but courteous and respectful. Out of order would certainly describe Adams when he ranted and accused staff and trustees of some kind of crime against him. The cost of the recall is set by the trustees who can chose to make it as reasonable as possible by combining the election with the general election, but who knows if they will. The board majority has blindly followed Richart and they are the reason behind the actions of those of us working to get rid of the poor board members. By the way, no trustees are involved in the recall. That, too, is inaccurate. Former trustees are solidly behind getting rid of those who fail to lead, but current trustees have taken no stand nor helped in any way. Get it right, or keep your opinions to yourself.

No surprise wrote on Aug 14, 2007 9:16 AM:After refusing to meet with Restore MiraCosta, the editorial board has chosen to weigh in early on this issue. Adam's and Post's name have never appeared on a ballot. Having an opponent would have in fact forced them to face the populace, but not having one is far different than having voter approval, and the NCT editors know this. I urge the editors to look at the timelines and talk to this group and understand that this recall WAS a last resort. The NCT times has also started publicizing the anti-recall group, giving them free press to further their editorial agenda. When will the NCT become "fair and balanced?"

Ron wrote on Aug 14, 2007 9:17 AM:This move is to install board members more to the Professors liking. When the employees don't like their boss's, they fire them. Funny... cause I always thought the taxpayers were the boss's?

Milly wrote on Aug 14, 2007 9:19 AM:RE: Mira Costa Stuck in Reverse - "There's no question that leadership at MiraCosta College has been wanting." PERIOD. The editorial fails terribly to tell the REAL truth. Most of the momentum behind the recall effort is NOT coming from MiraCosta faculty and administrators. That statement is absolutely FALSE. I, for one, rushed down to Trader Joe's to sign that petition last Saturday as well as many, many other residents of the community. Adams and Post must go!!!

Judy wrote on Aug 14, 2007 10:21 AM:At last common sense prevails in an editorial! This past year has been nothing more than infighting among highly paid employees, current and retired, at Mira Costa at the expense of taxpayers. It needs to stop.

MCCsupporter wrote on Aug 14, 2007 10:50 AM:I love the way your editorial staff, paticularly Jim Trageser, has blamed the faculty at MCC during this entire mess. The adjectives have been less than flattering "high-handed" and "over paid" are some of the nicer ones. Why don't you do a little homework and tell people why the faculty is paid as it is; that it is indexed to property taxes, which was a gamble at the time it was decided? Maybe the NC Times will join Mao, Hitler and Stalin in their "first we get rid of the intellectuals" mantra. Reichart was bad for MCC, as Harrison is bad for GPA and in much the same ways; coddling, flattering and lavishing praise and gifts on board members does not make for good governance. But with a county that overwhelmingly vote for thug after thug, year after year, for their representatives in Sacramento and Washington, what can we expect? These are the same people who denied "Duke"'s malfeasance until it was no longer deniable.

Floyd wrote on Aug 14, 2007 11:57 AM:First you say the Board is dysfunctional, then you say selected members of that Board shouldn't be recalled. It seems to me that if you want to fix the Board, you need to remove the dysfunctional people. An organization reflects the standards set by the leadership! Fix the problems at the top, and the rest of the college will begin the process of improvement and recovery.

Right on Tired! wrote on Aug 14, 2007 1:16 PM: " NCT editors: "Recalls should be used in very limited instances to remove public officials who have clearly violated the law or who pose some kind of threat to the public interest." ...So did this same thinking guide your opinions on the Gov. Davis recall? Yea, that's what I thought. You all should be ashamed. " --That is the first thing I thought when I read the biased opinion piece--leave it to the NCtimes to come up with such a ridiculous opinion; NCtimes, we can see through your cronyism and double standards.

Nick wrote on Aug 14, 2007 1:24 PM:What does the world really care about a small junior college and the liberal[s] raising such a fuss?

jvc wrote on Aug 14, 2007 1:47 PM:Here we have the highest paid community college faculty in the state, yet, they are still not happy!

jvc wrote on Aug 14, 2007 3:11 PM:MiraCosta's PAC is acting as a pseudo union formulated to further the faculties special interest! And the concept of shsred governance that has become a tradition within the community college system did not work at MiraCosta as witnessed by recent power struggles of the three branches of our representative officials at the college made up of the faculty, the president and the governing board because of a lack of checks and balances!

jvc wrote on Aug 14, 2007 4:28 PM:What is so shocking about all the controversy at MiraCosta College is that nobody talks about the needs of the students! This school is not about the faculty, the president or governing board but about the reason for their existence : to provide a quality education for the student! It is ALL about the students! Who is going to start talking about how students cannot afford to buy texts because of there high costs? Who is going to start talking about the high cost of attending a community college when in terms of lost wages, students are taking 6 and 7 years to graduate from a 2 year college? Who is going to talk about how class texts are being selected to make classes more esoteric? Who is going to talk about grading systems at community colleges that are more astringent than Stanford so as to create a class system within this institution? Who is going to talk about how third world countries that are exporting their educated to our country because of our failures? And, who is going to talk about a college faculty that is highly paid but cannot offer proper instruction to its students? No, its all about the students!

to JVC wrote on Aug 14, 2007 7:33 PM:You should know that to the College's credit, no one employed by the college - staff, teachers, or whoever- has let this administrative meltdown interfere with the students getting EXCELLENT instruction, services and mentoring to reach their goals. Your daily rambling posts show how ignorant you are about how things REALLY are happening at MiraCosta!

jvc wrote on Aug 14, 2007 8:19 PM:to the writer of 7:33 PM: I dedicate my ignorant ramblings, as you put it, to my Asian classmate that I had in my calculus 2 class who would tell me about the sacrifice he made to attend college by eating rice for breakfast,lunch and dinner. In a chance meeting, years latter, he told me while he received a good grade in math, he only received a D in a calculus based class in physics that prompted him to drop out of college. This student was as smart as any student i have ever known, but, when there are more chapters in a physics class than there are weeks in a semester,plus your lab work is very difficult when one considers that you could spend an entire semester on each chapter! And, I was extremely heartbroken when he told me that he now makes a living sweeping metal filings from a machine shop floor! However, writer 7;33, you are right about one thing, I cannot write very well, but, that does not keep me from my beliefs or passions!

Ridiculous! wrote on Aug 14, 2007 11:07 PM:Sheffo strikes again? C'mon you didn't even get the facts right.

To "you are wrong" wrote on Aug 15, 2007 6:20 AM:Are you nuts?!?! You said "Not once were they anything but courteous and respectful." I guess you weren't at the August 1st board meeting last year when a certain professor yelled and pointed his finger as he accused various board members of things! Now who is being "blindly lead"? So I say back to you "Get it right, or keep your opinions to yourself."

To JVC wrote on Aug 15, 2007 5:35 PM:It's not your self-admitted poor writing skills that are the problem, rather it's your equally challenged thinking skills. Gee, Stalin and Hitler had strong beliefs and passions, that didn't make them correct. Suggest you do a little fact checking before engaging the keyboard. Thanks for clearing up one thing - we now know JVC must stand for Just a Vicky Clone.

jvc wrote on Aug 15, 2007 10:08 PM:to the 5:35PM writer. for one who obviously represents acadamia, you sure are incapable of objectivity! I suggest you do your daily antibias excercises to keep you trim for your job of commentary pundit!And, thanks for the honor of being called a Vicky Richart clone!

JVC has one thing right wrote on Aug 16, 2007 5:46 AM:JVC has one thing right, and that is his/her concern for students. As an MCC faculty member, I share that concern, above all else. However, a variety of types of data continues to indicate that MCC serves its students not just well but outstandingly well. My anger is directed at those who have spent MILLIONS of dollars investigating palm trees and buying out the president. How many classes and textbooks could that have paid for? How many students could have been supported by that money? The Board mouths their dedication to the students, but why didn't they put that money where their mouths are? Those are the lingering questions.

To JVC wrote on Aug 16, 2007 8:10 AM:As the word "acadamia" does not exist, one must assume you meant "academia" or perhaps "macadamia" suggesting an affinity for its fruit, commonly referred to as a nut.

jvc wrote on Aug 16, 2007 2:46 PM:As to the matter of selecting MCC's next president, I propose the following. After reading a statement attributable to MiraCosta's elated Jonathan Cole where he is quoted as saying after hearing the news about President Richart's resignation: " she's clearly not fit for the institution", I would have to conclude that professor Cole has got to be some tough cookie! In other words, because Cole lead the fight, the pawn of a certain VP at the college, and succeeded in ousting President Richart, and his subsequent glee demonstrated that he has a very tough heart particularly given his role as part of the selection committee that chose Richart to relace the retiring President Tim Dong. So now that Cole has proven his tough heartless character, this would probably make him ideally suited to take over the helm as MCC's next president to relace Richart! Further, I do not think it would be much of an adjustment for Cole to go from a physics instructor of one or two classes as is the case now to become a president of a 10,000 plus student college! And President Cole would surely be capable of closing all issues related to the palm tree scandal that has been so devisive on campus! Therefore, Cole should be supported to become the next president of MCC so that he can prove how much more capable he is over former President Richart in governing a 10,000 plus student institution!

jvc wrote on Aug 16, 2007 3:34 PM:to the faculty member of 5:46 AM, thank you for being able to see that my motivation to be heard was dictated by my concern for the student! However, one of us is wrong about the quality of education at MiraCosta in particular and the quality of education at community colleges in general. Community Colleges are a dismal failure in offering educational opportunities to the students in the community, in part, because there is no accountability irrespective of being given cursory certifications of accreditation! How long can the faculty continue to claim that all the problems at the college come from the investigative cost of faculty members selling palm trees on campus for personal gain? How long can the faculty claim that all the problems at the college come from an incompetent president? How long can the faculty claim that all the problems on campus come from an incompetent board of governers? Please look within for the problems at the college that have existed even before Richart's tenure!

to jvc wrote on Aug 16, 2007 5:11 PM:You haven't any idea what you are talking about. I have been on accreditation visits and it is not cursory by any means. What is clear here is that you are either speaking for the past president of the college or perhaps one of the board members. Your so-called insider information is very biased, to say the least. The faculty and staff have been saying for the past two years that there were problems and that they were not about the palm tree investigation. However, to use a term currently in use, the spin that was put on the problems, by the board and ex-pres., is that it was the investigation. Why are you so cowardly that you don't speak up publicly? Maybe you are one of the teachers who was exposed for unethical procedures who had to leave the college due to a prior investigation? In any case, stand up and be counted and quit hiding.

jvc wrote on Aug 16, 2007 8:15 PM:to the 5:11 writer. Before you examine other people's failings, you need to examine your own failings!And, if I have any biases, it is the realization that acada(e)mia is a very privileged system, you my dear lady, belong to that privilege! And I beg to differ with you because I know MiraCosta College very well, thank you!

jvc wrote on Aug 16, 2007 10:08 PM:I truly hope and pray that as an act of redemption and healing,some faculty members, albeit Academic Senate members, break ranks and step forward in praise of former President Richart for the outstanding job she did at MCC and most of all how she proved herself as the representative model of personal integrity!

jvc wrote on Aug 17, 2007 1:12 AM:It should be noted that in comparison to the MCC college faculty that has now been proven to be so accomplished in the ways of intrigue, former President Richart now appears saintly!

To JVC wrote on Aug 17, 2007 8:03 AM:Thanks for the comic relief. I'm trying to figure out how to use "personal integrity" and "college president issues phony press release and then lies about it" in the same sentence.

Surprise wrote on Aug 17, 2007 8:26 AM:JVC - my wife was very surprised to find out I am a "young lady." Imagine what my kids are going to say! Your rantings are unusual, to say the least. Characterizing Richart as a model of personal integrity illustrates your inability to think critically. Stealing from the public's pockets through an illegal settlement doesn't show any integrity that I want a part of. Well, so long for today. What surprise will you come up with next?

jvc wrote on Aug 17, 2007 11:41 AM:While it is true that some of my great heroes come from the culture of academia, there is no doubt that it is morally indefensible that academic institutions exist just to pass judgement on the student as to his or her qualifications of being accepted into our society! And, therefore, it is hard to believe that after seeing the twisted actions of some faculty members at MiraCosta College, they are now passing judgement onto their students to become acceptable members of society! These faculty members are actually grading our students!And, therefore we are being held hostage by institutions that are the determiner of our fate and future and who are assigned to do this from that very same institution!

One more to JVC... wrote on Aug 19, 2007 2:59 PM:Me thinks Batiste, err, JVC, needs to get a real job and stop blogging... please.

jvc wrote on Aug 19, 2007 5:14 PM:to the writer at 2:59PM : If you have a job, how did you qualify? They must be giving jobs to just anybody!

jvc wrote on Aug 19, 2007 6:30 PM:The MiraCosta College's present dysfunction is a perfect example of how a very wealthy faculty, from years of being overly paid, has kidnapped the college by the imposition of its will over it! The faculty tried to hide behind the concept of shared governance to impose its will on the president and when that did not work, they ousted her! Someday the truth will come out about how the faculty conspired to remove trustee Henry Holloway only be be replaced by Judy Strattan, one of their own. Why the community did not protest the removal of Holloway, a 30 year devoted and selfless leader on the board, is a monstrous failing! This faculty is so wealthy and has so much time that they now have turned their efforts to undermining the electoral process to take control of the trustee governance! And, once the faculty has taken control of the board of governors, they can begin their selection of the president! I ask, why all the pretence, just allow the faculty to select the board and president now!

appalled by the NCT wrote on Aug 25, 2007 9:36 AM:Richart's arrogance, deceitfulness, and lack of judment should disqualify her from leading any public institution. Her relentless dirt-digging, character assassination attempts, and exhorbitant pay off make sense only if the board majority hired her to come in as the hatchet woman she was and rewarded her for doing their bidding. If that is not the case, and the Board majority truly believed in Richart and believed her distorted tales, then they need to bone up on the manipulative personality types that gravitate to bureaucracies so that they won't be so vulnerable to Machiavellian personalities in the future. They should have been on guard the instant she told them she didn't want them to talk to anyone on campus but her. Either their meanspiritedness or their naivete disqualifies them from their positions. Senior administrator Julie Hatoff, the MiraCosta Academic Senate, and the Recall Committee deserve our applause and gratitude for being the whistle blowers that they are.

Recall, YES!!! wrote on Aug 26, 2007 7:50 AM:What jvc overlooks is that a HUGE group of people are aligned—not just teachers present and past, but past administrators (who were often on opposing sides with teachers), and even the two living past MiraCosta College presidents and highly respected prior long-term members of the governing board, along with right-thinking members of the community. Richart's behavior and the board majority's deeply offended them all. These people recognize boundaries for fair play in times of disagreement and human decency in conduct that Richart and the board majority crossed. It is the American way to remove public figures that don't do the public good, and it's high time for the old board majority to be dismantled. Recall, YES! Inept Board, NO!!!

Spun Dry wrote on Aug 27, 2007 12:03 AM:So Judy Strattan is "one of their own"? GET A CLUE, jvc. Judy Strattan was a dean at MiraCcosta before she became president of another California community college. Strattan has gained friends and admirers statewide for her good-hearted, fair-minded, level-headed leadership style. The board majority could learn a lot from Strattan. No amount of spin will make them look good at her expense. Where did they learn governance? By watching Tribal Council on Survivor? Too bad for them that their tight little alliance will not last.