Huge Finance Scandal at L.A. Trade Tech College Foundation Established to Help Needy Students

You have to spend some time around the community colleges to really get a feel for this. Local educational and political officials exploited these institutions as their own personal fiefdoms. I hear amazing stories on my campus about the rampant nepotism and impropriety prevalent at the community colleges before AB 1725 passed in 1988. And yesterday's Los Angeles Times offers an updated version of the corruption. See "D.A., district probe alleged improprieties at Trade-Tech College foundation":

A foundation created to help needy students at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College paid its director tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses, membership fees at exclusive private clubs and a $1,500 monthly car allowance, according to interviews and records reviewed by The Times.

The Trade-Tech Foundation paid a $5,000 initiation fee at the California Club in downtown Los Angeles for Executive Director Rhea Chung.

It also paid for other membership fees for her, including the L.A. Philharmonic at $2,300 a year and the Central City Assn. at $8,000 annually. The foundation covered more than $9,000 for Chung's golf outings in the last two years. Records show she played on Christmas and the Fourth of July.

Problems at the foundation sparked two internal audits as well as an inquiry by the L.A. County district attorney's Public Integrity Division, which is looking into whether any funds at the foundation were misappropriated.

The college district placed Chung on administrative leave Jan. 17, and officials said they were also looking into allegations that foundation checks were forged. Officials did not identify the target of that probe.

Records show Chung's pay and expenses dwarfed the amount the foundation gave out in scholarships to students, which was $43,350 in the 2011 fiscal year and $105,400 in the first half of the current year. Chung is one of a handful of employees paid by the foundation, which last year reported $610,481 in income, primarily from events and donations.

Faculty and students are questioning why more of the money raised by the foundation was not going to help the 17,000 students at the school, at a time when community colleges are dealing with higher fees and budget cuts. The downtown L.A. campus, which trains people in skills like welding and fashion design, serves the poorest population of any college in the L.A. Community College system and one of the poorest in the nation.

In an interview at the California Club, Chung denied any wrongdoing and said all her expenses and bonuses were approved by the foundation board and college president.

She defended her golf outings and club memberships, saying they helped her meet business leaders who might make donations to the foundation. Chung maintained that Trade Tech President Roland "Chip" Chapdelaine had been informed at "every step of the way" and had signed her checks.

Chung, who holds a doctorate in education from USC, had been Chapdelaine's executive assistant before she was appointed head of the foundation and acting associate dean of advancement, community and government affairs at the college in 2009.

"I'm an individual who's been working hard at these projects that [Chapdelaine] asked me to do. We made a mark as an organization," she said. "…It's too bad that he doesn't see the value of the work that's been done."

Yeah, that's amazing alright. And there's still more at the link.