Editor,
My name is Mike Moodian and I am a candidate for South Orange County Community College District board of trustees (Area 7). Laguna Beach will vote in this race. Former public administrator John Williams is my primary opponent.
I am writing to send you my new report, which exposes Orange County’s community college trustees’ wasteful spending (all four districts). This is based on extensive research of documents gained through public records requests. The report is attached to this email and posted here: http://www.moodian.com/TrusteeReport.pdf
My key findings and recommendations are:
1. In an era when transparency should be of the utmost importance among public agencies, the Coast Community College District has not complied with my public records request. We should never tolerate public agencies that are not transparent.
2. There is a sizeable discrepancy among districts in the amounts of money paid to community college trustees. The South Orange County Community College District pays each trustee $400 per month, while the Coast Community College District pays each trustee an astounding $1,027.23 per month. In an effort to save money, no community college district should pay its trustees more than $400 per month.
3. Many trustees enjoy exceptional health benefits though they are only part-time officials. The Rancho Santiago Community College District spends $172,661.28 per year on health benefits for its elected board members. The South Orange County Community College District pays $125,925.94 per year, also a substantial amount. My recommendation is to abolish all health benefits for community college trustees. This will save us hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.
4. Some trustees enjoy extravagant trips that taxpayers pay for. They bill us for expensive airfare, lodging and meals despite the fact that community colleges are suffering. All trustee expense reports should be scrutinized heavily, and all community colleges should eliminate nonessential travel.
Mike Moodian, Rancho Santa Margarita
