Another inquiry

State to review Delta spending

Delta College is still under scrutiny for allegedly mishandling taxpayer money, and now the State Controller's Office taking its turn looking through the microscope.

San Joaquin Delta College this week will be the subject of yet another investigation into how it handled — or mishandled — public money.

On Thursday, State Controller John Chiang's office will begin an investigation into the community college's spending practices, according to a letter sent last week to the Stockton school's vice president of business services, Jon Stephens.

Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden, urged the state office to conduct the investigation weeks ago. Because of his request, the letter states, the audit will look into how the school has managed $250 million of Measure L bond money, a measure approved by voters in 2004 to pay for new construction and satellite campuses.

Auditors will also investigate how the college has used its $30 million share of Proposition 1D, a $20 billion statewide school improvement bond that voters approved in 2006 to pay for new construction to ease overcrowding in public schools.

The controller's audit will be the third investigation this year into the college's spending and leadership, which has come under criticism from the San Joaquin County civil grand jury and The Accreditation Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

Among the state audit's goals is the find out whether costs incurred "are eligible and reasonable."

The two previous investigations have concluded that the board of trustees and managers indeed mismanaged several millions of dollars in voter-approved debt.

The four-member audit team will have a conference at 10 a.m. Thursday at the college.

Staff from the controller's office asked that college staff ready financial audits, statements, ledgers, journals, payroll records, vendor invoices, written policies for accounting methods and meeting minutes from various involved committees.

"Delta Community College Trustees have disappointed the public," Machado said in a mid-August statement calling the state to conduct another investigation. "The people deserve to know how the bond money was spent."

Just last week, the college sent back its response to the county grand jury report, stating the trustees are in agreement with its sharply critical findings.