Delta College police want student government to better account for money

San Joaquin Delta College police said the student government should fix the way they account for the $500,000 or more they make every year through their weekend swap meets, or the college will shut them down.

Campus cops admonished Associated Student Body Government members for their spending last week at a board of trustees meeting. Student spending habits came up in the course of an ongoing investigation into allegations of embezzlement, fraud and sexual harassment involving a past student senator dating back to 2003, police told trustees.

Under the leadership of past and present student senators and advisers, the money has paid for tickets to Broadway shows, white-tablecloth dinners, luxurious hotel stays and custom-embroidered luggage for volunteer senators.

The money belongs to students, not administrators, said interim adviser Gina Foppiano. But she told trustees at the meeting that it's unfair for so much money to benefit so few students.

Campus police Sgt. Geff Greenwood called the expenses inappropriate, and in a recent report cited several bylaws that past leaders have violated, like spending $600,000 of student government money in the course of five years without prior permission.

A former supervisor of student activities — who was not named in the report — is the main subject of the investigation, which also involves other employees and students.

The adviser's "almost complete lack of leadership contributed greatly to the current state" of student government, police wrote in the report, which was given to student senators several weeks ago to show why administrators have pushed them to change how they spend and track that money.

In the report, Greenwood called attention to the lenient accounting for student fund-raisers, like the weekly rummage sale. The all-volunteer student government balances its own books with no oversight from college auditors, despite the huge amount of money students deal with.

Foppiano and campus police said last year's 15-member student government spent $74,000 on an East Coast conference, including nearly $24,000 to stay at the Michelangelo Hotel, $1,800 to see "The Lion King" on Broadway and $7,700 on dinner tabs on a single trip last year.

Student senators get $350 every year for winter coats and $525 every two months for drinks. Last year, $14,300 was paid for embroidered luggage for 19 students.

Student government also pays to host fundraising dinners and other campus events.

There was probably more misspending, police said, but records were shredded by the former supervisor under investigation — "in gross violation of accepted or even reasonable accounting standards" — so the exact amount remains unknown.

In addition to the way money was spent, the college hired workers with criminal histories to help out with the weekend swap meet. Several employees had several felony convictions for offenses ranging from property crimes to murder.

One man — also not named in the report — who collected $1,800 a month to clean up after the flea market put to work parolees from a clean and sober living house he worked for, but none of the workers were on payroll, according to the report. That meant none, who collectively had an "extensive criminal history" according to police, were covered by workers' compensation — a huge liability for the college.

Police in the report urged the college to make sure prospective employees undergo background checks to prevent that from happening again.

Greenwood also suggested that the college hire a full-time manager to oversee the market and said that unless students go along with the changes, the weekend sales should stop altogether.

Meanwhile, the 12 new student government members are trying to keep their reputations untarnished and working on ways to spend more frugally than their predecessors, who may face criminal prosecution if enough evidence is found to support the allegations.

Student leaders will continue to pay for out-of-state trips to leadership conferences and Disneyland getaways, they said. But more money will go toward three new scholarships, guest lecturers and more on-campus events for all students, said student senator Patrice Burke, 43.

In the future, Burke said, if they want to book hotel rooms or eat out, they'll shop around for better prices.