CapRadio hires new general manager in closed meeting as Sac State denounces move

Capital Public Radio’s board of directors voted to hire a new general manager Tuesday night, but Sacramento State said it opposes the move for the financially troubled broadcaster and will not fund the position.

The decision by the board, taken in a closed Zoom meeting that members of the public and media were not allowed to view, comes as the operation is under severe financial pressure revealed in an audit released last week.

CapRadio’s board did not announce its action, but Sac State issued a statement late Tuesday denouncing the move and said it had been notified that the board decided to “move forward in hiring a new general manager at the cost of nearly half a million dollars a year.”

“With the serious issues of accountability, financial processes and controls, and fiscal instability highlighted in the CSU audit, the board still decided to move forward with the hiring, despite the university’s request not to do so,” Sac State’s statement said.

The statement noted that Associated Students Inc. President Nataly Andrade-Dominguez had asked Monday night for the resignations of officers of CapRadio’s board and members of the finance committee, but that “no resignations have been confirmed.”

“As a public institution, we believe in transparency and accountability,” Sac State said. “We also believe in saving CapRadio.

“The board has the right to hire a general manager, notwithstanding, the university, as CapRadio’s fiduciary in light of their ill financial health, does not support this decision and will not fund this hire.”

CapRadio currently is being run by interim General Manager Tom Karlo, who was brought in Aug. 15 at the urging of Sac State President Luke Wood as the operation laid off 12% of its workforce and cut programming because of financial problems.

The decision to hire a permanent replacement for Karlo came in a meeting that a CapRadio official said “was a closed session due to personnel matters.”

Sac State did not reveal the identity of the individual hired to run the operation, but the university already has made it clear that it intends to assume oversight of the beleaguered operation, which is predicted to face insolvency by January.

Karlo was tapped to run the operation on an interim basis after the departure earlier this year of General Manager and Vice President Jun Reina. CapRadio said in March it planned a national search to find a replacement for Reina and that it wanted to complete the hire by the end of 2023.

Last Saturday, Wood appointed Jonathan Bowman, the university vice president for administration and business affairs and its chief financial officer, to oversee CapRadio and work with Karlo.

“The appointment follows an internal analysis of CapRadio’s finances that projects the university auxiliary will have no financial resources remaining in January 2024,” Sac State said in announcing Bowman’s appointment. “This finding follows a CSU system audit that revealed significant problems with CapRadio’s financial health, governance, and operations.

“As a nonprofit auxiliary, CapRadio cannot file for bankruptcy, and any debt accumulated is the ultimate responsibility of Sacramento State, its fiduciary.”

Sacramento State holds the license for CapRadio, a National Public Radio member that operates KXJZ-FM (90.9) and KXPR-FM (88.9) and a network of repeater stations, including KUOP-FM (91.3). CapRadio also manages North State Public Radio, which has two stations owned by Chico State.

Sac State has said CapRadio will maintain control of its journalism and programming under a chief content officer, but that all financial and other operations will be overseen by Bowman and the university.

The move follows the release of an audit by the California State University Chancellor’s Office that found a number of management problems, unpaid rent, missing equipment and a lack of opportunities for university students at CapRadio.

The audit was requested a year ago by then-President Robert Nelsen after Bowman found “inconsistencies” in CapRadio’s financial reports, Sac State said.

The audit also comes as CapRadio was in the midst of an expansion plan to move from its campus headquarters to two new locations in downtown Sacramento.