District extends 'complex' Oxnard College president investigation
Fall classes kicked off Aug. 12 at Oxnard College, but President Luis Sanchez remained home after district officials extended a months-long investigation into his alleged harassment and misconduct.
Greg Gillespie, now retired chancellor of Ventura County Community College District, placed Sanchez on paid administrative leave on May 5, saying he expected investigations to conclude by Aug. 3.
But in a July 22 letter to Sanchez reviewed by the Star, Vice Chancellor Laura Barroso said the district needed until at least Sept. 12 and would “likely be seeking further extensions” for the probe.
Barroso, who oversees district human resources, wrote that investigators required more time due to the “complexity of this matter,” the large volume of documents and an investigator falling ill.
California law gives community colleges 90 days to wrap up investigations into complaints of unlawful discrimination, but allows 45-day extensions under a limited set of circumstances.
Patti Blair, district spokeswoman, reiterated the reasons for the extension and said it was "necessary" to give the district time to review additional information and to finalize a response.
Sanchez said Monday that he had yet to be contacted by investigators, but that he hoped he would be "vindicated" by the final result.
Dianne McKay, president of the district’s board of trustees, said the board had been kept "largely in the dark" as the "final arbiters" of any disciplinary action against Sanchez.
"As much as you want these things to go fast, they go long," McKay said, citing her experience with similar investigations. "You want to get everything right."
The district opened investigations in May into “two complaints of unlawful but not criminal" harassment, including on the basis of sex and gender" and a third allegation of "misconduct pertaining to the Oxnard College Foundation,” Gillespie said at the time.
Sanchez contested the allegations in an open response dated May 4 claiming an “unblemished” record as an administrator.
"To be treated this way on the basis of an allegation? It's such an affront to my dignity," he said in May.
Sanchez has said he believed the allegations stem from his conflict with the foundation, particularly over the foundation’s scholarship program and administration of grant money.
The letter sparked protests from some Oxnard College students and staff at the next district board meeting, then a concerted student effort to reform the foundation’s scholarship procedures.
That effort bore fruit Saturday when the foundation’s board voted to implement new scholarship procedures that no longer require students to file reimbursement claims, foundation Director Pete Parker said.
“It was a victory. It’s exciting,” Parker said. “We get to allow these students to pursue their educational journeys.”
Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: District extends investigation into Oxnard College President Luis Sanchez
