As Martha Garcia nears end at COD, trustees say she ‘weathered storm’ during brief tenure

Friday’s College of the Desert board meeting was Superintendent/President Martha Garcia’s last one in person as her two-year tenure nears its end.

And two trustees took the chance to thank her for her service, while acknowledging the division that spanned her time in the desert, including a fierce debate over plans for a Palm Springs campus and a bitterly contested trustee election.

“You took the job in the midst of unfortunate circumstances,” Trustee Bea Gonzalez said. “Before you even got here there was just so much rage and apparent anger and a whole bunch of politics going on, but you loved our community enough and felt the strong ties because of the fact of your mother working here in our grape vineyards that you wanted to come here anyway.”

“I truly appreciate the love and sincerity that you have for our students and community and that you were just able to weather the storm,” Gonzalez added.

Garcia, who said she will participate in June’s meeting virtually, will begin as president of Mt. San Antonio College in Los Angeles County on July 1.

Garcia joined COD two summers ago from Imperial Valley College, where she spent 22 years, including three as superintendent/president.

Her brief time at COD was marred by board controversy, beginning with a split 3-2 vote to appoint her.

Then came board disagreements over how to allocate bond money for capital projects across the valley, most notably whether to proceed with $350 million plans for a long-planned Palm Springs campus or to possibly redistribute some funds to other projects across the valley. The board also considered moving a $30 million-plus automotive education center from Cathedral City to near the Indio Auto Mall before Cathedral City officials pressured them to proceed with original plans.

Controversy entered a new phase with a historically expensive and divisive 2022 election that saw Garcia’s predecessor Joel Kinnamon oust Aurora Wilson from the board. During the campaign Kinnamon’s husband, Christopher Parman, operated a mocking website that an arbitrator ruled violated college trademarks. The website was harshly critical of college leaders including Garcia and Wilson. The arbitrator said the site was being used in bad faith.

All the while, a largely anonymous group was funding a campaign of mailers, digital ads and billboards across the Coachella Valley calling on Garcia and the trustees who supported her — Wilson, Gonzalez and Ruben Perez — to resign.

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In December, COD Vice President Jeff Baker initiated a legal claim against the college, Garcia, Gonzalez and Perez,  alleging they defamed him and that then-trustee Wilson retaliated against him after he raised concerns about the college’s 2021 search that resulted in the hiring of Garcia. Baker, who had taken a leave of absence from the college, has returned to his duties while his legal claim is pending.

Then, in January, Kinnamon questioned Garcia’s and Wilson’s communications before the election and also called for an investigation to censure Perez based on comments he made at the dais. An investigation into whether Perez's conduct merits a censure is ongoing, but was presumably delayed by former Trustee Fred Jandt's resignation from the board in March. As vice chair, Jadnt was supposed to be on the subcommitte for the investigation. Now, Gonzalez replaces him. Since the change, however, COD has not given any public update about this matter.

In February, Perez was arrested in La Quinta on suspicion of drunk driving. His court date is June 20 in Indio.

On Friday, Board Chair Bonnie Stefan also bid Garcia an emotional farewell, although Stefan voted not to appointed Garcia in 2021 and voted against her pay raise and contract extension in November.

“She’s attempted to weather a storm that was raging in her face and threatening to just take her under with every turn,” Stefan said.

A trustee since 1999, Stefan said the last two years have been extremely difficult for her.

“I’ve seen the community praise (COD) but tear it apart,” she said. “I’ve seen the college community become divided, and that is something that should never happen.”

“We’ve got to find common ground and say this is what's best for our students, and this is where we move forward. Maybe I’m preaching to you right now, and I apologize,” Stefan continued.

She got emotional as reflected upon spending Mother’s Day in the hospital with chest pains.

“I want you to know how I feel and how important this college is to me, and with that I will stop preaching,” she said while holding back tears.

Adjunct faculty president Catherine Levitt also wished Garcia success in her next endeavor. Under Garcia’s tenure, the adjunct union has been upset with what it deems unequal pay relative to full-time professors and overwhelmingly passed a vote of no confidence against the entire board in April for their handling of certain personnel matters.

Full-time faculty president Oceana Collins' comments were more positive toward Garcia.

“From the moment you became our president/superintendent, you have fostered an environment of openness and communication,” Collins said. “You accepted your position at a time when things were very challenging in the midst of a pandemic, and as anyone who is in a position of leadership knows, it is difficult to make everyone happy in even the best of times. But you fulfilled your position with dignity and grace, listening and making tough decisions. It is clear to me that you care deeply about this college and this community. I wish you the best at Mt. San Antonio College, and you will be missed here at COD.”

Garcia acknowledged the transition.

“I will send out a message to the campus on June 2 explaining the next steps,” she said. COD has not named an interim successor.

“I want you to know that we keep on working hard. There is so much to do, and I’m committed to do the best that I can until the last day that I no longer serve you,” she said.

“I’m trying to do everything that I can to support the next incoming president. I want that person to succeed,” she added.

Jonathan Horwitz covers education for The Desert Sun. Reach him at jonathan.horwitz@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: College of the Desert Trustees prepare to bid Martha Garcia farewell