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In a repudiation by a majority of its members, the Peralta College District Board of Trustees voted 5-1-1 Tuesday night on a modified resolution to censure board member Marcie Hodge for “behavior that is out of compliance with the laws and regulations governing trustee conduct and the established policies of the Peralta Community College District.” 

The only no vote was from Hodge herself. Trustee Nicky González Yuen abstained. 

The censure resolution was sparked by a contentious Sept. 13 trustee meeting and an Oct. 18 Laney College Faculty Senate meeting in which Hodge called for the abolition of the district’s controversial International Education Department. But the resolution also included long-simmering grievances by fellow trustees that Hodge “is deficient in fulfulling her responsibilities as a trustee.” 

The amended resolution was slightly toned down from the original version that appeared in the board packet, with allegations of Hodge’s “uncouth verbal outbursts,” for example, changed to “uncivil verbal outbursts.” But the substance of the resolution’s charges remained the same, including charges that Hodge is “often substantially late for board meetings and workshops, has never attended the board committee meetings to which she has been assigned as a specific part of her board obligations, and is frequently absent from the workshops and general sessions at state and national conferences that she attends at taxpayer expense.” 

In a written statement read before the vote, Hodge did not answer any of the specific charges in the censure resolution, but instead characterized the resolution as an attempt to silence her on the International Education Department issue. 

In the statement, Hodge said that she was “shocked and disappointed that some members of this board would consider censuring me for fighting to curb abuse in Peralta’s Office of International & Global Education.” 

Saying that the department “has been the source of problems, public criticism and abuse for many years,” she noted that “as of today, the administration can provide no credible data to show that the office has recruited any of the foreign students attending one of our community colleges.” 

Directing her remarks to fellow trustees, Hodge said that “while investigating this department, I have been met with resistance and hostility from some of those sitting in this room. Trustees: you are on the wrong side of this issue.” 

Hodge originally said that she wanted the International Education Department abolished because of allegations of mismanagement and lack of accountability. She has since said that she would support the continuation of the department if it were reorganized and made more accountable. 

During her presentation, Hodge held up a packet of what she said was “several hundred cards” she said she had received in support of her position on the International Education Department. 

In addition, a handful of public speakers spoke against the censure motion, including her brother, former Oakland school board member Jason Hodge, her sister, and her mother. 

Jason Hodge asked trustees to “reject this frivolous, personal and unprofessional resolution,” which he said “look like retaliation” for his sister’s request for investigation of the International Education Department. 

“I wish you would become as excited about investigating the sinister things that are going on in the bowels of this organization,” he said. 

Trustees voted on the censure measure without comment and none would speak on the record for this article, saying they feared an outburst from Hodge. 

At the Sept. 13 meeting, Hodge refused to stop speaking when ruled out of order several times by Board President Bill Riley. 

Four days before that Sept. 13 meeting, the district hired a new Vice Chancellor for Educational Services—Margaret Haig—whose duties include supervising the International Education Department and its director, Jacob Ng. At the meeting, Haig said that she had initiated a review of the International Education Department. She is scheduled to report back the results of that review to trustees in January. 

One trustee said following the meeting that the board was waiting to see the report before deciding whether any action would be needed. 

Peralta Federation of Teachers President Michael Mills said his organization is cooperating with Haig’s review of the International Education Department. 

“We believe it’s a positive step for the district,” Mills said. 

This is an almost entirely new board since the time when the International Education Department came under attack in the media and by the Alameda Civil Grand Jury for sending the former Chancellor—Ron Temple—and several trustees on expensive international trips. 

Linda Handy was elected three years ago in part because of a backlash over Temple’s involvement in the International Education Department scandal, and four new trustees—Bill Withrow, Cy Gulassa, Yuen, and Hodge—were elected last November after incumbent trustees chose not to run for re-election for various reasons. 

The new board has established a track record for establishing fiscal and program accountability in the district. New checks and balances include requiring the district’s fiscal manager and general counsel to sign off on most contracts before the come to the board, keeping a running accounting of the district’s bond expenditures, and hiring an inspector general to report directly to trustees on district problems. 

In addition, trustees have increased scrutiny over construction cost overruns—particularly those involved with the Vista College construction project in Berkeley—and over the district’s Internet Technology Department, which is currently in the midst of a massive phase-over to a new Internet administrative system.o