Every property owner in Illinois pays taxes to a community college district. Often the amount each pays is small in comparison to other taxing bodies, because the districts are geographically larger and the costs are spread among a larger tax base. Community college trustees are elected.
Naperville is served by the College of DuPage, whose board this week decided to get rid of its president, Sunil Chand. He'll stay on for the duration of his contract -- another year with the title of president emeritus -- collecting at least $200,000.
This is a pattern for the COD board. In 2003 it replaced then-president Michael Murphy before his contract was up, a move that cost the district nearly $300,000.
Often, community college district boards are factional entities where infighting and personal battles gets in the way of responsible stewardship of taxpayer money. There would seem to be evidence of this at COD. Chand's ouster reportedly stems from a dispute over the hiring of a public relations firm. It's a shame the differences couldn't be worked out -- or at least some sort of truce reached -- long enough for Chand to fulfill his contract, which would have been much less costly to taxpayers.
What do you think of Chand's ouster? What's going on at COD? How much do you pay attention to how this taxing body spends your money?
$200K is a drop in the bucket when you consider how many students enroll there each semester and drop their classes after midterms, when there's no refund. At $300-$500 per class...well, you do the math. Viva College of Disappointment!
Chand was brought in because he was supposed to be a rain-maker for referendums. This was his claim to fame.
I don't recall if COD was able to unlock the homeowners wallets or not.
If COD didn't get the new buildings and salary increases that Chand was going to deliver, then maybe this is why he is leaving.