Grand Jury Report: Klein's Charges "utterly without merit." Klein "sowed seeds of chaos."

Grand jury: Sierra trustee sowed chaos
Ex-president was wrongly accused of misconduct, Placer panel finds.By Kim Minugh -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, March 24, 2006Story appeared on Page A1 of The Bee

A Sierra College trustee tarnished his institution's reputation and helped force former President Kevin Ramirez from office by leveling unfounded allegations of misconduct, the Placer County grand jury has found.

For irresponsible actions that led to damning publicity and chaos in the college community, trustee Aaron Klein owes the public an apology, states a grand jury report obtained Thursday by The Bee. The grand jury also called for the Sierra Joint Community College District trustees to acknowledge Klein's error and apologize to Ramirez and the public.
After reading the grand jury report absolving him of financial and other wrongdoing, Ramirez said, he "cried like a baby."

"It's certainly a vindication for me and my family," he said.
Ramirez praised the grand jury for having the "courage and heart and integrity and sense of obligation to right a wrong like this."

Though recognizing Klein's sincerity, grand jury members found that he failed to fully investigate his concerns that Ramirez might have overseen a money-laundering scheme in 2004 involving the Sierra College Foundation's role in campaigns for three bond measures to improve college facilities.

No such scheme existed, and the foundation's role as an intermediary between donors and political action committees was legal, the grand jury determined.
In a three-page letter filed with the Placer County clerk on Dec. 20, 2004, Klein outlined what he thought to be potential violations of campaign finance law regarding more than $100,000 in donations and held Ramirez ultimately responsible.
Several days later, Klein called for Ramirez's resignation, leading to lengthy public hearings, late-night closed sessions and unrest on campus. Within a month, Ramirez was gone.

The grand jurors did find some discrepancies. The report states that the foundation violated public disclosure laws in several instances but described the errors as "relatively minor." They attributed the errors to "inexperience, inattention to detail and confusing underlying documentation."

Nonetheless, the report chastises Klein for his actions, describing widespread and damaging consequences.

"We concluded that (Klein) told the truth as he believed it, but he exercised little due diligence," the report states. "As a result, the truth he told was unfounded and his complaint ... inflicted damage on a senior public employee, demoralized the Sierra College community and risked the reputation of Sierra College."

Klein did not return phone calls but faxed a written statement to The Bee, stating that he "respectfully disagrees" with the grand jury's findings that the violations were minor.

"The law has a purpose: to shine the light of public disclosure on political campaigns," he wrote in the statement. "We have a legal, moral and ethical responsibility to the public to provide that information before elections, not after they occur."

Klein said that the Fair Political Practices Commission is investigating the matter. A commission spokesman would not confirm or deny an investigation. Bill Halldin, president of the foundation's board, said he continues to believe the foundation acted properly in the campaigns for Measures E, G and H. He stressed that the foundation is composed of volunteers "who are involved because the college is an important part of the community." The grand jury report emphasized that many people involved with the foundation were unfamiliar with campaign finance law or their disclosure obligations.

Halldin said he is unsure if the foundation again will act as an intermediary in the campaign for Measure B, a $78.2 million bond for facility repairs that will go before voters in June.

Though official word from the Sierra board was that Ramirez's departure in January 2005 was mutually agreed upon, Ramirez said Thursday that the grand jury was accurate in finding Klein's complaint was "a contributing and unjustified" factor in his departure.

"That was the straw that certainly broke my back," he said. The other factor, Ramirez said, was a Dec. 14 private meeting in which Ramirez alleges that board President Jerry Simmons said he wanted him to leave the college.

Simmons did not return phone calls Thursday. He previously has said that he told Ramirez he did not support him but did not call for his resignation.

According to college officials, Ramirez's retirement settlement cost the college $464,950. The college also had to pay $54,750 to conduct a national search for a new president. Leo Chavez - announced as the new president this week - will earn $210,000 a year. Ramirez's annual salary was $168,000 a year.

Ramirez, now a consultant for several community college districts, also agrees with the grand jury's assertion that Klein's actions had far-reaching consequences. He described the ordeal as "personally devastating" to his family, as well as the college community.

"I think (the allegations) continue to be very, very damaging and emotionally difficult for the college," he said.

The grand jury's report outlined some of those difficulties in anecdotal terms. It said the foundation's executive director, Sonbol Aliabadi, told the jury that for a period after Klein's allegations became public, donations subsided and one major contributor withheld his gift until "the college gets its act together."
"The campus joke, according to one interviewee, was that 'Every time an article about Sierra College hits a local paper, American River College opens another class,' " the report states.

Though acknowledging that many factors can cause enrollment to fluctuate, a college spokeswoman said enrollment in January 2005 - a few weeks after Klein's complaint was filed - rose only 2 percent from the previous year. Just before Klein's complaint, enrollment had been up 11 percent from the year before.
The report also notes that four senior staff members were driven to tears while being interviewed.

"These matters are all subjective," the report states, "but they are also significant and cannot be lightly dismissed."

Ramirez said he is not waiting for any apologies. "I have forgiven Jerry Simmons and Aaron Klein for what they've done," he said. "I've moved on."