TRUSTEE CENSURED BY BOARD MEMBERS PANEL DECIDES AGAINST SEEKING OUTSIDE PROBE.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

VALENCIA - College of the Canyons trustee Ron Gillis got off with a slap on the hand this week as fellow trustees voted to censure him but declined to seek an outside investigation.

The board voted 4-1 Wednesday night - with Gillis dissenting - to censure him for revealing confidential information during an Aug. 10 board meeting.

The action was brief, but a second agenda item, which would have resulted in an investigation by the district attorney's Public Integrity Division into Gillis' disclosures, failed for lack of a motion.

Several college security guards were stationed outside the meeting room, presumably to quell any unrest from the board's action.

Gillis was censured for saying fellow trustees took a telephone poll to approve making an offer on a parcel of land to be part of the Canyon Country Education Center, a second community college campus in the Santa Clarita Valley. He said there were two appraisals, one at $5 million and another at $6.5 million, the higher of which was approved by the board.

Jim Schrage, the college's dean of facilities planning, said the parcel in question was listed at $8.5 million and a college-obtained appraisal placed its value at $8 million. The college offered $5 million and the seller countered with $6.25 million, an offer the board accepted. The property deal is in escrow.

Many part-time faculty and members of the Democratic Alliance for Action were in the audience to support Gillis. Speakers also asked the trustees to fully disclose their reasons for the censure and to provide more information when public money is spent on real estate.

Board President Joan McGregor said the issue would be placed on the agenda for the board's Wednesday meeting.

Michael Ward, president of the part-time faculty union at the college, expressed concerns at the board's hesitation to share background information.

``Putting this issue off raises doubt as to whether it will actually happen,'' he said, adding a request for the board to reconsider the censure of Gillis, who has championed the rights of part-time faculty for several years. ``The information we are given is deficient and incomplete; you say you hope this doesn't get political, but you have politicized it. That's the nature of community colleges. Actions like these hurt the taxpayers and the students.''

``Let's investigate before we censure,'' Bruce McFarland, president of the Democratic group said. ``We don't have the facts and you've already censured him. I hope there is an investigation because there's a lot to investigate. It seems you're more worried about a building and not worried at all about Mr. Gillis' reputation.''

Student trustee Annie Yang, who also serves as president of the college's Association Student Government, echoed the request for full disclosure, noting that students appreciate being informed before making decisions.

Despite multiple requests for a reversal, the censure stood. The board will meet in regular session at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the faculty dining room on campus.

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com