Valencia College has asked for an independent review of its contracting practices after the former chairwoman of the board of trustees leveled a series of allegations in a letter two weeks after learning she had been ousted from her post.
Former Chairwoman Bertica Cabrera Morris, who was passed over for reappointment by the Florida Legislature, sent the two-page letter in May.
Most of it focuses on her criticism of Valencia College President Sandy Shugart, whom she describes as having an "apparent hostility to oversight."
"In private meetings," she wrote, "I found his aggressive behavior towards me to be offensive."
Shugart could not be reached for comment. But he has previously downplayed suggestions that the two of them had a tense relationship or had problems.
Cabrera Morris' other main concern in the letter centers on the way Valencia awards contracts.
It appears, she wrote, that a disproportionate number of contracts, especially construction contracts, are being awarded to companies with connections to Valencia's Foundation, which is the college's fundraising arm. She urged a "deep exploration" of the relationship between the board of directors of the foundation and contract awards.
During a board of trustees meeting this week, Vice Chairman Lew Oliver suggested that the board's internal auditor look into Cabrera Morris' concerns. The rest of the board agreed on the need for a review.
After the meeting, Oliver said he did not request the review because he thinks the allegations have merit. They need to be investigated, he said, because they come from someone with years of experience working with the college and its board of trustees.
"Bottom line is that arguably serious complaints have been made by a credible source, and I think it's the duty of the board to take them seriously," he said in an interview.
A Valencia spokeswoman said the college had been planning since last fall to do an audit of the college's competitive-bid process.
In May, Internal Auditor Undria Stalling began a "preliminary" review. Based on Oliver's comments this week, she decided to focus more closely on construction and architectural contracts, said Valencia spokeswoman Carol Traynor.
"There's no pattern of Valencia contracts being awarded to board members because of their participation on the Valencia Foundation board," said Traynor, who pointed out that Cabrera Morris raised the issue only during her final days on the board.
Cabrera Morris said she was pleased to see trustees take action on her letter.
Before she left office in May, she said, she asked the college to look into the issue of contracts because she did not want there to be an appearance of Valencia doing anything inappropriate. She recalled when Central Florida's largest blood bank came under fire a few years ago for steering contracts to its board members' companies and wanted to make sure something similar was not happening at Valencia.
Cabrera Morris said she submitted the letter to make sure those who remain on the board of trustees were aware that her questions about contracts were not answered.
College records requested by the Orlando Sentinel show that several contractors and architectural firms linked to Valencia's Foundation received some of the school's largest construction contracts between 2002 and 2012. It was not immediately clear how many contracts in total have been secured by businesses with executives serving on the board of directors for the foundation.
The foundation is a nonprofit agency that operates independently of Valencia, Florida's third-largest community college. A variety of community leaders, business leaders and college officials volunteer to serve on its board of directors. In recent years, Valencia's president as well as one to three college trustees have served on the foundation board at any one time.
Traynor stressed that the operations of the foundation and its board are not connected to the college's process for evaluating and awarding business contracts.
Trustees approve contracts following a public, open-bid process that is conducted by a committee charged with handling Valencia's purchases, Traynor said. Valencia's president makes a recommendation to trustees on whom to award contracts.
Stalling, the internal auditor, is expected to present a plan for reviewing Cabrera Morris' concerns at the next trustee meeting, scheduled for this fall.
Stalling said she will be "working diligently to complete the audit and will report back to the board in September 2013."
dordway@tribune.com or 407-420-5470.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/orlandosentinel/features/lifestyle/~3/Z-o136mCoUk/story01.htm
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