Washtenaw Community College Prez “Refutes” Criticism

by P.D. Lesko

ANN ARBOR NEWS reporter Matt Durr is a graduate of Washtenaw Community College. Folks at The Washtenaw Voice, the student newspaper, speak of Durr in glowing terms, the guy who made good in the world of print journalism. Last week Durr published a piece about WCC President Dr. Rose Bellanca’s spending. Anonymous commenters took Durr to task. One comment even took me to task, personally, in response to Durr’s piece. That was shortly after The A2 Indy published an article about a $2,800 party for the former director of the WCC Foundation. The gathering, which included  booze, was paid for with Bellanca’s college issued credit card. The WCC Foundation, which provides scholarships to students, reimbursed Dr. Bellanca for the entire amount.

In last week’s Ann Arbor News, Dr. Bellanca published a refutation of Durr’s reporting, alleging that Durr “failed to provide perspective or details that clearly justify the expenditures,” and neglected to cite that her expenditures “are in line with my predecessors.” Never mind that the President of a community college forgot the necessary possessive apostrophe and was derided for other grammatical mistakes in a comment posted in response to her piece.

The more important point is that Dr. Bellanca’s assertions are simply not supported by documents and credit card records provided by WCC in response to Freedom of Information Act requests. Coupled with the fact that she has repeatedly misused her college issued credit card, and Bellanca’s refutation becomes little more than a poorly written and inadequately reasoned exercise in solipsism. The only opinion that matters is hers, damn the facts, the consequences and the public’s perception.

Matt Durr requested a wide variety of public records, including years of credit card records for both Dr. Bellanca and Dr. Larry Whitworth, her predecessor. I know this because I asked to have copies of every public record Durr requested WCC hand over. This is called piggybacking another’s FOIA. Study the two presidents’ credit card records and one sees Whitworth ate fewer meals out, went to fewer conferences, most certainly had fewer catered events and made more donations to local organizations and charities.

In 2009, in the middle of the Great Recession, Larry Whitworth’s efforts resulted in $1.9 million in donations to the WCC Foundation. Last year, after spending $120,000 on travel, four-star hotels, meals out costing hundreds of dollars and other expenses, the WCC Foundation brought in slightly more than $950,000. Dr. Bellanca claims she “doubled the number of endowed scholarships.” The number of new endowed scholarships this year totalled 19, including one from Bellanca and her husband, and six endowed by WCC faculty. WCC’s Foundation website lists dozens of endowed scholarships.

Dr. Bellanca also claimed that, “WCC received the highest percentage increase of all 28 Michigan community colleges in budget dollars from the state performance-based metrics.” According to the Michigan House Fiscal Agency, WCC did not receive the highest percentage increase based on performance: Schoolcraft Community College did. WCC’s increase was 0.5 percent. If we look at the dollars, Oct. 2014 Michigan legislative records show that Macomb Community College received the largest performance-based allocation at $885,400. WCC’s 2014 performance based allocation from the state was $466,500.

Along with grammar, Dr. Bellanca’s math appears to be somewhat fuzzy. She writes in her Ann Arbor News piece: “I have always been very judicious about my college-related expenses.”

Saying it doesn’t make it so, and neither does writing it. Charging the WCC Foundation for a $2,800 party for an employee is not judicious; it’s injudicious.