Trustees Fire Kellerman in 5-2 College District Vote

Trustees of the North Orange County Community College District have voted 5-2 to fire embattled Chancellor James S. Kellerman, who was suspended by the board last month amid allegations of financial misconduct.

Kellerman, 54, who has maintained that he is innocent of any wrongdoing, said Wednesday night that he will sue the board for dismissing him Tuesday from the $97,000-a-year job.

“I’m devastated,” Kellerman said. “I don’t understand it. I’ve done nothing criminal. I’ve done nothing immoral. I’m not incompetent. I’ve answered all their allegations.”

Additionally, Kellerman said, the board could have handled the matter “a little more compassionately.” He said his 7-year-old son underwent surgery to have a brain tumor removed 2 weeks ago, and that the firing means his family’s medical benefits will end June 18.

“He requires a lifetime of medical treatment,” Kellerman said of his son. “If they had waited until June 1 (to terminate me), the insurance would have been paid through September.”

The vote to fire Kellerman came after two board sessions that were closed to the public, one last Thursday and one Tuesday night, according to district officials.

At the Thursday meeting, Kellerman responded to a list of 13 allegations of wrongdoing, including accusations that he borrowed from a district travel account without authorization and sought personal loans from top district employees. After the allegations were made public, the Orange County district attorney’s office began a criminal investigation.

Tuesday night, the board discussed the matter for more than an hour before voting to fire Kellerman, officials said. Voting to terminate Kellerman were board President Otto J. Lacayo and trustees Nilane A. Lee, Barbara G. Hammerman, Steve White and Barry J. Wishart. Trustees Chris Loumakis and Wallace R. Hardy voted to keep Kellerman on paid suspension.

“It’s an attempt on the part of the board majority to make the matter appear as if it were a mere contract or personnel issue,” Loumakis said. “It’s an attempt to detract from the implications of the (district attorney’s) investigation.”

Loumakis was among the first to publicly question Kellerman’s conduct and call for a criminal investigation of the chancellor. Loumakis said it is premature to fire Kellerman before that investigation is completed.

Trustees Hardy and Hammerman declined comment on the vote, saying it might jeopardize the district’s position should Kellerman decide to sue. Other board members were not available for comment. Loumakis would not say whether Kellerman’s health-insurance predicament was discussed by the board, only that the chancellor’s situation “was fully discussed.”

However, Kellerman, who has declined comment on the allegations except for a statement released through his attorney last month, was willing to talk about the board’s vote.

“I know that my career has been damaged by the allegations,” he said. “It’s been quoted that I’ve been linked with thousands of dollars of misappropriations, without fact, without foundation. I’ve already lost opportunities for two other jobs because of what’s going on here.”

In addition to the allegations about the travel account and personal loans, the investigation of Kellerman has also included accusations that he improperly billed the district $3,120 for an accident involving the chancellor’s district-owned car, that the district was billed $2,000 for a computer that was allegedly installed in Kellerman’s home, and that Kellerman coerced district employees into sponsoring home-decorating parties organized by his wife.

Wallace Wade, the Orange County assistant deputy district attorney handling the Kellerman investigation, said the chancellor’s firing will not affect the inquiry, which is in its early stages.

Kellerman became chancellor of the district in February, 1986, succeeding Leadie M. Clark, who was ousted after she filed a $5-million discrimination suit against the district that governs Cypress and Fullerton colleges.