Cal State Fullerton Proves Once Again They Know How to Waste Millions!



 FULLERTON - The Orange County Register is reporting that Cal State Fullerton has spent $143-million to add student housing and a cafeteria for 1064 additional students.  That figure does not include the cost to float the initial $143-million bond which could cost students and taxpayers $250-million.  That works out to about $235,000 for each bed or $470,000 for a small bedroom with no kitchen.   Students need the housing but the cost seems too high. 

This is the epitome of big government waste but its nothing new to CSUF who pays their president, Milton A. Gordon, $294,615 (not including benefits and perks).  Gordon lives in a donated mansion on a sprawling estate in the Fullerton hills.  Living rent free, he still commands a massive salary while students and taxpayers get stuck with the bill. 

CSUF, like other universities, allows faculty top enter an early retirement program.  The program allows full-time faculty to retire early and continue to work part-time.  It sounds good on paper but the practice means we, the taxpayers, are paying extra for less.  The retiree also immediately qualifies for FREE parking while other part-time employees must pay to park their car at their work. 

The long list of CSUF wasteful spending continues to grow as does the cost of tuition.  If CSUF students and their families want to lower tuition, they need to hold the CSUF administration responsible. 

Cal State Fullerton Out of Touch with Reality?

Once again CSUF is in the news because of budget cuts. And once again students are stuck holding the bill.

For those who might be new to my blog or have a short memory, here are a few posts about CSUF and the strange way the Administration operates:
Cal State Fullerton President - Lifestyles of Our Rich Public Employees at the El Dorado Ranch

Cal State Fullerton’s Pension Tsunami Shell Game and Our Kid’s Future

The El Dorado Ranch - Is it Public or Private

Cal State Fullerton Reporter Slammed for Speaking Truth


In the most recent OC Register story, several students and professors, none in economics though, spoke out against the cuts and are urging for HIGHER taxes! The students need not worry about higher taxes since it is assumed they would fall into the lowest tax bracket. The professors need not worry either since paying 5%-10% more in taxes is better than taking a 20%-30% cut in pay!

Unfortunately, unless meaningful cuts are made and Sacramento reallocates funding, students and taxpayers are both hurt by the poor financial management of the CSU system.Even the Fullerton Observer Can See the Problems at Cal State Fullerton

University Double Standard

You might recall my series of posts regarding Cal State Fullerton President Milton A. Gordon and the Cal State Fullerton student-reporter Ally Bordas who was slammed and censored by CSUF Media Relations Director Christopher Bugbee.

Recently in the news was another story that points to the blatant hypocrisy that exists within the wall of California's universities.  CNN, Fox, MSNBC, CBS, and others have all covered the story of the UC San Diego student-run newspaper, the Koala, Volume 6, Issue 1, wherein an editor calls a student-body VP a "Fat Whore" with a picture of a penis and scrotum in her face.  (--GRAPHIC WARNING - view The Koala here GRAPHIC WARNING--)

Unlike UCSD, where administrators have said the editor has the right to free speech and artistic expression, CSUF's administration doesn't want anyone to speak ill of their over-paid president, Milton A. Gordon.   

I suppose if CSUF student-reporters would like to speak the truth and point out facts about the university's over-paid administration, they need only to use graphic profanity.  I, on the other hand, do not need to resort to such tactics.

According to the Sacramento Bee, Gordon took a couple of pay cuts from $311,944 in 2008 and $302,042 in 2009 to $294,615.  The cut amounts to a whopping 5.5% which doesn't mean much considering he lives, rent-free, at the publicly-owned El Dorado Ranch mansion in Fullerton.  I haven't looked into it but I'm guessing he has a state-owned car and maybe even a driver.  Regardless of the latter, Gordon enjoys the sweet life that the rest of us pay for through taxes and students through ever-increasing fees and tuition.   

Even the Fullerton Observer Can See the Problems at Cal State Fullerton

I've been writing about CSUF for about a year after discovering how much of our taxes are, in my opinion, squandered and completely mismanaged.  I brought you CSUF Milton Gordon's mansion which is owned by the taxpayers and the problem with FERPing (it really is as bad as it sounds).  You can read the posts HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.  And now the Fullerton Observer, a local publication, has caught the bug.  Below is the entirety of an article by Mark Shapiro, available HERE.  Enjoy!

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Half-time Interim Director at CSUF Paid $165,104
by Mark H. Shapiro

Although the California State University system is in the midst of a major budget crisis, a retired Cal State Fullerton administrator who was hired back as the Interim Director of University Planning received a salary of $165,104 this past fiscal year (according to the Sacramento Bee database of state salaries).

Because Michael C. Parker retired from Cal State Fullerton in 2005 where he worked as Chief Information Technology Officer and Professor of Counseling, he must, as a retired annuitant, work less than half-time in order to keep his pension income.

In 2009 his CalPERS retirement income was $105,129 according to information available from Californiapensionreform.com.

On a full-time basis, Parker’s salary would be equivalent to $330,208, which would exceed that of CSU Fullerton’s President, Milton A. Gordon, by some $28,166.

Even Parker’s part-time salary of $165,104, when combined with his CSU retirement income of $105,129 amounts to $270,233.

This would make him the second-highest paid administrator at Cal State Fullerton, just behind Gordon who received $302,042 in 2009, and well ahead of the next-highest paid administrator, head basketball coach Bob Burton, who received $213,007 in 2009.

The position of Interim Director of Strategic Planning probably is an important one. 

Previous efforts at strategic planning at Cal State Fullerton have yielded little in the way of tangible results, in the opinion of many campus employees.

But given the seriousness of the current budget crisis, the current effort at planning may be more successful.

Nevertheless, it seems very unusual that a half-time Interim Director of Strategic Planning would be paid more (not including his retirement pay) than a host of full-time academic deans and other top-level administrators on the campus.

In fact, none of the academic college deans at Fullerton earned more than $160,223 in 2009, even though they work on a full-time basis.

The author has known Mike Parker professionally for many years, and considers him to be a decent and hard-working administrator.

But it still seems strange that he would be paid so much money for a half-time job that is important, but no more important than those of, say, the academic deans.

This is particularly true at a time when the University is working under extreme budget constraints.

One wonders if the taxpayers are being wellserved in these circumstances.

(The author worked for many years as a Professor of Physics at Cal State Fullerton. He also publishes The Irascible Professor, an online journal that covers issues in education. It is available on the Internet at http://irascibleprofessor.com/)

Cal State Fullerton Reporter Slammed for Speaking Truth



CSUF Daily Titan scared by the truth

 Fullerton - A California State University of Fullerton student reporter has come under attack for quoting me in the Daily Titan. 

Ally Bordas wrote a brief article for the Daily Titan on the financial mess at CSUF and pointed out the irresponsibility, waste, and hypocrisy within the universities management.  In her article, she quotes my blog post Cal State Fullerton President - Lifestyles of Our Rich Public Employees at the El Dorado Ranch, which was cross-posted on the Friends for Fullerton's Future blog. 

The CSU media specialist didn't like the fact that Ms. Bordas used my post and even less that it was pulled from the 4F blog.  Unfortunately, the story was pulled from the Daily Titan and Ms. Bordas has had to endure a lot of questions on her fact checking. 

The fact remains that the words she quoted from me are based on the official legal agreement between the State of California and the Chapman family who donated the El Dorado Ranch.  You can find the document at the Orange County Recorder's Office by asking for Instrument No. 1989-334761 of Official Records.  You can also email me at GregSebourn@yahoo.com and I will email the 28-page PDF to you. 

Here are a few facts to consider that the agreement spells out:

1. Donated in 1989 by the Chapman Family.
2. CSU Fullerton President Milton Gordon takes office in August 1990, almost exactly 1 year after the donation.
3. No property taxes are paid on the compound because it is owned by the State of California.  However, the Orange County Assessor still keeps track of how much the 4 acre property would be taxed if anyone else owned it.  That figure puts it at $3,351,724 in 2009! 
4. The property was donated and all parties agreed that the mansion would be the "official residence" of the president.  This is mentioned multiple times throughout the agreement.
5. The agreement stipulates that the property shall not be converted into student housing.  However, there is one MAJOR and MASSIVE exception.  The "apartment adjacent to the house [which] may be used for support staff for the President of the University and/or El Dorado Ranch.  In my initial post I said his assistant had a home on the sprawling estate but I was wrong.  He could actually have as many assistants (a.k.a. "support staff") as he feels he needs to have on hand and all of them are welcome to live at the El Dorado Ranch.
6. At the time of the initial donation, there were numerous antiques on loan to the State that remained in the home.  Some items dating from the early 19th century.
7. The Chapman family still retains mineral rights to the El Dorado Ranch.  That means they have a right to pump oil from underneath the State's property. 
8. Item 11 of Exhibit "B" of the agreement requires that any garden developed on the property shall be named the "Alice Wilber Chapman Garden".  Alice Chapman was the mother of the donors. 
9. The property is owned by the taxpayers of the State of California yet the sign at the entrance reads "PRIVATE PROPERTY".  Surely it was an error on the part of some underpaid state employee who didn't know that public property can't also be private property.
10. Not in the agreement but worth noting is that we all need to do our part to conserve energy because energy conservation is clearly not high on the President's list of priorities.  Of course when someone else is paying the bill, who cares...  Thanks for leaving the light on!

At the end of the day, Ms. Ally Bordas was correct to point up the chain of command within the CSU system and call out the hypocrisy that exists.  The leadership insists on burdening the students with higher tuition and "fees" but they are not willing to look within their own ranks.  The CSU system has many great minds but where they are being used remains a mystery.  In my opinion, the media specialist should do a little fact checking of their own.

For Milton Gordon, its still good to be king!



Why the look of surprise?



The El Dorado Ranch - Is it Public or Private

Here is an update to a story I brought you on April 6, 2010.

Clearly this sign warns potential visitors to the El Dorado Ranch that it is "PRIVATE PROPERTY". However, the sign lies! Or rather the person who placed the sign there is either a liar or is misinformed. The Grant Deed below makes it clear that the property has been granted to a public agency which places the property in the hands of California residents.

So, despite the very official albeit old and faded sign, you and I own the temporary residence of Milton A. Gordon, President of Cal State Fullerton whose salary exceeds $300,000 per year. With all that money he saves living rent free it's no wonder he left the light on for us.

Here is a nice view of what Mr. Gordon enjoys...


I spy a tall tower...

Cal State Fullerton’s Pension Tsunami Shell Game and Our Kid’s Future

Titan waste

After showing you how management lives in the lap of luxury last week, I received an email from a Friend who brought to my attention a Cal State University system business practice that forces out qualified, lower paid part-time lecturers and untenured faculty, and brings back higher paid, semi retired faculty. The faculty and management at our own Cal State Fullerton know this practice as FERPing. Just the sound of the acronym sounds like something they should apologize for and we haven’t even said what exactly FERPing is.

The Faculty Early Retirement Program, as the name implies, allows faculty to retire early and then come right back to work. On the surface it creates a lower fiscal burden on local university funding which looks like a cost savings for guys like Milton A. Gordon, who gets $302,042 per year while living rent-free at the El Dorado Ranch. The reality is that it costs tax payers and students statewide more than utilizing the lower paid part-time faculty who, under FERP, are forced out.

Retirement never looked so lucrative. While everyone else must take furloughs or are getting laid off outright, the FERPers receive FREE parking, ALL of their retirement benefits, and 50% of their last salary. That’s part of the reason why your kid’s tuition continues to rise and classes are getting cancelled. This Cal State double-dipping program is brought to you by the public employee unions as a result of the spineless leadership who is content to live in their rent-free mansion with an inflated salary and the entitlement attitude of senior public employees. Some FERPers have been milking us for more than 5 years!

Here is an example of the compensation structure that FERPers use to determine just how good retirement might be:

Age: 63 1/2 years (CalPERS retirement age percentage factor: 2.5%) Length of Service: 27 years

Highest Salary: $87,500 (during any 12 month period of CalPERS covered employment)

(minus $133.33 monthly deduction for Social Security = $1,599.96)

Calculation: 27 years x .025 (age factor percentage) = 67.5% of highest salary

Estimated CalPERS retirement salary: $85,900 x .675 (age factor percentage) = $57,982

Plus estimated FERP salary: (half of faculty base $70,800) $35,400

Total estimated retirement salary plus FERP salary: $93,382

It’s time to wean the leaches off our sweet cream before all we are left with is sour cream for our kids. Email Milton Gordon at mgordon@fullerton.edu or you can call him in his CSUF public employee office at (657) 278-3456. Tell Milton Gordon it’s time to act fiscally responsible with our tax dollars.

Below are some links I stumbled over which helped put FERPing in perspective for me:
http://www.fullerton.edu/Emeriti/preretirement.htm
http://collegelife.freedomblogging.com/2009/08/13/cal-state-fullerton-abruptly-begins-canceling-classes/7103/
http://www.calstate.edu/csuleader/2004/040511.htm
http://www.csufresno.edu/aps/forms_policies/retirement_ferp.shtml
http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/personnel/retirement/ferp/

Cal State Fullerton President - Lifestyles of Our Rich Public Employees at the El Dorado Ranch

***UPDATE***

(Nov 9, 2010) It seems that a CSU Fullerton reporter for the Daily Titan caught some flack after using quotes from this blog post.  Apparently, my criticism of CSU Fullerton president, Milton Gordon, and echoed by the CSUF reporter was just too much for the media relations folks to handle so the story was pulled from the campus paper. 

The ironic part is that the CSUF story was pulled after its initial publication on November 4th, just days before an extensive issue covering freedom of speech.  As the young reporter has just learned, our speech is suppressed and our freedom limited everyday.  As more details emerge, I'll be sure to share them.  For now, CSUF staff will continue to protect their president, Milton Gordon, and his kingdom. 

"It's good to be king!" Indeed, if you are Cal State Fullerton's president, Milton Gordon, you are living the good life at the old Chapman family property known as the El Dorado Ranch at 225 West Union Avenue. Gordon's residence is a sprawling 4+ acre palatial estate sitting high in the Fullerton hills overlooking the commoners eking out a living below and no longer appears to be a working ranch despite its name.

The 8+ room mansion may be slightly dated from the 1950s but the age is compensated for by the 8 bathrooms!   The nearly 6,000-sqft palace was a gift to Cal State Fullerton back in 1989 from C.J. Chapman, Jr., Mary Anne Baine, Elizabeth E. Bowman.  They also gave the Cal State Fullerton Foundation $159,000 for maintenance.  Currently, this enormous public property is valued at $3,351,724 for tax assessment purposes (although the property is exempt from actually incurring property taxes).  I would guess the value to be more like $4,000,000 in a "normal" economy.  The secluded compound is an excellent destination for Fullerton residents and tourists alike to visit although there is no formal docent to guide you.

The real kicker is that the Chapman's stipulated in an agreement with the State that we, the taxpayers, have to house the university president there and maintain the houses and property.  Notice that I said "houses"?  That's because there is also a guest house on the property to house the president's assistant.  Nice perk for being an assistant to a university president. 

It would have been nice if the Chapman's would have sold the property out-right and used the proceeds for a scholarship endowment.  The money would go to those who need it the most.  Milton A. Gordon is among the highest paid public employees earning $302,042 according to the Sacramento Bee (http://www.sacbee.com/statepayresults/index.html)!  I guess it's hard to afford a Fullerton home on $302,042 per year.   

The Chapman family has given and given and given to Orange County residents in one way or another, for many years.  We have all benefitted from them in several ways.  Every time I have someone from out of town visit me at my college, I have to specify "Chapman Avenue in ORANGE, NOT FULLERTON."  Then when I have out-of-towners visit mom, I have to specify, "Chapman Avenue in FULLERTON, NOT ORANGE."  They still get it wrong...  In 1954 the Chapman's were nice enough to build that nice university bearing their name where your son or daughter can attend for $18,750 per semester. 

Here is an interesting fact: Milton A. Gordon was named CSU Fullerton president in August, 1990 (http://www.fullerton.edu/catalog/about_the_university/csuf.asp#9). So it seems that the Chapman's and Gordon timed it just right to get the El Dorado Ranch in the hands of Gordon.  Gordon being a mathematician could do the math and see the sweet deal, leading me to wonder what more there might be to this back story.  For Gordon, it's still good to be king!