Education

College of the Desert campus debate sparks controversy among East Valley leaders

September 16, 2022 9:59 AM

Published September 15, 2022 3:23 PM

As College of the Desert’s board discusses the next steps for a long-delayed Palm Springs campus, some city leaders in the east valley are weighing in on the project and are not happy about it.

Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez is ramping up calls for a COD campus to be built in the eastern coachella valley.

“We’re asking for the College of the Desert, we’re asking that they not forget their promise,” Hernandez said.

On Wednesday, Hernandez shared a video of COD President Joel Kinnaman speaking during public comment during the Oct. 26, 2016 City Council meeting.

Hernadez aired some of his frustrations on Facebook, in which he said Palm Springs officials called Coachella and East Valley efforts to build a campus a "backroom deal."

Hernandez told News Channel 3's Jennifer Franco in an interview that he was referring to Palm Springs Councilmember Christy Holstege.

Watch Jennifer's interview with Hernandez about the controversy tonight at 6 p.m. only on News Channel 3.

Statement in response from COD

“College of the Desert is committed to creating equitable educational opportunities for all students across the Coachella Valley. To best service the community and its students, COD continues to utilize bond funds for capital projects throughout the Coachella Valley. In 2004 and again in 2016, Coachella Valley taxpayers approved bond measures for capital projects which allow for facility construction/improvements in the community. Every other month, COD prepares and distributes a comprehensive capital report for the community, which includes all active and completed projects. During today’s meeting of the COD Board of Trustees, the Board approved the tenant improvements contract for the Chelsea project in the city of Coachella.” -College of the Desert

Statement from Andrew L. Jared, Special Counsel to the City of Palm Springs

"The COD’s track record regarding Brown Act compliance (e.g., lack of proper noticing, closed session discussions, serial meetings over social media) does not provide comfort about transparency. We have been asking for documents to understand what is occurring and when action occurred. It is obvious COD staff and their consultants have a significant amount of data which went into what they’re presenting today. Much of what we have been asking for since December obviously went into developing today’s presentation. They are just choosing to withhold that material from the public. And this paints a picture of lack of transparency and back room deals."

Statement in response by Councilmember Christy Holstege

"The city of Palm Springs has information that COD is not following the legally mandated process for following campus selection and the process for investing $1 Billion in bond funds and taxpayer dollars in the long-promised West Valley campus. COD has delayed, paused and defunded a large portion of the project without public review, and without working with the city in partnership. The city has been asking to participate as a collaborator and partner for over a year, and COD has refused to share information over how they are making decisions and why they are scaling down the campus significantly. COD has unlawfully failed to respond to the city's public record requests for over nine months, and the public has essentially no access to the information that board members and the college are relying on to make decisions. In that time, COD suddenly cancelled the Cathedral City campus without warning, and without a public meeting and without working with that city’s residents and it’s councilmembers. COD has also improperly noticed agendas and discussed public items in closed session meetings. This is why Palm Springs is pursuing litigation against the college - to bring public processes and the information the public deserves out from back rooms and into public view.

Learn more about the measures passed by voters to expand College of the Desert:

COD-Bond-Annual-Report-15-16Low-FINAL Download

2018-bond-audit-report Download

Check Out Some of Our Coverage on the Controversy Surrounding the West Valley Campus: