Vice chancellor, top HR director of Modesto community college district placed on paid leave. Why?

Two people holding key administrative positions at the Yosemite Community College District in Modesto are on administrative leave while personnel investigations are conducted.

The actions represent more gaps in administrative leadership for the district overseeing Modesto Junior College and Columbia College in Sonora, which have begun their fall semesters. The YCCD has a poor track record of keeping MJC presidents and is in a prolonged search for a new one.

YCCD Chancellor Henry Yong said Tuesday he could not confirm whether the administrative staff members — the vice chancellor of educational support services and the senior director of human resources — are on leave, citing strict adherence to laws concerning personnel matters.

Vice Chancellor Trevor Albertson said he was placed on paid administrative leave June 12. Albertson said he had a supervisory role over Senior Director of Human Resources Kathren Pritchard and was personally involved with placing her on paid administrative leave in May.

Pritchard filed a gender discrimination complaint against Albertson on May 15, according to a district letter obtained by The Modesto Bee.

Vice chancellor says district is retaliating

Albertson said he has filed a whistleblower complaint against YCCD claiming the district is retaliating against him for bringing important issues to light, including salaries for administrative staff, expensive repairs for a gas line, Brown Act issues and more. His high-ranking position has given him responsibilities over Human Resources, the colleges’ information technology systems, enterprise services, employee labor relations, media services and research and planning.

“There is nothing wrong with my performance,” Albertson said. “I brought a bunch of issues to light with Henry (Yong). I was just doing my job like the taxpayers would want.”

Modesto attorney Adam Stewart, representing the vice chancellor, said the whistleblower complaint opens up certain protections and legal immunities that are supposed to shield his client from employer retaliation.

“We are demanding a meeting with the YCCD board in closed session to talk about his complaint and his concerns about misuse of public funds and (staff) payroll increases,” Stewart said. “He was heavily recruited and had been in the position less than a year. His honesty and truthfulness is beyond question.”

Pritchard said she was reluctant to comment when contacted by phone Wednesday. “My goal is to go back to work there,” she said. “They have been my employer for 22 years. It is still under investigation.”

Yong, in an email, elaborated on the district’s closed-mouth position: “We are unable to share or discuss any details at this time. Adherence to the confidential nature of such matters is important and reflects the district’s commitment to fairness, integrity and respect for our employees.”

Albertson and Pritchard have not worked for three to four months while investigations are conducted and the district is paying their salaries — around $250,000 a year for Albertson and $169,000 for Pritchard.

Wrongly pushed to front of line for pay raise?

Pritchard’s troubles have to do with a classification and compensation review process for leadership staff. Albertson said he dealt with a dispute that erupted when a leadership council complained that a compensation review, conducted by Human Resources staff, recommended a significant increase in pay range for Pritchard’s position three years ahead of schedule.

Last year, the YCCD began a five-year cycle for reviewing job responsibilities and comparing salaries with five other community college districts — San Joaquin Delta, Merced, Kern, Los Rios and State Center. Such reviews are done to ensure staff salaries are comparable among community college districts.

The Leadership Team Advisory Council (LTAC), which advocates for administrative staff, reached an agreement with Human Resources to do the compensation reviews first with lower-paid positions.

LTAC members cried foul in learning a compensation review was done for the senior director of human resources, Pritchard’s position, in the first cycle even though it was scheduled for the fourth cycle in 2025.

The review conducted by Human Resources staff recommended higher annual pay for the senior director and for an HR support director. Albertson said the recommended increases amounted to thousands of dollars a year.

Albertson said Yong gave him direction to contract with a firm, McKnight Associates, to audit the compensation review that was done. McKnight’s audit findings, dated May 5, were critical of the review.

“The decision by the senior director of Human Resources, through her subordinates, to assign her position an earlier off-cycle review, and subsequent increase in pay, called into question the integrity of the process ... and deserves further inquiry,” the report said.

The audit found there was no analysis of job responsibilities to justify advancements in pay for the HR directors. In addition, the district has no written policy supporting the methodology used for compensation review, the report said.

According to the audit report, LTAC members said the compensation review was self-serving for the senior HR director and asked that her salary increase be withheld from Board of Trustees approval at the Oct. 12, 2022 meeting. Yong pulled the list of salary range recommendations from the October board meeting and asked the board to approve them in early 2023.

But the new salary range for Pritchard’s position was not included, the audit report said.

Board Trustee Milton Richards said Tuesday he was not familiar with the audit report criticizing the compensation review, even though a video of the board meeting last month shows a district staff member referring to the controversy. Richards referred questions about personnel matters to the chancellor’s office.

Personnel matter is no secret at YCCD

The absence of the vice chancellor and top human resources director is not a secret in the YCCD community. Brian Greene, president of Yosemite Faculty Association, said Yong notified the union weeks ago that two administrative staff members were placed on leave.

“We have been aware of that,” Greene said.

“We hope Human Resources gets back to capacity as soon as possible,” Greene said, noting a large group of incoming faculty began the fall semester and the YFA doesn’t want to see hitches in Human Resources services.

Jeff Swank, speaking for LTAC, said at the August Board of Trustees meeting that the vice chancellor and HR senior director were both on leave and, as a result, progress with the district’s professional development system has come to a halt.

Swank said the leadership council took issue with the top Human Resources official’s handling of the disputed compensation view last year, but the council has not had issues with her ethics and integrity over her years of service. “It was quickly and amicably resolved,” Swank said.

Travel expenses are questioned

Albertson, an Air Force veteran, was the district superintendent and president of Lassen Community College in Susanville before taking the job with YCCD in June 2022 as one of two vice chancellors who report to Yong. He said that at Lassen, he went from a dean position to superintendent in less than a year.

Other than Pritchard’s complaint against him, Albertson said, the YCCD has indicated in notices that it’s investigating his travel expenses and hotel charges at conferences. Albertson and his attorney said the travel and conference attendance were approved ahead of time.

Stewart, his attorney, said Wednesday that none of the issues would justify termination of his client.

Albertson said he felt obligated to bring problems to the attention of district leadership as a public servant. “I have never in my life seen an organization like this,” he remarked. “We are getting paid all this money to do nothing.”

Stewart said his client needs to have investigations resolved and needs to get back to work.