Delta College Trustee Kathleen Garcia resigns amid lawsuit, board looks to fill vacancy

A month after San Joaquin Delta Community College District filed a lawsuit to remove her from her seat, Trustee Kathleen Garcia resigned from the Delta College Board of Trustees.

Garcia officially resigned on March 27. She represented Area 5, which comprises eastern San Joaquin County, Calaveras County, and southeastern Sacramento County.

“It has been an honor of the highest order to serve alongside you and to contribute to the noble mission of making San Joaquin Delta College a beacon of learning, opportunity, and hope,” Garcia wrote in a letter to the board. “The advancement of our college and the successes of our students have been sources of profound joy and fulfillment for me.”

Garcia assumed the Area 5 seat on Dec. 11, 2020. She also spent eight years on the Stockton Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Garcia did not indicate in her letter why she was resigning from the board, and did not respond to a request for comment. However, San Joaquin County Superior Court system records show that the college district was pursuing legal action against her.

On Nov. 30, 2023, an opinion issued by the California Attorney General’s Office found that there was a “substantial legal issue” as to whether Garcia was simultaneously holding incompatible offices. The opinion permitted Delta College to sue Garcia to remove her from the board.

The conflict stemmed from Garcia's November 2022 appointment to the Eastside Rural Fire Protection District Board of Trustees, whose powers include fire protection, emergency medical services, and related education and training programs. The fire protection district is located in unincorporated areas east of and adjacent to Stockton, and it falls within a portion of the college district’s territory in San Joaquin County.

Delta College argued that Garcia's simultaneous office-holding violated California Government Code 1099 and that she forfeited her position on the college board when she was appointed to the fire protection district board, according to the opinion.

"A public officer ... shall not simultaneously hold two public offices that are incompatible ... unless simultaneous holding of the particular offices is compelled or expressly authorized by law," the government code reads.

In the eight-page document, the California Attorney General’s Office outlined several reasons for accepting Delta College's application for leave to sue, including potential conflicts of interest between the two districts.

The college district claimed Garcia sought collaboration between the college district, the fire protection district and a third-party commercial ambulance service provider to create an emergency medical technician and paramedic program at Delta, according to the opinion.

Delta College went on to allege that Garcia advocated against creating a similar program with a different fire protection district and claimed Garcia asked the college's superintendent and president if she should tell the other fire protection district to "go pound salt."

Garcia was issued a summons on Feb. 16 and was served on Feb. 27, according to court records. She was given 30 calendar days to file a written response at the court and have a copy served to the college district.

Delta College is now searching for someone to fill Garcia's vacancy. The selected person will serve as an appointed trustee for Area 5 until the next regularly scheduled election for governing board members on Nov. 5.

In a news release, Delta College stated the board is seeking candidates who have the ability and time to fulfill the responsibilities of being a member of the board, which includes:

• Participating fully in the board's work, including attending all board meetings and key college events, studying and discussing policy issues, and participating in trustee education programs.

• Knowledgeable about the communities served by the college and willing to act on behalf of and for the benefit of those communities.

• Being committed to community colleges and their missions; understanding educational, social, and economic policy issues.

• Engaging in balancing the needs of many diverse groups; being able to contribute to and build consensus.

• Contributing to effective board functioning and supporting the board's authority as a whole.

Applications are due no later than 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30. The board will interview candidates on Tuesday, May 7, and could make a provisional appointment at that meeting or at the next public meeting.

Completed applications can be emailed to Robin Phares at robin.phares@deltacollege.edu or submitted in person at the Office of the Superintendent, located in room 103 of the Horton administration building on the Delta campus.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Delta College Trustee Kathleen Garcia resigns amid lawsuit