(July 26) VICTORVILLE—Finding a replacement for Michael Krause on the Victor Valley Community College District Board of Trustees has been put on a back burner, as the four remaining members of the board are at odds over how to fill the vacancy.
There does not appear to be sufficient support among the board’s members to appoint former board member Joe Range to serve out the remainder of Krause’s term.
Krause tendered his resignation in May effective last month because he has changed his primary residence to Orange County. In the months prior to his departure, Krause’s infrequent attendance at board meetings had become the subject of criticism by his board colleague, Joseph Brady, and American Federation of Teachers local president John Reid. Also in June, Reid and a part-time member of the Victor Valley Community College faculty, Lynne Glickstein, filed a libel suit against Krause when he posted on a website that they were “ungrateful, greedy and domestic terrorists” because of their efforts to keep former VVC President Dr. Christopher O’Hearn from being retained.
Following Krause’s departure, the board considered its options for replacing him, including making an appointment of someone to serve out his term, which ends in 2014, or hold an election, which would entail a cost of at least $80,000.
Trustee Dennis Henderson has proposed reappointing Range, who was on the board for eight years before he was defeated for reelection last year. Henderson said Range is up to speed on the issues facing the district and had a proven track record that recommended him to the post, calling Range “a fine member who didn’t get re-elected.”
Board member John Pinkerton was supportive of Henderson’s suggestion of Range.
Board president Lorrie Denson, however, wants a more expansive application pool and interview process. She proposes taking nominations and applications, examining resumés, then interviewing candidates and appointing the new member during a special meeting on August 8.  — the same way the board has appointed trustees in the past. Denson did not rule out eventually settling on Range, but indicated she wanted other qualified candidates to be considered.
Board member Joseph Brady was therefore the crucial third vote needed to return Range to the board. Brady, however, balked. Brady’s reluctance comes more than two years after a somewhat similar situation in reverse. In 2011, Range had been one of three members of the board who had approved Brady’s appointment to the board, when a vacancy ensued after the election of then-board member Angela Valles to the Victorville City Council. After the board had failed to come to an agreement over the appointment of several considered candidates, Range backed Brady, who was then elected in his own right in 2012, during the same election in which Range placed third in the race for two positions.
The board faces several critical issues, including returning from accreditation probation and finding a replacement for O’Hearn. Some members of the High Desert community expressed the belief that the electorate’s decision last year to remove Range from the board should be respected. Brady’s unwillingness to appoint the same board member who had voted for his appointment reflected at least some of that attitude.
Relations between Range and Brady while both men were on the board had been cordial. Those between Krause and Brady, however, had not. Krause did not support Brady’s appointment. And Krause had opposed Brady’s efforts to have the district board meetings televised.
The board has not come to a consensus on how Krause’s replacement will be found. Denson scheduled a special meeting for Monday July 22 to discuss the protocol for an appointment, but the meeting was canceled due to the lack of a quorum when Pinkerton and Henderson were no-shows.