CLOVIS, Calif. — The State Center Community College District is expecting to spend $1.3 million dollars on legal expenses this year. The price tag is quadruple what it was a decade ago.
Budget documents obtained by KVPR show the “legal services” line item in the system-wide budget has ballooned since 2020.
The district, which encompasses Fresno City College, Clovis Community College, Madera Community College, and Reedley College, spent an average of just $328,000 per year on legal expenses from 2016-2020. In contrast, that total rose to $842,685 in 2023 and $1.27 million in 2024. Now, the district is projecting it will spend $1.28 million this year.
District spokesperson Jill Wagner told KVPR by email that the overall increase in legal expenses “reflects our current local, statewide and national environment.”
“Navigating legal challenges has become an unavoidable reality in today’s environment,” Wagner wrote. “Most recently, we have called on our legal resources to review and interpret rulings and executive orders from the federal government to try to get answers about funding, grant programs, and compliance in an environment of mixed messages. This is essential as our students and staff want and deserve accurate information.”
She defines legal expenses to include contract reviews, investigations into complaints, labor negotiations, risk management, and other issues requiring legal representation.
But the sharp increase in these expenses over the last four years could also be due to a number of lawsuits filed by students and faculty against the district that allege forced retirement, discrimination, wrongful termination, and First Amendment violations.
Court documents examined by KVPR show eight lawsuits filed against the district since 2018 by current or former employees and students that allege wrongful termination or other employment related issues. Additionally, another three lawsuits against the district fall under civil rights complaints. The district also filed two harassment cases in 2023 against former faculty members, one of which was dismissed earlier this year.
Meanwhile, faculty who spoke to KVPR say they have been forced to engage in litigation in order to resolve grievances with the district.
Why faculty say litigation is more common
Keith Ford, president of the faculty union for the State Center Community College District, said he’s alarmed by the amount spent by SCCCD on legal representation, but not surprised.
Ford, who’s held that role with the union for seven years, said union members report that conflicts with administration have increasingly evolved into litigation in recent years. He alleges the district does not solve conflicts as amicably as it used to.
For example, Ford said, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, reprimanding a faculty member would involve several steps including an informal memo, a letter of reprimand and a 90 day notice before any termination. Now, though, Ford alleges staff only receive a 90 day notice to improve their performance, or they may be terminated.
“I understand to a certain degree wanting to expedite some of the disciplinary processes, but especially in the wake of Covid and the wake of changing a lot of our instructional modalities into online for people who never taught online before, you need to give us time and be compassionate about allowing us to learn and allowing us to catch up without threatening us,” Ford said.
Wagner wrote in a response to KVPR that the district takes appropriate measures to resolve all conflicts, which sometimes may include the use of attorneys.
“The District follows up on all complaints and grievances received through our established process, and we take each one seriously, following board policies, administrative regulations and collective bargaining agreements,” Wagner said. “Depending on the complaint, we may use outside investigators, some of whom are attorneys, to thoroughly research the issue and provide their findings.”
Lawsuits filed against the district for employment issues vary in explanation. For instance, one lawsuit filed in 2023 alleged the university wrongfully terminated a faculty member after she was denied a religious exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine. Another lawsuit filed in 2024 alleged the university forced an employee into early retirement after she asked for safety accommodations when her workspace was moved to a lobby that she alleged posed “dangerous situations.”
Students and faculty also filed free speech lawsuits against the district. CalMatters reporters found these particular lawsuits are more common in the Central Valley than in the rest of the state.
Wagner would not comment on any active claims or litigation but said the district is “committed to resolving issues through dialogue and collaboration whenever possible.”
Ford told KVPR lawsuits are rare for faculty because they require so much time and money.
“We're not rash people,” Ford said. “I know that's a generalization, but truly we are all taught, regardless of our discipline…. to be thorough, to not trust the first opinion, and to be careful with how we make up our mind. And so for one of us to be pushed to a lawsuit is very rare.”
Academic legal expenses are trending upward
Over the last 20 years, legal expenses have risen for academic institutions overall, according to higher education consultant Ann Franke. Her legal firm, Wise Results LLC., provides services to colleges, universities and academic associations.
She says that these expenses are rising, in part, due to a general distrust in higher education.
“Public confidence in higher education is weak and so I think there are more people more willing to challenge the decisions that institutions take,” Franke said. “If, as a social matter, higher education were viewed in a higher regard by the public, then we might see some decline in the amount of litigation.”
She said legal requirements imposed on colleges are also increasing.
Indeed, Wagner wrote that SCCCD encounters budget constraints due to the “50% Law,” a state law that requires the district to use at least half of its budget solely for the benefits and salaries of instructors.
“We do our best to combine grants with financial support provided through the general fund to ensure students have the wrap-around services they need and deserve, but it is a challenging budget environment,” Wagner wrote.
Franke also said institutions can face financial repercussions or risk damage to their reputation when they spend too much on litigation.
“You may be spending less on the English department or the library or student services and institutions also face reputational damage from being in court,” Franke told KVPR. “The taxpayers can be less willing to fund the bond issues, donors [or alumni] may be less willing to make donations if they think an institution is going down the wrong path.”
Overall, Franke said she thinks institutions try their best to serve the people who attend and are employed by them.
“I think universities and colleges are attuned to trying to treat people fairly,” Franke said. “Do they always succeed? No. But they really are endeavoring to meet their civil rights obligations as broadly and often as effectively possible.”
