North County College District Not Rehiring Dr. Clark : ‘Personnel Problem’ Involving Chancellor Cited

A “personnel problem” led to the decision not to renew the contract of Dr. Leadie Clark, chancellor of the North Orange County Community College District, a board member said Wednesday.

Board member Barbara Hammerman said the decision earlier this month not to renew Clark’s contract beyond its expiration on June 30, 1986, resulted from a “personnel problem between the board and employee.”

Hammerman said the timing of the decision was not unusual because “the education code provides that boards must notify at least six months in advance of any intentions along that line.”

Neither Hammerman nor other district board members contacted would comment further. Clark was not available for comment.

Jack A. Scott, president of Cypress College, one of the two campuses of the district, said working with Clark has been “a profitable relationship. Obviously you hear comments about the performance about anyone. My own feeling on the matter is that it appears to be between the board (members), who are elected officials, and Dr. Clark.”

Scott declined to comment on whether the faculty at Cypress had trouble relating to Clark’s administrative policies, saying, “I can’t speak for the faculty.”

He added, “I would be aware of problems between myself and the faculty. The faculty deal directly with me. And I deal with Dr. Clark.”

Clark, the first black woman to head a community college in California, became chancellor of the district in 1977. Fullerton and Cypress Colleges are included in her district.