Cal State Trustees Accused of Acting Illegally on Horn

A trustee of the California State University system has written a letter to fellow trustees accusing them of breaking the law last November in forcing Cal State Long Beach President Stephen Horn to resign.

As a result, wrote Dean S. Lesher, chairman of Lesher Communications Inc. in Walnut Creek and a board member since 1985, Horn’s resignation is “null and void” and the board could be subject to criminal or civil liability.

Lesher called in his letter for a special board meeting next month to address the Horn situation, which he said could “explode wide open” and damage the Cal State system.

‘Greatly Disturbed’

“I am greatly disturbed . . .,” Lesher wrote in the three-page, single-spaced letter dated Jan. 18, a copy of which was made available to The Times. “We cannot ignore this matter any longer. And we cannot ignore the lack of harmony we now have between the board, the chancellor’s office and the presidents. Our system stands poised on the verge of a real disaster.”

Lesher’s letter accused the trustees of violating the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, a California law requiring that public employees be given written notice of their right to public hearings prior to closed meetings to address accusations or complaints against them. If there is no such notice, Lesher said, any action is voided.

According to Lesher, Horn--who submitted a letter of resignation Nov. 10 following a closed meeting with the trustees--was never given such notice. Contacted at his office, Lesher, whose company publishes daily and weekly newspapers in Northern California, said he stood by his letter.

“I have a very compassionate feeling for anyone who’s been here that long,” he said, referring to Horn’s 17 years as Cal State Long Beach president.

Ted Bruinsma was one of five trustees, including Lesher, who did not support the board’s decision at the Nov. 10 meeting to ask Horn to either resign or be dismissed. Bruinsma said he did not go along with the board’s resolution because he was uncomfortable with the legal process being followed.

Cal State system Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds was unavailable Tuesday for comment, but a spokesman for her office denied that any illegality had taken place.

Dale Ride, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said he was not planning to call a special meeting on the Horn affair.

“I don’t think there is any basis for (Lesher’s) concern,” he said. “What transpired was perfectly within all propriety, and I am certainly comfortable with it.”

Mayer Chapman, vice chancellor and general counsel for the Cal State system, said the trustees had acted legally. Because campus presidents are appointed at the “pleasure” of the board, they may be removed at the board’s discretion without the option of a public hearing, Chapman said.

“If the board feels that they want a new direction brought to a campus, and they determine not to continue a particular appointee, that is not a disciplinary action,” Chapman said. “It is not a dismissal and not a firing. Only if you brought specific allegations or charges against a person would they be entitled to the (public hearing) provision of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act.”

Horn could not be reached Tuesday for comment. But his attorney, George R. Johnson, said: “We finally got their attention. I’m pleased to see that the board, or at least some members of the board, are awakening to this situation and taking a genuine interest in the procedure that was followed.”

The November meeting came after a series of problems at the Long Beach campus, beginning with an unexpected budget deficit of more than $1 million in 1986 that required a $900,000 bailout loan from the chancellor’s office. Later, Horn incurred the wrath of athletic boosters by threatening to drop the university’s intercollegiate football program because of a separate $719,000 deficit in the campus athletic fund.

Horn also clashed with Cal State Chancellor Reynolds over her handling of university affairs.

Formal Evaluation

At the November meeting, the trustees conducted a formal evaluation of Horn’s performance three years ahead of schedule. The result was the resolution--with 12 trustees voting in favor, five either opposing or abstaining, and with six of the 23 trustees absent--giving Horn a choice of resigning or being dismissed.

Although Horn had been given written notice of the meeting, Lesher said, it did not indicate that his job was in jeopardy or mention the option of a public hearing.

The Bagley-Keene Act was first mentioned in a Jan. 7 letter to the trustees by attorney Johnson after Reynolds issued a directive ordering Horn to leave his post by Feb. 1 rather than July 1 as he had indicated in his letter of resignation.

The reason for the early departure, Reynolds said, was to allow Horn to take advantage of the more than 1,100 hours of “well deserved” vacation time he had accrued during his tenure as president.

But Horn balked, arguing that the state Administrative Code affords him up to a year to dispose of the accrued vacation time at his own discretion. And to leave earlier than July, he said, would seriously impair the orderly closing of his administration.

Both sides are still negotiating over Horn’s departure date.

Horn has said he plans to accept the trustees’ offer of a professorship in political science in the fall at a salary of $83,000 a year. Horn’s current salary is $99,500 a year.