BAKERSFIELD - The Kern Regional Center serves some 6,300 developmentally disabled people in our community through a host of different services. Now, a conflict is brewing behind the scenes.
Several top managers were let go a few months ago amid accusations hundreds of thousands of dollars were inappropriately pumped into their retirement accounts.
It's public money, but new C.E.O. Duane Law won't talk about what happened.
And, several organizations that partner with the non-profit say Law is taking the regional center in the wrong direction.
Without the Kern Regional Center the developmentally disabled like Daryn Embry would be out of business... the vending business.
KRC is fully funded by the state and spends in the neighborhood of $130 million a year for Kern, Inyo and Mono counties on services for the disabled. Social programs like Inclusion Films that gives local autistic teens a taste of the industry.
But, a fight behind the scenes of the Kern Regional Center threatens to derail things.
KRC's board met behind closed doors two months ago to discuss money -- some $700,000, according to immediate past C.E.O. Mike Clark, paid to himself and four other former managers.
Clark declined an on-camera interview.
The board says that money, paid into a sort of retirement fund over a near 20-year period, never was approved.
"This issue should have not been brought up now," said former board member Mark Forcillo. He says he served on the Kern Regional Center board and executive committee when those decisions were made.
"These people were rewarded this money for the job that they did, the outstanding job that they did," added Forcillo.
We went to the regional center earlier this month after calling C.E.O. Duane Law more than a half dozen times for comment.
He was holding a sparsely attended public meeting to discuss staffing and its effect on regional center services.
Twice, Law declined our request for an on-camera interview.
Both he and board president Susan Lara referred us back to the agenda and board minutes from the meeting in May. The minutes provide sparse details, but indicate Law was instructed by board members to send letters to the former employees asking for the money back.
"In my eyes he shouldn't give it back. It was his for the job that he did. It was part of his compensation package, part of all of their compensation packages," said Forcillo.
Something else struck us as odd as we reported this story. When we went back to the regional center's website to print a second copy of the May minutes, we realized they were drastically different.
All mentions of the battle over the retirement money had been scrubbed from the official record.
We called C.E.O. Duane Law to ask about this and his executive assistant called us back and left this message: "We do apologize for this error. We have gotten our I.T. on it and the correct minutes have now been posted."
We also requested Law hand over a slew of documents related to the alleged mishandled money.
But, the regional center's lawyer sent us a letter back, saying the center was not required by law to make the documents public.
The Department of Developmental Services is the state agency that funds and oversees the Kern Regional Center.
A representative said he would work on making the documents available to us, but the request could take more than two months.
Law's tenure running the regional center appears to also have rubbed others the wrong way.
The Kern Assistive Technology Center partners with the regional center to get devices and equipment to the disabled. Director Aaron Markovitz did not want to go on camera, but told us: "The changes that are being implemented are not in the best interest of our clients or their families."
H.E.A.R.T.S. Connection provides educational services to the disabled. Director Susan Graham also declined to go on camera, but sent us this message: "All I can say is that the management personnel who left KRC had many years of experience and truly cared for people with disabilities in Kern County. Anytime there is a new executive director of a major organization--changes happen, relationships change."
Several top managers were let go a few months ago amid accusations hundreds of thousands of dollars were inappropriately pumped into their retirement accounts.
It's public money, but new C.E.O. Duane Law won't talk about what happened.
And, several organizations that partner with the non-profit say Law is taking the regional center in the wrong direction.
Without the Kern Regional Center the developmentally disabled like Daryn Embry would be out of business... the vending business.
KRC is fully funded by the state and spends in the neighborhood of $130 million a year for Kern, Inyo and Mono counties on services for the disabled. Social programs like Inclusion Films that gives local autistic teens a taste of the industry.
But, a fight behind the scenes of the Kern Regional Center threatens to derail things.
KRC's board met behind closed doors two months ago to discuss money -- some $700,000, according to immediate past C.E.O. Mike Clark, paid to himself and four other former managers.
Clark declined an on-camera interview.
The board says that money, paid into a sort of retirement fund over a near 20-year period, never was approved.
"This issue should have not been brought up now," said former board member Mark Forcillo. He says he served on the Kern Regional Center board and executive committee when those decisions were made.
"These people were rewarded this money for the job that they did, the outstanding job that they did," added Forcillo.
We went to the regional center earlier this month after calling C.E.O. Duane Law more than a half dozen times for comment.
He was holding a sparsely attended public meeting to discuss staffing and its effect on regional center services.
Twice, Law declined our request for an on-camera interview.
Both he and board president Susan Lara referred us back to the agenda and board minutes from the meeting in May. The minutes provide sparse details, but indicate Law was instructed by board members to send letters to the former employees asking for the money back.
"In my eyes he shouldn't give it back. It was his for the job that he did. It was part of his compensation package, part of all of their compensation packages," said Forcillo.
Something else struck us as odd as we reported this story. When we went back to the regional center's website to print a second copy of the May minutes, we realized they were drastically different.
All mentions of the battle over the retirement money had been scrubbed from the official record.
We called C.E.O. Duane Law to ask about this and his executive assistant called us back and left this message: "We do apologize for this error. We have gotten our I.T. on it and the correct minutes have now been posted."
We also requested Law hand over a slew of documents related to the alleged mishandled money.
But, the regional center's lawyer sent us a letter back, saying the center was not required by law to make the documents public.
The Department of Developmental Services is the state agency that funds and oversees the Kern Regional Center.
A representative said he would work on making the documents available to us, but the request could take more than two months.
Law's tenure running the regional center appears to also have rubbed others the wrong way.
The Kern Assistive Technology Center partners with the regional center to get devices and equipment to the disabled. Director Aaron Markovitz did not want to go on camera, but told us: "The changes that are being implemented are not in the best interest of our clients or their families."
H.E.A.R.T.S. Connection provides educational services to the disabled. Director Susan Graham also declined to go on camera, but sent us this message: "All I can say is that the management personnel who left KRC had many years of experience and truly cared for people with disabilities in Kern County. Anytime there is a new executive director of a major organization--changes happen, relationships change."