President of Compton College Fired in Wake of Damaging Audit : Education: Trustees vote unanimously to dismiss Warren A. Washington after disclosure that U.S. funds had been misspent since 1989.

Warren A. Washington, president of Compton Community College, was fired Tuesday night by trustees who said he “failed to fulfill his obligation to oversee day-to-day operations of the college district.”

The unanimous vote by the Board of Trustees to dismiss Washington after three years in office came after a recent audit found that hundreds of thousands of federal dollars had been misspent at the college since 1989.

The money was intended to fund programs for low-income and first-generation college students but instead was spent on improper items such as clothes, carpeting and other building improvements, auditors found.

Washington had no comment on the board’s action. But his attorney, John J. Wagner, blamed the college’s business office for authorizing many of the questionable expenditures. He told the board that Washington had stated months ago that the college’s acting business manager was not competent to head the business office.

Washington was turned down by the board when he requested that an assistant business manager be hired to provide checks and balances in the business office, the attorney said.

“Dr. Washington has continually requested that you replace (the business manager). You asked him to carry out day-to-day operations, but you didn’t allow him to carry out that responsibility,” Wagner said.

Washington had offered to resign at a special session last week, but the trustees delayed action because of a disagreement over the terms of his departure, including his desire to return to the classroom as a psychology instructor.

The board balked at the demand, but Washington said Tuesday night that he will arrive on campus this morning to assume that new assignment. Washington’s status as a tenured faculty member protects him from dismissal without cause.

Trustees had placed the 44-year-old administrator on paid leave three weeks ago. Last month, a majority of faculty members approved a no-confidence resolution against Washington.

The college’s finances are under scrutiny by the California community college chancellor’s office, which sent a financial team to the campus last week. The state provides 75% of the college’s $12-million budget.