Letter: Yuba College blew it on bond

Yuba College trustees were "shocked and frustrated" at the $54 million interest on the $4.6 million bond they approved, according to a recent article in the Appeal-Democrat.

Well, brother, so are we, the ones footing the bill for this incompetentcy. While the chancellor and the trustee chairman both take blame for not understanding what they were signing off on, as well they should, there seemed to be the old political dance to deflect that blame by stating that they were only taking advice from staff and that terms and conditions were not fully disclosed by hired financial advisers as to the complexity of the financial terms.

It would seem to me that if they did not fully understand what they were getting into, the trustees and the chancellor could have asked "How much is this going to cost the taxpayers?"

That surely would have at the very least opened some eyes as to what they proceeded to do, rather than wringing their hands after the fact. It seems when it's other people's money, the sky's the limit. Then they wonder why it is so hard for people to approve new bonds or taxes for education. Really?

Hugh Smith

Yuba City