Hillary Clinton
Related: About this forumBurlington College to shut down programs-- from debt incurred by Jane Sanders
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2016/05/16/burlington-college-shut-down-programs/84439890/After years of financial trouble, Burlington College announced Monday the school will shut down its academic programs.
"It is with great sense of loss to the educational community that Burlington College's progressive and unique educational model will no longer be available to students," Dean of Operations and Advancement Coralee Holm said in a statement.
The college's Board of Trustees voted on Friday to close the school's programs effective May 27.
Holm said the college faltered under the "crushing weight of the debt" incurred after the school in 2010 purchased 32 acres of lakefront property from the Archdiocese of Burlington.
She added that the college's lender in April told Burlington College it would not renew the school's line of credit.
<snip>
http://digital.vpr.net/post/burlington-college-closing-due-financial-woes#stream/0
Much of Burlington College's debt was from the purchase of its headquarters building along with 32 acres of land. Under the leadership of then-President Jane Sanders, the wife of Sen. Bernie Sanders, the college purchased the land from the cash-strapped Catholic Diocese in 2010.
TwilightZone
(25,512 posts)Plus her salary and benefits while she was there.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Poor Burlington.
TwilightZone
(25,512 posts)One article I read said the amounts were "six figures".
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)I'm amazed this story doesn't get more coverage.
obamanut2012
(26,181 posts)I wonder if staff will get to keep their pensions and health care?
Those poor students. What a personal and financal mess for them.
Jane Sanders' actions also caused the college to lose accreditation, which is hard to do.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)(ACCJC the exception, but they are only out here in CA.) It is a mess--they can't even finish their degrees. And you're right, the staff will probably be screwed too.
George II
(67,782 posts)CrowCityDem
(2,348 posts)The media would be murdering Hillary over this sort of thing. But this story will barely get mentioned, because... well, I don't know why.
The Sanders family directly led to a college shutting down. That is damning.
obamanut2012
(26,181 posts)It would be used against Hillary.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)If this were the Clintons, the headlines would be red with blood.
obamanut2012
(26,181 posts)Very establishment.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)And talk about burying the lede. Maybe I'll tweet this to Chris Hayes.
Tarheel_Dem
(31,250 posts)questions.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)How can they ignore a whole college going down in the midst of the election? We'll see.
obamanut2012
(26,181 posts)TwilightZone
(25,512 posts)And 25/8 on Fox.
lunamagica
(9,967 posts)bluestateguy
(44,173 posts)I think he thinks they are all spoiled rich kids, which of course, is not the case.
lunamagica
(9,967 posts)Jane Sanders takes hundreds of thousands of Dollars from a struggling college.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the only reason the Sanders have not earned huge amounts of money for giving speeches is because no one has ever offered them.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)We will all be able to recite it in our sleep after this year.
This was criminal mismanagement. Instead of severance, there should have been lawsuits. What a loss to the academic community.
skylucy
(3,747 posts)Moose_Jaw
(35 posts)BILL-Yun-Airs and MIL-Yun-airs!! *finger poking and wagging*
Her Sister
(6,444 posts)Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)I can't imagine being in the center of a mess of this magnitude.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)Golden parachute and the when this came out then no problem with the golden parachutes. Now she is on the board about Vermont dumping nuclear waste in Texas.
Koinos
(2,792 posts)It is a joint tax return, and Bernie Sanders profited from her payoffs.
TwilightZone
(25,512 posts)References available from state bank fraud investigators upon request.
Koinos
(2,792 posts)Koinos
(2,792 posts)I believe the tax returns will be hidden permanently in an undisclosed location.
The tax returns would show the money she received from Burlington College.
And then there is this "Request for an Investigation into Apparent Federal Bank Fraud":
http://blackpearl.wcax.com/documents/TOENSING.pdf
It seems that Jane overstated anticipated pledges required for the loan application.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)It's amazing that they holler about corruption and no one brings up this story, ever. This wasn't an "oops, sorry."
Koinos
(2,792 posts)Apparently, the school had no documents verifying the actual individual pledge amounts that the loan depended on. There was only a summary list of donors and amounts provided by Jane. Were the amounts fraudulently exaggerated? Time will tell, perhaps.
As Bernie's campaign dies, this story will go away, unless or until there is initiated an actual federal investigation. But Bernie and Jane will be saved the embarrassment of releasing their tax forms, because there will no longer be a demand for them.
SharonClark
(10,014 posts)Koinos
(2,792 posts)should know something about math and financial matters?
The big pitch is income inequality and fraud in the financial sector, and he asks his wife to do the taxes?
This would be funny, if it weren't so tragic.
LannyDeVaney
(1,033 posts)Just like Trump University.
All a giant scam ripping off the very folks they claim to fight for.
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)Not just one. TWO.
obamanut2012
(26,181 posts)KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)Donor sues Burlington College, alleges misused money
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2016/02/22/founder-sues-burlington-college-alleges-misused-funds/80750564/
The estate of one a former faculty member and donor of Burlington College has sued the institution, alleging the college misused money intended for student scholarships to prop up the institution during financial troubles in recent years.
"My client acted in good faith in conveying $70,000 to the school with a fairly detailed agreement as to how the school was to handle that money, and they did something totally beyond the scope of the agreement," said Norm Blais, who represents the estate of G. Jason Conway.
.
UPDATED: EX-BURLINGTON COLLEGE STUDENTS ASK TO JOIN LAWSUIT
MAR. 2, 2016, 12:44 PM BY MORGAN TRUE LEAVE A COMMENT
Five former Burlington College students are seeking to join a lawsuit brought by the estate of a former professor alleging a scholarship fund created in his name was used for other purposes.
The fund was created with $70,000 from the estate of G. Jason Conway, who died in 2010. He and his wife, Marcia Vance, were longtime faculty at Burlington College.
VTDigger reported in 2014 that financial statements and interviews with former staff indicated that Burlington College used at least $50,000 from the fund to cover operating expenses in 2012 when the college was in dire financial straits.
The former students say they potentially could have benefited from Conway Vance scholarships if the fund had been managed properly. All five students qualified for other scholarships but still paid tuition and other fees to attend Burlington College.
http://vtdigger.org/2016/03/02/ex-burlington-college-students-ask-to-join-scholarship-lawsuit/
obamanut2012
(26,181 posts)KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)The college has had significant fiscal problems for several years, and the Vermont Attorney General is investigating alleged financial mismanagement. Christine Plunkett, the former president, left the college in August under a cloud, and the new interim president Carol Moore is set to take office next month. The college remains on academic probation and has not attracted new students for the next semester.
The colleges financial issues and the potential development of the property under its ownership has raised eyebrows. The campus, formerly owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, is considered to be the most valuable piece of undeveloped lakefront property in the city.
One developer, who declined to give his name, said the original purchase and the new deal with Farrell does not pass the smell test because so many powerful people the wife of a U.S. senator, city councilors, former and current state officials and several prominent developers are involved.
http://www.vermontbiz.com/news/december/burlington-college-fight-survival
..
CATHOLIC CHURCH TAKES LOSS IN LOAN SETTLEMENT WITH BURLINGTON COLLEGE
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington lost at least $1.5 million and perhaps as much as $2 million on a $3.65 million loan to Burlington College, according to financial statements from the church.
In 2010, Burlington College bought the former diocese headquarters on North Avenue for $10 million. The diocese sold the property to help cover the cost of a $17 million settlement with victims of priest sex abuse in Vermont.
The college borrowed heavily to buy the 33-acre prime Lake Champlain waterfront property. The purchase was part of an ambitious expansion plan for the school, led by Jane Sanders, the former Burlington College president and the wife of presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders. In August 2011, Jane Sanders resigned as doubts emerged about her plans and fundraising strategy. The college trustees gave her a $200,000 early exit package.
http://vtdigger.org/2015/12/23/catholic-church-nailed-in-loan-settlement-with-burlington-college/
Group calls for fraud investigation into Jane Sanders' land deals
A group of Catholic parishioners want the U.S. Attorney for Vermont to investigate Jane Sanders, the wife of Bernie Sanders, for alleged bank fraud stemming from a land deal she secured as President of Burlington College.
"It appears that Ms. Sanders misrepresented confirmed donations in order to get that loan," said Brady Toensing, an attorney and Vice Chair of the Vermont Republican Party.
Toensing is representing a group of Catholic parishioners. He alleges Jane Sanders cost the Diocese between $1.6 and $2 million dollars in 2010 and 2011. He says she misrepresented the amount of money Burlington college could raise to support a land purchase from the Catholic Church. A loan from People's United Bank was contingent upon Sanders and the college coming up with more than $2 million dollars. "The bank understood it as confirmed donations," Toensing said.
The documents sent to U.S. Attorney Eric Miller suggest Sanders never secured the donations she told the bank she already had.
http://www.wcax.com/story/30935632/group-calls-for-fraud-investigation-into-jane-sanders-land-deals
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Koinos
(2,792 posts)George II
(67,782 posts)I haven't checked the posts here yet, but the article was updated about 20 minutes ago, they're closing altogether on May 27.
Koinos
(2,792 posts)What are their transcripts worth at this point?
Maru Kitteh
(28,344 posts)I've noticed here and there, once in a while, I run into posters who admit they voted SBS in the primary and regret it now. Minds are still being changed out there, believe it or not.
She's not just a wife, she's an employee of the campaign, and she's drawing her salary by taking kids lunch money on the false hope of securing the nomination.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)I never post OPs in there, I just don't have the energy, I admire people who have the fortitude!
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Was Bernie's current wife, Jane, under pressure to leave (ie: "resign or be fired" or was it an amicable parting of the ways?
If it was the former, what was the cause of the tension?
Koinos
(2,792 posts)In other words, her collection of donations to the college came nowhere near the pledges she had promised and were used as a basis for securing the loan.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)TwilightZone
(25,512 posts)Though, they already have a canned excuse for that one.
Could be both. Maybe there's more, too.
wysi
(1,512 posts)Now take the Titanic that is the Sanders candidacy with you.
obamanut2012
(26,181 posts)Response to Starry Messenger (Original post)
Post removed
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)obamanut2012
(26,181 posts)Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)The source seemed unwingnutty--and it's not like people haven't been posting the Daily Caller on Hillary around GDP and pugnaciously defending it.
BlueCaliDem
(15,438 posts)And their innate "I CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!"
Math and truth aren't their strong suits.
Cha
(297,935 posts)Mahalo, Starry~
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)And that hide misterhigh got in the thread was bogus.
I don't know what the alert was for, but here's a different link with the same info: http://m.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/jane-says-sanders-secret-weapon-or-a-political-liability/Content?oid=2670992
Cha
(297,935 posts)though he's already lost.
Thank you, Starry~
UtahLib
(3,179 posts)Cha
(297,935 posts)DemonGoddess
(4,640 posts)excerpts from the article, and a link. nothing in there to violate ToS, no name calling, nada. So we once again see alert stalking is alive and well.
TwilightZone
(25,512 posts)I can't wait until June 8th. Or July. Or whenever.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)For folks who claim to want facts to vet candidates and their spouses, they sure seem sensitive.
UtahLib
(3,179 posts)Something else that seems more devious than strange is the fact that Misterhighwasted's factual post in this thread was hidden.
Cha
(297,935 posts)dole out hides because they feel like. It's not fair.
It was so easy for those in FFR Limbo to get 2 hides in 24 hrs.. just like it was before the "amnesty".
Utah~
LisaM
(27,848 posts)From everything I can ascertain about her time both at Burlington College and at Goddard College in the 1990s, she has been a textbook case of cronyism, being anti-professor, spending money that should go to academics on administration, and wanting unnecessary expansion. None of it - none of it jibes with their message. She doesn't seem qualified to hold office as university president (I don't see any management degrees, or education degrees), she seems toxic, she seems authoritarian, and worst of all she seems to hold professors (and by extension, students) in contempt and is prone to firing people she doesn't like or who don't fall in with her plans.
It kind of matches up with what you hear about Bernie yelling at staff and having a temper and being difficult to work with. This is such a mis-match with their message that it makes me trust their message less than I did, which takes some doing since I've thought he was a flim-flam man since about last August.
Yikes, is all that's left to say.
obamanut2012
(26,181 posts)This is a subject I know a lot about, and you are dead on.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)sheshe2
(84,005 posts)Where there is smoke there is fire.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)I wonder if anyone will.
sheshe2
(84,005 posts)If I tweeted I would join you, Starry.
Cha
(297,935 posts)DesertRat
(27,995 posts)Haveadream
(1,630 posts)Awful...she ruined it with her despotic attitude, questionable ethics, incompetence and greed.
In September 2008, "representatives of the Student Government Association (SGA) began meeting with students, faculty and staff about what they described as a toxic and disruptive environment on campus, which they blame on Burlington College President Jane OMeara Sanders." This came after the controversial dismissal of Burlington College professor Genese Grill. Grill alleges her dismissal had nothing to do with her performance as a professor, but instead with her criticism of President Sanders. Grill had started "to ask questions about what I viewed as harassment and unethical treatment of other faculty and staff members, many of whom have since left the college disgruntled and angry.
In 2010, "Burlington Colleges finances took a turn for the worse, when Jane Sanders, the colleges former president and the wife of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, bought a $10 million lakefront property from the local Roman Catholic diocese." The small college with less than two hundred students took on $10 million of debt through loans, including a $500,000 loan from real estate developer (and old friend of Bernie Sanders) Tony Pomerleau. Sanders also worked out a deal with Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Finance Agency (VEHBFA) and People's Bank to receive funding. Some have pointed out inconsistencies and misrepresentations in how Burlington College secured this deal. Others (mostly conservative blogs) have even gone as far as accusing Sanders and Burlington College of committing loan fraud.
Jane Sanders resigned in September 2011 with $200,000 severance pay.
http://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/burlington-college-students-press-for-changes-after-profs-dismissal/Content?oid=2135730
http://vtdigger.org/2011/09/27/jane-sanders-resigns-presidency-of-burlington-college-reaches-settlement/
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/08/25/costly-campus-and-erratic-enrollment-strategies-have-vermont-college-edge
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/bernie-sanders-2016-loan-fraud/2015/03/27/id/634817/
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Toxic admin and higher ups can make academia a nightmare.
Koinos
(2,792 posts)Haveadream
(1,630 posts)There is a pattern of creative employment opportunities as well as a knack for capitalizing on institutions in distress. Jane did it at Goddard and at Burlington with the archdiocese crisis. Both Bernie and Jane seem to have a skill for finding weakness or a distressed property, run whatever is left of it into the ground for their own profit and then abandon it when the foundation completely fails. It reminds me of what Bernie is trying to do to the Democratic party.
An excerpt from your link:
It became clear, when the principle actors of the Goddard hierarchy - the President and the Board of Trustees - decided to take matters into their own hands and unilaterally determine the fate of the college, the Goddard community would have no recourse. As long as no structural means to hold the President and the Board accountable were left to the community, its only option would be to try to protect the progressive institution through public protests, union activities, hunger strikes, petitions, resignations, and potential job actions.
The protests, which received national coverage and garnered support from such prominent figures as Howard Zinn, Grace Paley, Noam Chomsky, Pete Seeger, and David Dellinger, eventually succeeded in ousting Goddards 7th President, Richard E. Greene, and reinstating the majority of the staff that were fired on June 6th, 1996.
This victory had a price, however. Jane O'Meara Sanders, wife and chief of staff for Vermont's Independent Congressman Bernie Sanders, and president of the Board at the time, was perhaps Greene's strongest ally. She vehemently supported Greene over faculty and community votes of no-confidence, downplayed the numerous community protests, publically approved of Greene's action plan, which called for the firing of 16 staff, and continued later to defend these indefensible actions. Sanders parlayed her powerful voluntary position as Board President during Greene's tenure into a high-paying position that was newly created at the June 1996 Board meeting - the position of college Provost. A Board committee, under the leadership of Sanders, was to work with the President to outline the job duties and begin an internal search process to fill the position. After the sudden resignation of Greene, at a special Board meeting in August of 1996, Sanders offered her own name for the job, and the Board approved - although the committee had not yet fully defined the role, nor devised a process for selecting candidates. Furthmore, it was now the expectation that the Provost would take over all of the responsibilities of the President until a replacement could be found via a national search (more on 'Provost'). Declining at first to apply for the job of President of the college, Sanders later changed her mind. Even though Sanders did become a finalist, and as Provost was, in effect, the incumbent - and had one leg up on the other candidates as a result of having had the opportunity to meet all of the prospective candidates in her role as Provost, there was enough pressure from the Goddard community that the search committee did not recommend her for the job.
Koinos
(2,792 posts)And Bernie and Jane want to run this country.
TwilightZone
(25,512 posts)"She vehemently supported Greene over faculty and community votes of no-confidence, downplayed the numerous community protests, publically approved of Greene's action plan, which called for the firing of 16 staff, and continued later to defend these indefensible actions. Sanders parlayed her powerful voluntary position as Board President during Greene's tenure into a high-paying position that was newly created at the June 1996 Board meeting - the position of college Provost."
Nice work if you can get it.
fleabiscuit
(4,542 posts)"See 'Restoring the Democracy We Never Had' for a history of how it came to be that a progressive college which has, since its inception in 1938, valued participatory democracy as a valuable and necessary foundation for 'progressive' education, should have come to permit a corporate-style Board of Trustees and Administration to gradually usurp power from the community and operate in increasingly authoritarian fashion."
"increasingly authoritarian fashion" Remind anybody of any bros and bro leaders?
bluestateguy
(44,173 posts)Take out a toxic loan that can't be paid back, to finance a speculatory land venture, then leave the failing company (university, in this case) with a golden parachute.
Hekate
(90,978 posts)Her Sister
(6,444 posts)in Vermont!
I think it should! It has to! It must!
It just really stinks!
Cha
(297,935 posts)Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)budget is as skillful as her management of Burlington College's finances?
Moose_Jaw
(35 posts)One should expect a certain degree of scrutiny when a college under your spouse's supervision goes under. It's relevant, because one should think that perhaps Bernie learned a thing or two about how colleges raise and spend funds beyond tuition, and how some colleges have to fight to stay solvent. Jane was the wrong person for the wrong job.
Plus, she is his #1 campaign surrogate. Her credibility matters. It's severely damaged by this news.