Burlington College to shut down programs-- from debt incurred by Jane Sanders

[Starry Messenger]

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]

1. Well, at least Jane got a couple hundred grand out of the deal.

Plus her salary and benefits while she was there.

[Starry Messenger]

9. I think one of the kids got something for the woodworking program too.

Poor Burlington.

[TwilightZone]

11. She directed funds to her daughter and the son of a family friend while Pres of the college

One article I read said the amounts were "six figures".

[Starry Messenger]

12. That was it.

I'm amazed this story doesn't get more coverage.

[obamanut2012]

2. Just appalling

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]

7. It is hard--usually accreditation organizations want to keep schools open.

(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]

32. They were already under probation for financial reasons.

[CrowCityDem]

3. Imagine the scandal if this was in any way associated with the Clintons.

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]

4. Even if the Foundation had donated money to the school

It would be used against Hillary.

[Starry Messenger]

5. The first article didn't even mention her name.

If this were the Clintons, the headlines would be red with blood.

[obamanut2012]

8. Yeah, I found that exclusion INTERESTING

Very establishment.

[Starry Messenger]

10. It is!

And talk about burying the lede. Maybe I'll tweet this to Chris Hayes.

[Tarheel_Dem]

23. Oh please do! The Sanders family has set up house at MSNBC, maybe it's time they answer some REAL..

questions.

[Starry Messenger]

26. I tweeted it to Hayes and the MSNBC account.

How can they ignore a whole college going down in the midst of the election? We'll see.

[obamanut2012]

28. Yes!

[TwilightZone]

6. Agreed. It would be 24/7 news on every network

And 25/8 on Fox.

[lunamagica]

13. Barely mentioned? It wont be mentioned AT ALL

[bluestateguy]

81. I don't think Bernie has ever much cared about the plight of students in private colleges

I think he thinks they are all spoiled rich kids, which of course, is not the case.

[lunamagica]

14. Shame on her. Hillary is constantly attacked for her speaking fees, which are paid by the wealthy

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]

16. He only has the one speech, anyway.

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]

52. Re. "He only has the one speech anyway..."

[Moose_Jaw]

87. I wish we could rec individual posts

BILL-Yun-Airs and MIL-Yun-airs!! *finger poking and wagging*

[Her Sister]

15. Here my OP on Jane's Burlington College Fiasco

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1107120080

[Starry Messenger]

17. Thank you!!

[Thinkingabout]

18. I would not want this on my resume and the possibility of bank fraud investigation.

[Starry Messenger]

19. I feel bad when I'm late with a bill I forgot.

I can't imagine being in the center of a mess of this magnitude.

[Thinkingabout]

33. More than I want to deal with. Also Sanders used to talk about others getting a

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]

41. And I'm sure this Sanders parachute appears in the 2011 or 2012 tax returns that remain undisclosed.

It is a joint tax return, and Bernie Sanders profited from her payoffs.

[TwilightZone]

25. "Singlehandedly took down a college"

References available from state bank fraud investigators upon request.

[Koinos]

40. You made me bust a gut.

[Koinos]

20. Everybody who was informed about this situation saw this coming.

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]

21. Totally agree about the tax returns too.

It's amazing that they holler about corruption and no one brings up this story, ever. This wasn't an "oops, sorry."

[Koinos]

24. It was a bad loan the college couldn't pay back.

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]

22. The Sanders are just not good with math and financial matters

[Koinos]

27. Do you suppose a candidate who talks about money all the time

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]

29. Sanders University Scandal

Just like Trump University.

All a giant scam ripping off the very folks they claim to fight for.

[KittyWampus]

30. There are two law suits directly related to her malfeasance at the college.

Not just one. TWO.

[obamanut2012]

34. What's the other one?

[KittyWampus]

46. Burlington donor.

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]

71. wow

[KittyWampus]

48. VT Attorney General investigating financial mismanagement.

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 college’s 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]

58. Thank you for posting those links!

[Koinos]

38. I suspect that more will be coming, since many parties were harmed.

[George II]

31. I posted that in LBN about 1:30, getting interesting comments

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]

44. Parents of the students may litigate as well.

What are their transcripts worth at this point?

[Maru Kitteh]

35. Starry have you posted this in the cess pool yet? I think they should see this.

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]

37. No, I didn't, but someone else did.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511974370

I never post OPs in there, I just don't have the energy, I admire people who have the fortitude!

[NurseJackie]

36. I wonder if this could have anything to do with their hesitancy to release their full tax returns.

Was Bernie's current wife, Jane, under pressure to leave (ie: "resign or be fired&quot or was it an amicable parting of the ways?

If it was the former, what was the cause of the tension?

[Koinos]

39. She was let go by the board because her "fundraising" effort fell short of target numbers.

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]

43. I'm sure this is why they won't release the returns.

[TwilightZone]

55. Agreed. It's either that or the links to the toxic waste compact.

Though, they already have a canned excuse for that one.

Could be both. Maybe there's more, too.

[wysi]

42. Heck of a job, Jane!

Now take the Titanic that is the Sanders candidacy with you.

[obamanut2012]

45. kicking

[Starry Messenger]

49. Appalling. :(

[obamanut2012]

72. why in the world was that hidden???

[Starry Messenger]

73. I don't know.

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]

91. For the same reason they descend on conventions and scream at Democrats - soreloserism.

And their innate "I CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!"

Math and truth aren't their strong suits.

[Cha]

50. How weird that whole thing is, no?

Mahalo, Starry~

[Starry Messenger]

51. Yes, it is very strange.

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]

53. I didn't see that.. they still don't want info to come out about BS even

though he's already lost.

Thank you, Starry~

[UtahLib]

60. Didn't see this post before posting the same observation! eom

[Cha]

77. That's all I could come up with.. lol

[DemonGoddess]

63. definitely a bogus hide

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]

65. Yeah, that one made no sense. Oh, look, Hillary supporter - hide!!!!

I can't wait until June 8th. Or July. Or whenever.

[Starry Messenger]

66. They're getting salty.

For folks who claim to want facts to vet candidates and their spouses, they sure seem sensitive.

[UtahLib]

56. Yes, very weird.

Something else that seems more devious than strange is the fact that Misterhighwasted's factual post in this thread was hidden.

[Cha]

78. Yes, not against TOS.. this is what i'm talking about.. 85% of the board continues to

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]

69. You know, it really is weird.

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]

74. +1 on your post

This is a subject I know a lot about, and you are dead on.

[Starry Messenger]

85. I totally agree.

[sheshe2]

54. Something stinks to high hell here.

Where there is smoke there is fire.

[Starry Messenger]

57. Lots more people are tweeting MSNBC, asking them to cover this.

I wonder if anyone will.

[sheshe2]

67. I sure hope so.

If I tweeted I would join you, Starry.

[Cha]

79. Truth will out, Starry! Mahalo for doing your part~

[DesertRat]

59. What a terrible legacy to leave. nt

[Haveadream]

61. Jane does not seem to be remembered fondly by those at the school

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 O’Meara 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 College’s finances took a turn for the worse, when Jane Sanders, the college’s 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]

62. I work in higher education, this story makes me so sick.

Toxic admin and higher ups can make academia a nightmare.

[Koinos]

64. They didn't like her at Goddard either.

http://quadrant4.org/goddard1a.html

[Haveadream]

68. Great find, Koinos!

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 Goddard’s 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]

70. There appears to be a real pattern here.

And Bernie and Jane want to run this country.

[TwilightZone]

75. Pattern, indeed

"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]

76. Agreed, good find.

"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]

80. Looks a lot like how a corrupt Wall Street executive does business

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]

82. Oh that is really not good

[Her Sister]

83. Wow! Causing a college to shut down!!?? Wondering if this will affect BS' re-election in 2018!

in Vermont!

I think it should! It has to! It must!

It just really stinks!

[Cha]

86. Good question, HS.

[Surya Gayatri]

84. And, she is Bern's N°1, top advisor. Wonder if her oversight of the campaign

budget is as skillful as her management of Burlington College's finances?

[Moose_Jaw]

88. When you make free tuition a cornerstone of your campaign

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.

[Starry Messenger]

90. Can't disagree there!

[LexVegas]

89. K&R. nt