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Ron Galatolo was chancellor of the San Mateo County Community College District for 20 years. Then, in 2019, he became a chancellor emeritus for the district.
But last week, the district’s Board of Trustees announced that it had terminated its relationship with Galatolo in light of facts stemming from an investigation by the county district attorney.
“In the course of the district’s cooperation with that investigation, various matters have come to light that do not appear to have been presented to the board by former Chancellor Galatolo,” the board wrote in a media statement. “These matters include the apparent use of public funds for retirement incentives, undisclosed personal relationships with vendors for the district, and undisclosed receipt of gifts from contractors who work for the District. These gifts appear to have included high-end travel, concert tickets and meals and do not appear to have been reported on a Form 700 as required by law.”
In 2019, when Galatolo was still chancellor, he and the board entered into mediation to resolve a dispute, the details of which have not been released by the board. That mediation ended in a settlement agreement, stipulating that Galatolo was no longer chancellor but would be furnished with a new employment contract as chancellor emeritus. He would be paid his same salary, $38,975 per month, and be responsible for developing a program with California State University. The settlement also stipulated that parties could not disparage one another or cast each other in a bad light. Public communications regarding the departure were to be limited to a joint press release and mutually agreed-upon talking points.
The new employment agreement for the chancellor emeritus position was signed in August 2019. Before his termination this month, Galatolo was the most highly compensated employee of the district.
The next month, September 2019, The Almanac, a community newspaper, reported that the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office issued search warrants in connection with Galatolo’s tenure.
"There are allegations of improprieties with the construction and purchasing contracts and allegations of harassment of an employee," the district attorney told the paper at the time.
The office confirmed that the investigation is still ongoing.
“We are not going into further details of the investigation at this time,” a spokesperson for the office said via email.
A recent letter from the board to Galatolo alleges that the former chancellor refused to answer questions from the board about his conduct.
“Given your compensation level and the fact that you have not provided any services to the district for over eighteen (18) months, your objection is specious, a breach of your fiduciary duties and a showing of conscious disregard of your obligations to the board,” the board said in the letter. “Given this refusal, we continue to believe that you withheld material information during the course of the negotiations leading up the college district’s offering the chancellor emeritus position to you. Had the college district been aware of the information you withheld, it would not have entered into the 2019 agreement.”
Galatolo did not respond to an email request for comment.
"As a community college district, our mission is to ensure that all students have access to affordable higher education opportunities," said Lisa Petrides, a trustee elected in November 2020. "As a trustee, we must be committed to transparency and accountability in all aspects of our operations, and to remain fiscally and ethically responsible to those we serve."
