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Rancho Santiago college district trustees form committee to evaluate chancellor’s performance

April 15, 2026

The Rancho Santiago Community College District Board of Trustees will form an ad hoc committee to evaluate the performance of Chancellor Marvin Martinez, following a second meeting in closed session including potential disciplinary action or dismissal as an option to discuss.

The ad hoc will serve as a temporary committee tasked with preparing a performance evaluation for the full board. Details on the evaluation, including what the board discussed at Monday night’s meeting, are limited because of the closed session.

The evaluation follows a forensic audit completed in March 2025 that identified a $7 million fund involving insurance rebates, according to RSCCD Board President Phillip Yarbrough. Trustees said at the time they were not aware of the funds, which the audit said were used for various district expenses. Members of the faculty union had also said the fund’s existence was kept from them, and could have been used to benefit employees.

Martinez, who previously served as president of East Los Angeles College, was appointed in 2019. He previously said the accusations were “unfounded,” that he or other staff hid the funds, which predated his joining the district, adding that it was hard to believe the board was unaware of them, given that regular rebates had been delivered since 1997.

The forensic audit said that, although there was no evidence money had been misspent, district administrators may have violated state and local regulations over several years by not including the rebates, which were held by the insurance company for the district, in yearly budgets or audits. Among the expenses the funds were used for was about $1 million to pay a lawsuit settlement and another $1 million to balance the 2019–2020 budget.

Martinez was absent from Monday’s meeting when the board voted to create the ad hoc committee and appointed Yarbrough and trustees Tina Arias Miller and David Crockett to develop the chancellor’s performance evaluation.

“There will be accountability, and the board of trustees will decide who will be held accountable,” Yarbrough said prior to the closed session.

Martinez, who oversees one of California’s larger community college systems, including Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College, has also faced criticism from board members and district staff, including former senior administrators who spoke during public comment Monday night, addressing what they called a lack of transparency and a toxic work environment.

Martinez and Enrique Perez, the college district’s vice chancellor of educational services, did not respond to requests for comment.

“The Rancho Santiago Community College District does not comment on personnel matters,” the Chancellor’s Office said in a statement Tuesday. “The chancellor and district remain focused on supporting the students, faculty and staff of Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College.”

District officials said the Board of Trustees is following Board Policy 2435, which provides guidance for conducting the chancellor’s evaluation and includes establishing an ad hoc committee as part of that process.

Orange County Register

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Rancho Santiago college district trustees form committee to evaluate chancellor’s performance

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