MERCED, Calif. — Officials at Merced College claim they have spent thousands of dollars answering questions from KVPR and its news partner The Merced FOCUS over a reporting investigation published in March.
College officials in an email claimed the community college has spent $20,000 fulfilling public records requests filed by the news outlets.
The investigation by the news outlets looked at how the college handled complaints against one of its longest serving deans. KVPR and The Merced FOCUS submitted multiple requests for interviews and information in the reporting investigation that spanned 18 months.
In the latest inquiries, the news outlets sent questions related to public records which revealed the college spent more than $26,000 on one investigation into Dean John Albano that stemmed from multiple complaints filed by faculty and staff in 2024.
KVPR and The Merced FOCUS were analyzing the cost and seeking specifics about how the college carried out the process with the investigators.
But in an unusual step, Kelly Avila, Merced College’s vice president of human resources, first shared the college’s response to questions by the news outlets with college staff before sharing with the news outlets. Avila said it was in the interest of transparency.
In the same email, Avila made another claim. She told college staff that the college has spent over $20,000 responding to nearly a dozen requests for information by the news outlets about how it handled complaints against...
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