Washtenaw Community College president writes personal check to pay for $4,024 board dinner

The president of Washtenaw Community College announced today he's personally picking up the $4,024 tab for a dinner attended by WCC trustees, calling the bill excessive and shocking.

But President Larry Whitworth also defended the dinner - attended by 23 individuals, including WCC trustees and school officials - saying it was a strictly-business affair and is a tradition.

Whitworth's decision was sparked by a 54th District state representative candidate who made the dinner a campaign issue last week. Democrat Lonnie Scott criticized fellow 54th District state representative candidate and WCC Trustee David Rutledge over the March retreat dinner.

WCC President Larry Whitworth

The dinner was part of an annual two-day board retreat in Detroit at the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel. The total bill for the weekend came to more than $9,000, of which $4,024 went to the dinner and $600 paid for alcohol.

At that retreat, trustees decided on a 10 percent tuition increase. The raise amounts an increase of $7, for a total of $80 per credit hour in the 2010-2011 school year.

“This tuition increase comes at a time when many families in Washtenaw County and the 54th District are struggling," Scott said in a May 26 statement. "Couple that with the news of this $4,000 dinner, and the whole thing is very hard to stomach."

Whitworth called that criticism inappropriate and blamed himself for the extra expense.

"What I really want to say is that it is wholly and totally inappropriate for individuals such as Lonnie Scott to somehow accuse our board members of attending a dinner and somehow being responsible for that," Whitworth said.

While the seven-member volunteer WCC board is Whitworth's employer, he said the board handles policies and he is the operational manager and was in charge the board retreat. He said he didn't notice a $100 per person charge listed on the menu of the 24grille restaurant, which is in the hotel. That charge resulted in a higher-than-normal tab.

"I should have looked at the fine print," he said.

Scott commended Whitworth's move today but again criticized Rutledge and the WCC board.

"When we get to Lansing, there are going to be a lot of things budgeted that are still wasteful," he said. "We have to be thoughtful about how we're making decisions and spending the public's money before it's spent."

Rutledge suggested Scott is using WCC for political gain. He previously defended the dinner tab as an appropriate expenditure.

"I'm not going to respond to Mr. Scott's comments because he is using the community college for a purpose that is wholly his own," Rutledge said. "I think the community college is bigger than that. The jewel that we have in our community speaks for itself, and the miracles that happen there every day in the lives of individuals who come onto the campus also speak for themselves."

Six Democrats are running in the Aug. 3 primary for a chance to replace Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith, who is term-limited, in the state House's 54th District. In addition to Rutledge and Scott, Michael White, Bill Riney, Dave Franklin and Edison Hubert are on the ballot.

About half of WCC's income comes from property tax revenue. Fewer property tax dollars, combined with rising costs for retirement benefits, means the school will likely face a shortfall of about $1 million next year. Its annual operating budget is $98 million.

Ann Arbor.com's Ryan Stanton contributed to this report. Juliana Keeping covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter