Firing's advocates claim to have smoking gun

But Johnson says e-mails show she relied on CFO

John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 26, 2007 at midnight

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If there is a smoking gun in the case against Christine Johnson, advocates of her ouster have said it can be found in an e-mail exchange between the former Community College of Denver president and her chief financial officer.

Johnson and the college's CFO, Barbara Casey, exchanged e-mails in November 2006 on the issue of how to calculate the amount of money CCD had in its reserve fund so that it could report the amount to the Colorado Community College System office.

On Nov. 6, Casey wrote to Johnson that - based on a calculation used in the past - the reserves stood at 10 percent of the overall budget.

"I am not comfortable submitting that calc since it implies we have 'extra' funds," Casey wrote.

Casey added that "philosophically" she felt it was better for the system office - in its role of administering board policy - to be the entity instructing community colleges how to calculate the reserve.

"It is their standard," Casey concluded. "What do you want me to do - submit or not?"

The next day, Johnson replied:

"Send calculation as some lower level - 3% or 4% and send with comment about your reservation to send information without guidance as newcomer to system, and please copy me."

On Nov. 8, Casey wrote back to Johnson stating that "unfortunately" she could not peg the reserves to a lower number because the system office already had financial data, "so I can't move things around without them knowing."

"I was thinking I could just send an e-mail saying we're not sure how to calculate and are hesitant to make up a method since both (a fellow employee) and I are new. What do you think?"

Johnson replied, "Sounds like a good idea to send 'don't know how to calculate' and copy me, but also include your repeated requests for help from system."

Shortly after the system board announced it would not renew Johnson's contract, Barbara McKellar, chairwoman of the board, pointed to this exchange as proof that Johnson had made a "financial misstatement, no matter how you look at it."

Nancy McCallin, head of the community college system, also pointed to the e-mail exchange as "the last straw" in the decision to let Johnson go. For McCallin, a finance guru with a Ph.D. in economics, numbers are sacred. Prior to taking the top job at the Community College System, McCallin was former Gov. Bill Owens budget chief. Before that, she was the budget analyst for the bipartisan Legislative Council. Deliberately fudging a budget would be the ultimate sin to McCallin. When the audit uncovered fiscal mismanagement along with allegations of academic wrongdoing, McCallin took her concerns to the board that oversees the community colleges. In a unanimous decision, the members of the State Board for Community Colleges and Occupation Education backed up McCallin and voted to ask Johnson for her resignation. Johnson refused to resign and the board refused to renew her contract.

In her only interview since her ouster, Johnson argued that she was being "framed." She denied any attempt at pressuring her CFO to underreport the size of the reserves.

"I didn't ask her to do anything illegal or immoral," Johnson told the Rocky Mountain News on June 19. "She told me she was uncomfortable with the calculations, and I rely on her expertise. I'm not a CPA. I agreed with what she recommended."

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