A day after the LBCC Board of Trustees fired Reagan Romali, the decision makers, the college administration and its spokesperson have remained silent.
No formal announcement has been made to faculty or students specifying what events transpired, including who is currently filling the superintendent-president role in an acting capacity.
When Viking News reached out to President Trustee Vivian Malauulu for an interview regarding the firing, she responded, “There won’t be an interview but I’ll send you a quote this afternoon. That’s all I can do at this time,” Malauulu said via text message.
As of 6 p.m. today, no quote was provided.
Public relations official Stacey Toda said in an email, “The District is declining the opportunity to comment at this time.”
A day before the board meeting, Vice President Trustee Uduak-Joe Ntuk said he would coordinate an interview with Viking News on Thursday.
After the firing on Wednesday, Viking News reached out to Ntuk via text to confirm an interview time, but he did not respond.
Viking News called Ntuk and left voicemails about the interview today, but Ntuk did not immediately respond.
Despite the school’s and board’s silence with Viking News, Ntuk had been actively retweeting previous articles regarding Romali’s controversies and job-searching across the country, dating back to Miami Dade.
To see a video showing Ntuk’s retweets, click download.
Romali did not respond to two phone calls made today for an interview.
At yesterday’s meeting, Board Member Sunny Zia was not in attendance for roll call and public comment, but then arrived shortly after.
LBCC Student Trustee Jena Jimenez, who serves as the voice of LBCC students as a part of the Board of Trustees, was not in attendance at the board meeting yesterday.
No phone number was provided for Jimenez on the school’s website. An email had been sent to Jimenez, but got no immediate response.
The vote to fire Romali was 4-1 and it has not been confirmed who was in favor of her firing.
According to the Long Beach Post, the Board of Trustees hired an investigator in Nov. 2019 for matters concerning misuse of public funds and the mistreatment of staff and faculty.
At yesterday’s meeting, lead faculty negotiator at Community College Association Karen Roberts began public comment on closed session items with a speech regarding the severity of the closed session that would determine Romali’s position at LBCC.
“I wonder how relevant is the decision you’re about to make to student success in the mission of the college. How relevant is the decision you’re about to make to students trying to succeed this semester under a threat of a possible pandemic,” Roberts said.
Romali began her position as superintendent president in March 2017 after being unanimously selected by the Board, then receiving a contract renewal including a pay raise just one year into the job in Aug. 2018.
The 19-page ledger, dating back to Oct. 2018 allegedly contains information regarding a retaliation against Romali from board members Vivian Malauulu and Uduak-Joe Ntuk, which they have both denied.
In June 2019, it was reported that Romali was up for a superintendent position as Miami-Dade College, a process that ended in controversy questioning Romali’s honesty, culminating with accusations of racism.
The Long Beach Post reported other entries from Romali’s ledger, including details of possible public corruption and a Brown Act Violation. Romali also claimed she was “followed home by a drunk vagrant.”
A Public Records Act request has been sent out by Viking News to access the 19-page ledger and 1,000-page whistleblower complaint filed by Romali and any reports obtained by trustrees from the private investigator they hired.