DOWAGIAC — Community members concerned about the future of Southwestern Michigan College got their chance to share their feelings with the board of trustees Monday.

SMC has been under a fair amount of scrutiny since last week when a report released by the state’s Auditor General found that SMC officials, including President David Mathews, had operated with misconduct in the case of contributions to the Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System for part-time student employees.

The audit alleges that from July 1, 2010 through April 28, 2017, SMC intentionally excluded approximately 500 part-time student employees from enrollment into MSPERS, a retirement fund for public school employees in the state of Michigan. According to the report, late fees and interest in the case could mean SMC owes the state up to $10.4 million.

SMC has released statements indicating that they disagree with the audit, and the college has filed a lawsuit against the Auditor General’s Office with the Michigan Supreme Court, believing the audit to be unconstitutional.

Members of the public had their voices heard on the matter Monday, as the board of trustees opened the floor at their scheduled meeting to comments on the matter.

Former SMC student Taras Lyssenko was present at the meeting. A vocal critic of SMC’s response to the Auditor General’s report, Lyssenko asked the board to be more transparent about what was going on.

“I want to know why what has been in the newspapers isn’t on the agenda,” Lyssenko said. “I would like to see the board address that. I would like to have a conversation about that.”

Former SMC Dean Tom Buszek echoed Lyssenko’s statements, saying that he saw an overall trend in a lack of transparency from the college due to the fact that board policies and other materials are not available online.

“I would also like to see the information about the lawsuit and the OAG report on the agenda so that there can be a formal discussion,” he said. “[The board] should focus more

on translucency and transparency. I would like to see things opened up.”

However, not everyone at the meeting was critical of the board, as community members and SMC faculty spoke in support of the board and President Mathews.

Dowagiac resident Ron Gunn, who has been involved with the college for 52 years, spoke to the integrity of the board, and said that he believed SMC to be an excellent institution.

“This place is my pride and joy. I bleed green and gold,” Gunn said. “When I saw this scandal and everything, I thought, ‘holy cow, I can’t believe it.’ But everything was explained to me … I know the people involved, I’ve worked for every president and dean that has come through the college, and they are all very ethical people, and I don’t think they are doing anything to deceive anybody.”

Dowagiac resident Patty Patano also said that she believes SMC is operating appropriately and has done nothing wrong in regards to making contributions to the Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System for part-time student employees.

“I believe everything has been done for the benefit of the students and the college,” Patano said. “It only takes common sense to look at the situation and say, ‘why would the college deduct something from student worker pay, which is not very high to begin with, and put them into a program that will never vest in their time?’”

After public comments, the board of trustees moved into closed session to discuss the Auditor General’s report and the litigation pending against its office.

Board Chairman Tom Jerdon thanked the audience members for their comments and said that the college will begin responding to the topic of the audit by next week.

“We will respond quickly,” he said. “It will be transparent.”

After the meeting, a complaint was filed against SMC with the Attorney General, as members of a Facebook group called Citizens Concerned about Southwestern Michigan College felt the meeting was in violation of the open meetings act.

John Eby, Coordinator of Media Relations for SMC, said the college was in compliance with the act, as the meeting was announced in the board’s December meeting minutes.