How to Weed the Botanic Garden

Thank you, Owen, for this excellent overview and analysis. I was a long time member of the Botanic Garden, going back to the 60's. It was my favorite place in Santa Barbara, but as the paths became pavement; as the wildness disappeared; as the Tea House appeared, as the oak tree was removed with plans for a paved terrace and demands for a restaurant and other public "services" came; as art, the willow house, developed in the meadow (beautiful and interesting work but NOT in the botanic garden); as appeals from the development director came repetitively by mail and by telephone for support of management's position, I stopped visiting and then dropped my membership a couple of years ago. I no longer visit; I no longer recommend to visiting friends and I certainly no longer donate.

The situation is greatly sad, even the plants must be dispirited!, and a huge loss to the community.

Congratulations on dropping your membership-support! The only thing I wish you had added to your excellent piece is what we in the community can do to get back our botanic garden. What can we do to stand up for the garden, whom to contact?

appreciatively,
Betsy

Well written Owen, we have 3 generations presently alive in town that donate to the gardens. About 16 people, our elder members are sick about this. Until the time that this board is investigated and replaced, we have dropped all financial support and will urge our friends to do the same. The garden will heal itself, nature always knows best. Thank you volunteers for taking a stand.

We donated a bench to the Garden 15 years ago when my mother died. She loved that place and always wanted to visit when she came to SB. She would be chagrined to learn of the direction the Garden has headed in recent years. You would think the Garden would replace the bench and it would be covered by their fire insurance. No. Or at least ask us to pay to costs of rebuilding the bench, a few hundred dollars. No. They want $10,000 to do so. And with their other recent shenanigans have lost another 30 year family who has always supported the Garden in the past.
TR

Word has it that a grass roots group is forming to take action. Interested members of the public may get involved by emailing the striking volunteers at ss1411@cox.net or carolellen@msn.com. Thanks for your support.

Owen

thank you, Owen Dell, for this excellent description of the Garden's problems - past and present. i have been singing this song for years!
this information must be widely spread so that many more community members are alerted to the potential loss of OUR Botanic Garden.

What an excellent summary of the Garden's problems! I've been trying for years to open some line of communication with the Garden administrators and board. They are deaf to anyone who doesn't support their plans 100%. What can be done by an ordinary citizen who loves the Garden and is dismayed by what's been happening?

Owen,
Thank you for writing this. It is a devastating account of the problems of the BG and the role of top management and the Board in causing the present crisis. You are right - nothing less than a new Board and new management can bring about the major reform and change in direction needed. How can this be achieved? I hope that your article will be the clarion call to the community to take action.

Thank you for the overview and summary. Many of us knew things were problematic at the SBBG, but didn't have the details. This helps explain and will, I hope, rally the community behind the employees & volunteers who have done so much for the garden.

Shame on current management for their defensive posture and refusal to be open to all about what's going on and possible ways to fix it. Open. Public. Responsible. Stewards of a public asset and trust. Please do that -- transparently -- or leave.

Highlights from a letter I sent to the striking Botanic Garden folks:

As I read the statistics published in the local media and handed out at the Farmers’ Markets by Garden volunteers, several observations come to mind:

1. The expense of the organization is extremely top heavy, with a CEO ($180K+free housing) and 2 Vice Presidents with salaries in six figures and rent free housing for at least one.
2. The CEO and VP of Marketing have presided over a decrease in income, while enjoying increases in salary. Defies logic.
3. Adding a VP of Development might make sense, but only if the VP of Marketing is eliminated and the new VP is a proven fundraiser.
4. The Gardens depend heavily on volunteer labor; to get to the point that volunteer labor goes on strike, accompanied by statements from Executives to the effect that “we can do without them” amounts to serious managerial malfeasance.
5. The dramatic reduction in actual working staff, both paid and unpaid, the dramatic reduction in cash and investments, and the dramatic increase in executive expense amount in my opinion, if not to actual looting of the institution by its management, at least to malfeasance and total lack of effective oversight by the Board.
6. One must wonder if the Board and all senior management should be replaced before the Garden goes totally bankrupt.

Question: Isn’t there some state or federal agency that regulates the fiduciary responsibility of non-profit management?

Okay, let's do something! The garden is a treasure and deserves better. I'm writing to the volunteer group to find out what practical steps we in the public can take to get change in the management started.

Glad you wrote this article. It is time for a clean sweep at the Garden. The management that caused this mess has to go.

Jizz da facts ma'am,

During his first term, Symington was the subject of an investigation over his involvement with Southwest Savings and Loan, a failed Phoenix thrift. He was later cleared, and won reelection handily in 1994.

Later, he was indicted on charges of extortion and making false financial statements, and of bank fraud. He was convicted of bank fraud in 1997. The Arizona state constitution does not allow convicted felons to hold office, so Symington was forced to resign.

He was charged in a 1996 indictment; 1997 superseding indictment for false statements to federally insured financial institutions, wire fraud, attempted extortion and false statements in bankruptcy proceeding, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1014, 1343, 1951, 152, 2(a) and 2(b)

And you wonder where the money went? Hahahaha

Look up the history of Tenent Health Care and how they defrauded medicare...the ex-CEO had cashed out $140 million in stock just before they blew up...and moved to Texas from S.B. How much tax revenue was lost in that move?

Where is that CEO today?

Wow, sa1, so who hired this crook? And was there a quid pro quo? Inquiring minds want to know..

My sentiments, Betsy. Sadly I too was once a member with many other "old timers" but eventually I gave up when the garden become more and more of a commercial venture and gradually losing much of it's magic and wonder for me. After 45 years the wicker Toad Hall was the last straw.

Be very very wary of the noxious little weed that has popped up in the VP Development position.

The situation at the Botanic Garden is not a good one, but be careful about replacing everyone with "new" staff that could be as bad or worse. I am a transplant from the Midwest and have never been a member of the Botanic Garden, but have visited occasionally. I was always shocked at how expensive it was to visit and was very turned off by that even though I have the means to do so.

Common sense, integrity, and good business decisions are qualities few and far between in most business ventures, non-profit and otherwise. However, with the courage of the volunteers to derail the reckless, speeding train from it's tracks may be the start of something bigger and better for the gardens. A few passionate, smart people will rise to the top and once again and hopefully enough passionate employees, board members, etc. will put the past behind and make the gardens what they were meant to be. The opinions will be varied and many as to the direction it will take. Whose opinion is the right one? Can someone answer that?

Not replace all staff. Just start with the top 3 or 4, and if the current Board are their cronies, then dump them too. More than likely the people who do the real work are a level or two "down" in the organization. Next time, get a CEO without a criminal record and gee maybe even some experience managing an organization, preferably a nonprofit. I'd like to see a court appointed trustee take over and clean house under a very bright light, with lawyers standing by for any necessary litigation against miscreants.

I grew up in Santa Barbara, now live very close to the Garden and have loved going there since I was a child. I was supportive of their plans, not because I was particularly well informed, but just out of good will. Well, as far as I am concerned, a rock has been up turned and there is nasty stuff underneath. The pay of high level administrators by itself is enough to make me see red. Regardless of one's view of the issues, they have a public relations nightmare on their hands and need to take radical action to redeem this situation.

Ok, Listen up ! I've got a serious suggestion to make (I know, hard to imagine..)

A big chunk of the garden is gone as we knew it. Much like our economy, it's a phoenix like opportunity.

1. Sell off a substantial portion for private developement. It's a big piece of property after all. Best use would be for high density housing for the low income workers of the hotel, restaurant and estate owners that benefit from them. Close to work , smart growth and all that...

2. Use the proceeds to financially rebuild the trust and the existing gardens.

3. UCSB is also hurting for funds, so use the procedes from the sale to buy the property at Phelps and Canon Green next to the Butterfly Preserve. UCSB is planning to build 170 subsidized condos on this property, effectively ruining this beautiful open space and endagering the preserve that the community came together to establish years ago.

4. Build a new Botanic Garden on this property. I'm sure there would be over whelming support and tons of volunteer labor from the student pop that lives within a mile of this place. This type of use would tail in perfectly with the restoration going on at Devaroux.

5. Incentivize UCSB by offering fast track to the housing they want east of Storke Road.

6. The new Gardens would be a great draw for the Camino Real Shopping center, The City of Goleta, the neighborhoods surrounding and a showcase for really smart growth that preserves the ever disappearing coastal open spaces...

7. I own my own home down the street so I wouldn't need free housing, and I'm sure I could run the whole thing for umm... $120K a year.

8.C'mon Oprah, what'dya say...help me out with this!

Oh, Owen. Your childhood must have been very traumatic. Your scars and fears show through so clearly. Your patriotism, in these turbulent times is...predictable. What a good American. Who doesn't love the conspiracy theory, really? Cool aid comes to mind. A suggestions: get the facts before you go following blindly.

The Garden management works directly under the authority and control of the Board of Directors. It is they who are ultimately responsible for this mess for authorizing the bad decisions of management and failing to control them. But just who are these people? They should not be allowed to hide in anonymity and escape accountability for their negligent stewardship of the Garden. I would like to see published a listing of everyone who has been on the Board of Directors during the past, say, ten years. Does anyone have this information or know where it can be found?

I worked in the Gardens thirty years ago as a gardener, I worked there again twenty years ago to pay off a speeding ticket! But what has happened there since then is all wrong for what it is, should be. The current management must resign, please bring in local people committed to preserving the gardens, not developing them.

Owen, Spreading misinformation is an easy way to stir up controversy ; however, I question the merrits of slandering such a renound institution. First the SBBG is fully insured w/ CHUBB. Second there is no costly law suit the SBBG filed a WRIT which costs NOTHING. Have you checked the #s you anr tossing around or are they as fictitous as the rest of your data? The SBBG has spent approx one million $ on defensible space & fire safety for Mission canyon. 100K was spent to remove a giant grove of eucyliptus trees from where Mission canyon meets Tunnel, 500K for extension of the water main & instalation of fire hydrants in Mission canyon, thousands for the Meadow Terrace, 80K grant for a state of the art wireless irrigation system for the meadow & finally 90K for brush removal from MC which ended just weeks before the Jesuisita fire. Then the fire came...... the fire fighters recognised the aforementioned attributes, the chose to use the SBBG for a foreward opperations base & held the line. No homes burned below the SGGG the investment paid off. It takes insight to plan a beautiful landscape that serves the community in this way. Whether appreciative of not, there are people who are still living in their homes because the SBBG has fought for their consept. There are others who on the otherhand who are too narrow minded & just throw rocks. Earthling

Dear Earthling,

Your facts, assuming they are true, do not refute my facts, which have been checked with Garden insiders. Why don't you check them too, after you check your spelling?

Owen

Let's assume, Mr. Earthling, you are correct. It doesn't explain how the Garden has gone through 3/4 of it's endowment since Symington became chairman of the board and hired all these yahoos into whose hands it was entrusted. Let's put responsibility where it belongs — with those holding the purse strings. You can only explain so much improvement, however heralded by the fire department. It doesn't account for such a loss.

I'm a big supporter of the SBBG, and a next-door neighbor as well. I'm one of the few in Mission Canyon who has been generally supportive of the VMP (Vital Mission Plan). I'm not one of those pining for the good old days when the Garden was basically thought of as a neighborhood park. It's not a park. That's like calling the Natural History Museum a park.

I understand the Garden has certain responsibilities beyond providing a nice environment for people to visit. I understand it needs to maintain a certain reputation, to expand it's influence and create a knowledge base for and connections with other institutions like itself. All these things cost money. Trained staff costs money. The gardeners aren't merely a park maintenance crew. But where does necessary growth and expansion stop and pure hubris begin? As much as they want to pass the VMP, how often can they keep going back to the well for more lawyers, more architects, more reviews before the well is dry? You can only tilt at windmills for so long. The board needs to do some real soul-searching, and I don't think that's going to happen as long as Symington is chairman, and Schneider is president.

Earthling: Please answer the following two questions regarding your quoted facts:

1. "First the SBBG is fully insured w/ CHUBB." If the Garden was "fully insured" why were donations solicited from the public for $900,000 worth of tools and equipment destroyed by the fire? Are you saying that management used the fire as a trick to collect contributions when in reality the loss was actually covered by insurance?

2. "Second there is no costly law suit the SBBG filed a WRIT which costs NOTHING." The protracted litigation against the County seeking a Writ of Mandamus is being handled by a law firm that has billed the Garden tens of thousands of dollars for legal fees. Please explain how it "costs nothing."

Zorro, Fully insured by an insurance co means that you have a policy. They cover you for certian categories, you take the $ for what they cover & you come up w/ the rest. Check w/ your insurance co to learn more, or of course you could blame the SBBG for the slick insurance co rules. The lawyer working w/ the SBBG is working quid por quo. Easier to spread rumors than learn the truth. Earthling

The BIG PICTURE: County Fudging and Self-
Aggrandizement with Regressive Neighbors
Will also Halt the Garden’s Plans:

To find more of the big picture, even legitimately and thoroughly planned aspects of the Vital Mission Plan seem likely be continually road-blocked or denied by county bureaucrats and backed up with their arbitrary and peremptory interpretations of the building codes for private corporations. There is even failure to follow parliamentary procedures (by county decision-makers) to avoid taking a stand on well-considered facts and evidence. A close scrutiny of past hearings and related documents and testimonial tapes (some online), such as in hearings or communications emanating from the Planning department, HLAC (historic landmarks), or the Santa Barbara County Supervisors, will show that politics (getting reelected, or promoted) or traditions (“My preservationist grandparents wanted it my way!”), or emotional, non-rational decisions, not an evidence-based rationale, hold sway. Then of course there are the neighboring lawyers (who may also be feeding their greed under the guise of protecting historical landscapes and calling themselves “Friends”) grasp at deep pockets (the Garden’s formerly large bank accounts). The end result is likely to be the bankrupting of the Garden, ending in its total destruction.

Will the next step be the auctioning off of the Garden’s resources to private developers? It sure looks that way if the recent couple of years’ trends of incompetence and inconsistent discretionary actions continue. It is no wonder that the Garden management has fallen off the rails. Is it not enough for Garden decision-makers to refuse to admit their own failures to follow their own bylaws or keep the Minutes required by statute for this private, non-profit organization? If that is not enough, what experience and skills in managing a major construction project have they demonstrated? Have they demonstrated competent, skilled and well-documented planning, with accompanying long-run and wise financial decisions? What new anchors and roadblocks will prevent the enhancement and modernization of the aging and clearly inadequate educational and scientific facilities (to support their main non-profit mission by design, the educational and scientific work), general incompetence or lack of outstanding leadership experience (at all levels) will probably be the last straws leading to the destruction of the former treasure of Mission Canyon. The battleground may have been fun for the neighboring activists (an old but often misguided Santa Barbara tradition), while it lasted. But I (as a scientist and photographer) truly fear that the end of this rainbow will lead to a pile of ash. No Garden no more!
Telescopic-Futurist.

Futurist,

Visualize one end of the rainbow in Mission Canyon and the other end on the Goleta Coast. UCSB cannot even build a drainage ditch correctly. Why trust them with one of the last coastal open spaces. Sell half the Garden property and relocate it to Phelps and Cannon Green.

UCSBs growth plans are going to go the way of the Cal budget...why waste this great win-win opportunity for something other than ugly, cheap condos!

Is it about the plants or bringing in a smart-growth Starbucks and McDonalds to service visitors and fund salaries?

Thank you for having the courage to speak out, Owen and the others trying to keep the Vital Plan in reasonable check. I too let my membership go several years ago because of the lack of trust I felt in the Garden's management and Board. Stupid decisions made along the way and hiring combative PR firms (which is what a big developer would do) are not reasonable or logical for such a venerable non-profit.

I miss the Garden terribly. It was part of my weekly foothill run and my solace (my favorite place was the ceanothus garden). I learned everything I know about plants, gardening and good stewardship in the 2 decades I supported the Garden. I have a deep connection with the Garden, its teachers and staff -- hell, my entire property has plants (now major trees and shrubs) acquired from there.

But as I watched the garden turn into an 'attraction' with a focus on a fancy gift store, parties and major donor events, and tour buses of people who cared little about the Garden or its mission, I realized that the tranquil natural garden envisioned by its founders was gone.

I hope for a new leadership core to emerge so that the Garden may find its original vision and be restored after the fire to its original glory (as opposed to pushing forward an ill conceived, over built development plan).

A non-profit is a public trust and as such, should embrace the community desires and needs, particularly those of the neighbors, and respect and acknowledge the eco-region where it is located -- wildland interface, limited access and high fire risk.

Earthling,
Obviously, there are deductibles - I am guessing that is what you mean - but $900,000 deductible for the tools, etc. destroyed? If that's so, if that's the kind of insurance they had, the Board should get rid of the management on the grounds of mismanagement, of not having sufficient insurance in such a high fire zone area.

And the lawyers are working "quid por (sic) quo" --- uh, what for what are they getting for the time they are putting in? Very unlikely, imho.

I went to the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden website and read their published financial documents. What I found is that many of Mr. Dell's facts are wrong. I encourage people to check the facts and not rely on the opinions of a blogger. Here is the link directly to the page http://www.sbbg.org/index.cfm?fuseaction...

The garden is even awarded Charity Navigator's 4-star rating. That rating is entirely based on financials. The garden and board have to be doing things right to earn top score.

As I understand it, the Charity Navigator rating is under suspicion, as are their financial reports. Don't be naive about the propaganda that is being dished out by Garden management. You are putting your faith in the wrong information. I should say, disinformation. Time will prove this to be so.

I heard a good one in Delhi recently (the city not the sandwich shop):

Reporter: Mr. Singh, your country is near the top of the list of most corrupt. What do you say about that?

Mr. Singh: Hmmm...How much would it cost to move us to the middle?

Really? Now you are putting Charity Navigator under suspicion? The documents posted on the website are the same ones turned in to the IRS. You have surpassed being slanderous to the point of being ridiculous.

I am not involved with the Botanic Garden and as such, I cannot verify nor deny the allegations of the author. That having been said, I would like to address another point.

Businesses cite the overall economic situation as impacting them from the top down, but when we address the economy as a whole, we have to look at the "Which came first, the chicken or the egg" approach. To put it another way, I think society needs to look at the problem as coming from the ground up.

How many times have we tried to call a "local" business only to have our call forwarded to some 1-800 number where you get an operator at some call center with 800,000,000 employees? Then you get the usual "To talk to so-and-so, press 7; of you're calling from a hot dog stand in New Jersey, press 9..."...you get the idea, then after waiting for eons while on hold, the call gets dropped and upon calling back, you get a different operator who has no idea what you're talking about or contradicts what the first one says, or puts you on hold for another 15 minutes.

Businesses on many levels have become very efficient at making sure that the people on top who make the big bucks distance themselves from the people who are supporting them, and then we wonder why people are stressed out and why communication is so bad and of course, why things just don't seem to work efficiently.

Let me put things in some perspective. The Botanic Garden is a publicly chartered non-profit institution. It is the right and obligation of the public to question the actions of those who run the Garden and to speak up when wrongdoing or mismanagement are either known or suspected. It is the obligation of Garden management to make public certain information as a matter of routine, something they are not doing at the present time in certain cases.

Many people who deeply love the Garden are very concerned about what is happening there, and are working hard to correct what we believe are serious deficiencies.

It is easy to hurl accusations from behind the anonymity of a user name. It is easy to jump to conclusions based on little or no real research or information. It is easy to let one's feelings take control when what is needed is rational inquiry.

I urge everyone who is interested in this matter to investigate for themselves what is going on. Don't believe me. Don't believe the others who feel the way I do. And don't believe the Botanic Garden management. Do your own homework. Think for yourselves. It is my belief that if you do so, you will be just as alarmed as many of us are.

It is your choice whether to truly look into this situation. I believe that time will prove that many if not all of the concerns I have expressed are legitimate. My goal, which is shared by many, many others, is to put our beloved Garden back on its proper footing, with the kind of excellent leadership it deserves.

I am open to any rational arguments from any side, provided they are backed by facts and not out of control emotion or insidious propaganda. I realize this is a very complex situation, and I understand that it's hard for the public to get a handle on what is really happening. I invite everyone who is passionate about the Garden to bring their best efforts to protecting it. Don't let anyone fool you. That is what this controversy is about.

Jizz some more facts...

The 2008 Charity Navigator CEO Compensation Survey found that the average executive salary among the charities it evaluates is $149,972. The CEO of Heifer has a listed salary of $236,881; the CEO of ACCION International, $210,000. While those are above average, both organizations are particularly large charities with significant assets. As a percentage of overall expenses, the CEO salaries are actually very low. (Of all nonprofits evaluated, the average CEO's salary made up 3.32 percent of expenses.

(So how much did the Garden spend and what percentage is the CEO salary of that amount?)

Total Revenue for Heifer I'ntl (in 2008 IRS form 8453) $130,865,507

ACCION Int'L Net 2007 Revenues: $324,892,693
(from their website)

What is the total revenue for the Gardens? (maybe my $120K offer is to high! I really want this job...)

FINANCE vs. LEADERSHIP QUALITIES:

Charity Navigator ratings are based on the latest 990 forms, meaning in the SBBG case the year 2007. Would you buy stocks or invest in a fund based on data from two years ago (on a 4-star rating system)? CEO salary is not taken into consideration in the ratings. However the Navigator's "Methodology" section recommends looking into the "business and management expertise" of the CEO, which would include leadership and team-building skills, along with the charity's "fiscal efficiency" when measured against "programmable goals." Clearly these factors are in the case at issue at least as important as achieving educational and scientific goals. Of course, donors and volunteers (not to mention the general public) are entitled to full details of financial planning and salary distributions (short of confidential personal information or immediate discussions about factors in hiring a particular person). The measurable effectiveness of a person's job performance is however subject to evaluation of input from other staff, volunteers or from the general public if such information is even solicited by management. It does not appear that performance ratings even from within the Garden were ever solicited about the effectiveness of the CEO, the more highly paid staff, or the Trustees.

Big Questions: Why to the Trustees fear an open "special meeting" with all the volunteers, or at least with the moratorium's three representatives? Would it not be worthwhile exploring the recent financial retrenchment problems, salary schedules in relation to job descriptions and performance, leadership skills, major hiring and construction decisions, as well as the long-term planning situation of the SBBG? Or are the Trustees all on vacation?
TelescopicFuturist

Thank you Owen Dell. Your generous contributions to the garden and the community in general, give you tremendous credibility in my eyes. Your willingness to speak out now, not just with a rant, but with extremely insightful questions, is greatly appreciated.
It's sad to see that the only real critics to your article are anonymous and unwilling to actually answer with any of the research time you've obviously put into your statements. It would be helpful to get a response from one of the principals of the Garden management team... but I guess that's too much to ask of such "busy" people.
Charles Svoboda - longtime "former" garden member

Wow, so nobody's done the math yet? SBBC has posted the Draft financial statement (fo discussion only) and baby is it red, fred! Somebody call an ambulance!

Looks like the total revenue for 2008 was $1,484,516 plus $464,615 released from a contribution in 2007. Total $1,949,131 to use for ops in 2008.

What did they actually spend you ask? $3,993,894 Damn these guys and gals should run for political office! (Oh that's right, one of them did and got arrested...)

Using the 3.5% formula from Charity Navigator, that would set the CEO salary at $68,219. Instead he pulled down a cool $200K at least plus all the Lotus flowers he could eat...

I know, I know SB is expensive, we can't even get a cop to work for $68K a year. Bummer.

The other big wowie was they lost over $ 4,400,000 in their investment portfolio. Looks like over 30% because it was in standard mutual funds and stocks which is kind of aggressive investing for a charity.

Ok, even I'm bored now...time for more Solstice partying Woo Hoo!

Seems like there is quite a bit of underhanded business going on at the Garden. What does it take to fire a CEO at a non-profit? You would think some journalist would dig in and try to get to the bottom of it.

While the Garden keeps most of the details of their budget and operations well hidden, we do know that the CEO receives well over $200,000 a year in salary when his free housing benefits are factored in. If he had been in the private sector he would have been long gone. Instead, even after year after year of squandering the endowment and mismanagement, it just goes on and on with no consequences. Paying top dollar for top talent and success is smart, but that is not the case here.

And it doesn't take too much digging turn up questionable information regarding the Garden's top management. For instance, I work with real estate records and after just a few minutes of checking of my sources makes me wonder what's up with the free housing allowance?

The Garden's CEO, Edward Schneider, already owns a Santa Barbara house on Ventura Drive with an assessed value of $793,897, according to the Santa Barbara public assessor records. Looks like he purchased the house in 2003. Additionally he takes the $7000 homeowner's exemption which is applicable only if the owner occupies it as his principal place of residence. None of it seems right.

In closing, I am very concerned that what the garden is doing is at best mis-management--at worst, outright fraud. I say fire the miscreants that cause the problem: Ed Schneider, V.P. Marketing, Nancy Johnson, V.P. Finance, Bob Sherwood. Basically Mr. Schneider's lackies and unqualified yes-men, and then let the SB gem shine again.

Schneider can be terminated by the Board of Directors at any time. Since he works under their control they are responsible for anything he does. But there are currently only 8 members of the board although the bylaws provide for 15. The board is inactive, dysfunctional and negligent in its duty to oversee Schneider. In such cases the State Attorney General's Office has the authority to step in and make necessary changes to save the organization from ruin. They will do so once the problem is brought to their attention by concerned citizens. Has anyone reported this situation to the AG's office yet?

Good point, Zorro. I think it's time to take action if it hasn't already happened with the AG. Do you think the Board of Directors know what is really going on at the garden? If so, that is far beyond being dysfunctional and negligent. It's no surprise that they are well below the number of members required by their own by-laws. Who on earth would sign on to such personal liability? Hopefully, when all has surfaced, the garden can go back to what it was meant to be: a community treasure.

Has anyone looked into the credentials of the top admin staff? For instance, my understanding is that the V.P. of Marketing (or whatever her title is now since it seems to change frequently), was also the V.P. of Development at one point with no experience with such. Apparently, she worked at a bookstore at one point and, ironically, with volunteers at another museum in town. Being a "yes man" sure pays well.

I'm for getting the AG involved ASAP. Anyone know how?

JohnLocke:

Anyone can file a complaint with the AG's Office, Charitable Trust Division, if they have information that a nonprofit organization is being abused.

A complaint form is posted on their website:

http://ag.ca.gov/charities.php