SANTA ANA, Calif.–The Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) has sent a letter to SchoolsFirst FCU to take action within the next 90 days to bring greater diversity to its board by replacing at least six members with people of color.
In a letter sent to SchoolsFirst CEO Bill Cheney on July 12, the RSCCD said it has been a “partner” with the credit union since its establishment in 1934 and that it values its relationship with SchoolsFirst, and as such stated it hopes “you are open to hearing of the district's concern relating to diversity on the SchoolsFirst Board of Directors.”
The issue of the make-up of the board at the $25.2-billion SchoolsFirst FCU is not a new one, although the credit union said it has taken steps to add people of color to its board, including naming Doug Sato to a board seat, and naming Nina Boyd and Richard De Nava as associate directors.
As CUToday.info reported here, in 2020 a long-time member of the credit union, Dr. Barry Resnick, published an opinion piece on a local news and community website claiming the CU’s board has created an “exclusive private club” and has made it “nearly impossible for anyone to serve.”
The piece further alleged the board lacks any diversity, especially for a CU of its size. SchoolsFirst has more than 1.1-million members.
In the posting, under the headline “Schools First…Diversity Last,” Resnick suggested that while the demographics of Orange County, Calif., have changed, the board of directors of its largest financial institution have not.
Credit Union’s Response
In response, a letter from the credit union’s attorney provided to CUToday.info stressed SchoolsFirst safety and soundness, stated the op-ed lacked “understanding” about the credit union’s primary “mission,” and that it has recently added a statement to its website in support of diversity.
SchoolsFirst does include a statement on its website regarding its “promise” around diversity, equity and inclusion.
The president of the Orange County, Calif., branch of the NAACP has also asked SchoolsFirst Credit Union to make changes to its board of directors and its board election processes.
Letter to Credit Union
In its recent letter, the Rancho Santiago Community College District wrote, “Under the guidance of its Board of Trustees, RSCCD has a longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. RSCCD promotes diversity, equity and inclusion through our projects, curriculum and programs which assist our diverse student population to achieve their goals. The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was recently established with a primary focus to develop and build a more inclusive organization and espouse these core values. Our district has the expectation that our community partners share these values.
“We commend SchoolsFirst FCU on the diversity that exists in its employee population, but are disappointed that their Board of Directors does not represent the demographics of the communities they serve. The recent appointments of members to the Board of Directors who are of color was a first step, but it is discouraging that they are not full board members with voting rights.”
The letter goes on to state that it believes vendors and partners of the Rancho Santiago Community College District should have governing boards or leadership that represent the communities the district serves.
‘Take Decisive Steps’
“We request that SchoolsFirst FCU take decisive steps within the next 90 days to correct the lack of diversity on its Board of Directors by replacing six current members with members of color (including Asian, African American and Hispanic) who have complete rights and authority,” the letter states. “We look forward to hearing from SchoolsFirst FCU in response to this letter and our request to address this critical flaw in its leadership structure.”
The letter was signed by members of the RSCCD Board of Trustees.
SchoolsFirst FCU declined to comment when contacted by CUToday.info.