A parliamentary feud continues to unfold within the board of Rancho Santiago Community College District, where earlier this week the trustees dropped an ad hoc committee’s recommendation to remove Phil Yarbrough from his board president post.
That decision came in the early hours of Tuesday, July 14, following public opposition and after more than an hour of back-and-forth bickering and confusion among the trustees. At one point, Santa Ana city attorney Sonia Carvalho — who was brought in to advise the board on process and procedure — stepped in to mediate the dispute.
RSCCD board policy allows a trustee to face sanctions, including removal from their position through a majority vote, if found to violate the board’s code of ethics or standards of practice.
Yarbrough, who was previously chosen by his colleagues to serve the as the board president for the year was also appointed by the board to lead the district’s executive board and chair of both the fiscal/audit review committee and the policy committee through the end of December, was accused of violating board policy by failing to comply with official board directives and by engaging in conduct described in a staff report as “inconsistent with the ethical obligations and governance standards expected of a board officer.”
The board president called the allegations “trumped up” and “completely unfounded,” and said he had received no constructive notice of specific violations. He also said no one from the committee, district administration or district counsel contacted him to review or clarify the factual basis for the findings before the report was finalized and placed on Tuesday’s agenda.
Yarbrough encouraged his colleagues earlier this year to consider disciplinary actions for Chancellor Marvin Martinez, and the district’s top administrator was the subject of a performance evaluation review by an ad hoc committee formed April 13, which was spearheaded by Yarbrough.
“I’ve got a job to do there,” Yarbrough said. “We’ve got a forensic audit that says that there were these financial violations, and no one on staff has been held accountable.”
The March 2025 forensic audit had identified a $7 million off-the-books insurance rebate fund dating back to 1997 reportedly kept from trustees and other district officials over the years, which Yarbrough alleged Martinez was complicit in. The audit said that, although there was no evidence money had been misspent, district administrators may have violated state and local regulations over several years by not including the rebates, which were held by the insurance company for the district, in yearly budgets or audits. The fund was created prior to Martinez working at the district.
“I tried to hold the chancellor accountable for a financial misappropriation of funds that was released in a forensic audit over a year and a half ago. He doesn’t like the fact that I brought him up for discussion regarding the financial fraud he was involved in. He’s been going against me ever since,” Yarbrough said in a phone call earlier this week.
Two weeks after the performance review committee was launched in April, Martinez filed a written complaint alleging “discrimination, harassment, and due process violations” by Yarbrough, which Martinez said arose from employment and governance-related matters. On April 27, the same day the complaint was discussed in closed session, the Board of Trustees removed Yarbrough from the ad hoc committee, deferring responsibilities to Board Vice President Tina Arias Miller to avoid a conflict of interest.
Arias Miller then appointed an ad hoc committee — which she also served on, along with trustees John Hanna and David Crockett — to review allegations filed, receive information from those involved, and make recommendations to the full board.
The ad hoc committee reviewing the allegations raised by Martinez outlined six broad categories of alleged misconduct by Yarbrough that may have violated the board’s ethics policy, though no details on the specific actions related to those claims were provided. It was recommended that the board on Tuesday accept those findings, remove Yarbrough from his leadership roles, and direct the board to elect a successor board president at the same meeting.
Representatives from Los Amigos of Orange County, the Los Amigos Education Committee, and the faculty association FARCID urged the board to take more time to consider the recommendation to remove Yarbrough, voicing concerns over what they called a lack of due process, transparency, and disclosure of evidence.
“To act so swiftly, absent any proven malfeasance or violation of law, would smell to the public as pure retribution for the board president’s vigilance in pushing full accountability and responsibility on the troublesome administrative leadership of the Chancellor’s Office and the colleges,” Jose F. Moreno, president of Los Amigos of Orange County, said in a July 12 letter to the board.
One public speaker told the board they would be setting a dangerous precedent.
“Does this board have no oversight, no backbone? (The chancellor) works for you,” said Sammy Rodriguez. “This is a power play. You guys have set a dangerous precedent here, and you’re gonna have to live with it.”
Trustee Hanna said there were a lot of facts that members of the public weren’t aware of, adding that while he considers Yarbrough a friend, there had been situations where the board president “defied the board’s direction.” Arias Miller also pushed back against comments that Yarbrough was blindsided, saying she met with him twice and gave him five days to review the ad hoc report, to which Yarbrough argued “a phone call from one trustee” did not equal formal notice from the full board.
Questions emailed directly this week to Martinez about the forensic audit, his April complaint, and his ability to work with Yarbrough were referred to a district spokesperson, who said the district does not comment on confidential personnel matters, complaints or matters discussed in closed session. “RSCCD remains focused on serving our students and communities and on the continued work of Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College. Chancellor Martinez will continue to work with the Board of Trustees in support of the district’s mission and operations.”