Montgomery College’s board of trustees will meet Thursday to decide the fate of embattled college President Brian K. Johnson.
Faculty and staff have revolted against Johnson, accusing him of abandoning Maryland’s largest community college for lavish junkets around the world. First reported by The Washington Post on Wednesday, Johnson’s enemies have stuffed a clip file of what they’re calling outrageous expenses, from a $4,000-plus hotel bill in Delhi, India, to a $780 limousine ride in Boston. Since 2007, Johnson has billed the taxpayer-funded college for nearly $60,000 in expenses. The school pays him a $220,000 annual salary.
Through a spokesman, Johnson declined comment Wednesday. He issued a statement to co-workers last week — after the faculty senate passed a “no confidence” measure — saying he was “focused on our students.”
His cause wasn’t helped when his opponents found out about a bench warrant, issued for Johnson by an Arizona court last year, for failing to pay some $12,000 in child support. The Post reported that Johnson had paid the back child support, but the Maryland Politics Watch Web site quoted the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office as saying the warrant still stood. The warrant stems from a 1998 paternity suit filed by a woman named Apryl Hunter, who said she bore Johnson’s child.
Maricopa County officials could not be reached Wednesday.
Montgomery College enrolls some 60,000 students and is generally regarded as one of the region’s best community colleges.
