DANVILLE — Community members filled the room during Thursday’s Danville Area Community College Board meeting.
Prior to the meeting, DACC President Dr. Randy Fletcher sent out a media release stating the college is cooperating with the state on an investigation into the possible misappropriation of funds and more.
The former college president, Stephen Nacco, calls the allegations a “farce.” Nacco was the college president during the years under investigation.
The state is investigating whether there was misappropriation of Adult Education funds, false test scores, and grant performance reports for incidents alleged to have occurred between 2022 and 2025.
Nacco said Dr. Carl Bridges, Dean Terry Goodwin, and Deonta Brooks all resigned under duress with the threat of being fired. And he said Adult Education Director, Chantelle Savage-Bryant, as well as DACC’s Barbershop instructor, Trerry Gourd, resigned in protest of charges brought against his supervisor, Savage-Bryant, according to Nacco.
“Fletcher’s running DACC into the ground by blowing up the budget, jacking up tuition and fees with the biggest increase since 2017, and trying to destroy the reputations of anyone who refuses to bend a knee to him,” Nacco said.
Tuition increased by $10 per credit hour, or about $360-480 per semester for a full-time student, he says.
Nacco sent a copy of an email from Fletcher, which states that Dr. Carl Bridges was redirected to a new role at DACC on January 28, which was to be held until May 31, 2027.
College officials released a statement regarding an investigation on Monday, which you can read in full in Tuesday’s edition of the Commercial-News.
After the information was released, the Commercial-News sent a Freedom of Information Act request to college administrators for more information on the investigation and the educators in question. The school’s response was “it’s an ongoing investigation, and Dr. Fletcher will send a media announcement when or if there is anything to report.”
Furthermore, the college said it will not release any information out of respect for all parties involved.
During the board meeting on Thursday evening, several people spoke out during the public comment section. Jeff Nardoni, a member of the community, spoke out during the meeting and to the Commercial-News following the meeting.
Nardoni said in part directed toward Fletcher, “since you arrived, this institution has lost experienced leaders, long-serving employees have been pushed out, three department heads have been suspended, and the provost who kept this place running and was a representative of the faculty and students of this institution has been removed and relocated to Chicago.”
Nardoni said the policy requiring trustees to notify the president before speaking to employees is not “standard.”
Long-time contributor to the community, Sybil Mervis, has a Letter to the Editor that can be found on Page 4 of today’s Commercial-News.
The Illinois Community College Board was contacted, and Chief of Staff Matt Berry released the following:
“The Illinois Community College Board has received information from DACC of possible grant funding irregularities and is in a period of formal review to determine whether DACC is carrying out activities in alignment with their approved scope of work, meeting performance expectations, and using public funding in a manner that is aligned with the approved grant.”