What initially started as a wrongful termination allegation has now spiraled into a
nearly two-decade-long discourse between Gregory Rees and the Chabot Las Positas
Community College District (CLPCCD).

Gregory Rees, former Chabot College Campus Security Officer, and his colleague,
Gregory Correa, former Chabot College Maintenance Technician, shared their experience through the ongoing conflict in an interview with The Spectator.

The offices of Vice Chancellor of Human Resources, Wyman Fong, and the
Chancellor of the District Ron Gerhard were contacted, however, they declined to comment as they are “unable to comment on personnel matters.” The district provided a 20-page partially redacted document from November of 2023, the latest public record available, in lieu of commenting.

While the document is redacted to protect Rees’ privacy, it addresses several
allegations made by Rees in regard to different CLPCCD Board of Trustees members.
Rees and Correa presented 25 documents detailing various incidents that are alleged to
have occurred involving both current and former Trustees and Chabot employees.

In addition to his role as Camus Security Officer, Rees also claims he acted as the
district’s internal affairs investigator at times. During our interview, he stated, “It was my
responsibility to make sure all of our local and district rules were obeyed and followed,
particularly when it came to accounting procedure and so on.”

In its public record, the district confirms Rees’ employment, stating, “Rees was hired as
a temporary short-term Security Officer in 1987, a position that was renewed annually until he was given a permanent position as Security Officer in 1992.”

The following paragraph was redacted, but the document goes on to state, “Rees was
reclassified as a Business Services Officer in 1995.”

Rees disputes this statement, claiming that he was approved as a full-time employee
before 1989. He also noted that he was on duty during the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989.

Another one of Rees’ claims is that he is owed three reimbursement checks in the
amount of $1400 each. He claims that two of these checks were in Wyman Fong’s
possession, and the third was in Ron Gerhard’s possession.

To receive these checks, Rees was allegedly presented with a 19-point document in
which he was to agree to all 19 conditions to receive these checks. This document was
claimed to have been presented to him by former interim Chancellor Susan Cota.

According to Rees, “When [Cota] had returned as interim chancellor, she apparently
drafted this 19-point document and then assigned brand new Vice Chancellor of Business Services at that time, Ron Gerhard, to present that document to me along with the check.”

He stated, “To receive that check, I had to acknowledge those 19 points,
initial each one, and then sign and date the bottom. One of the points that was made is that I had never been wrongfully terminated.”

Chancellor Ron Gerhard’s office responded to a request to comment on this claim
saying they were unable to comment on personnel matters.

The district provided a public record listing 23 allegations made by Rees. Allegations 7 through 10 address checks totaling $4,200 that Rees claims he was due.
These allegations date back to February 2009, which is well beyond any statute of
limitations.”

The document further addressed the allegations, stating, “[Rees and Correa] also
allege Penal Code violations that would have been within the jurisdiction of law enforcement authorities to address. [These allegations] do not concern issues within the Board’s authority.”

Though the district claims that Rees’ complaint is beyond the statute of limitations,
they neither confirmed nor denied the presentation of a 19-point document to Rees.

Another significant incident that Rees and Correa discussed was an alleged assault
by Chabot College Vice President of Administrative Services Dale Wagoner. Correa claims to be a witness to the alleged assault that happened on Dec. 6, 2006.

Rees alleges that during a conversation with MacGreagor Wright and Jack Bishop immediately outside of the former Campus Safety office, Wagoner came in and assaulted him. Unbeknownst to the two other alleged witnesses, Correa also witnessed the incident.

Correa stated in the interview that “l saw that event. I had heard there was something
going on. I heard [Wagoner], that’s what I first heard. And instead of going out and looking, the doors are right there, I just leaned back and looked.”

He continued to share, “I go, why is Greg being pinned? And [Wagoner] is over him,
and pushed him maybe six feet backward.”

Rees and Correa both claim that there was no formal investigation done by Chabot
or the district. However, Rees did end up filing a police report with Hayward Police
Department.

Before Rees filed a police report, Wright, who was serving as the Director of Campus
Safety at the time, according to Rees, declined to provide a witness statement. Unfortunately, Bishop, a retired and now deceased Campus Security Officer, declined to provide a witness statement as well.

When asked for comment on the situation, Wagoner stated, “Mr. Rees’s claims are
totally fallacious. Never touched him…the interaction where he claimed the assault was all
verbal, and voices were not raised, it was matter of fact dialogue, nothing more.”

The district’s response to these claims is, “Allegations 21 and 22 relate to an alleged
assault by a District manager [Wagoner] against Rees. This is a reference to an incident that occurred in December 2006. Rees’s assault allegation was investigated by the Hayward Police Department; the Alameda County District Attorney decided not to prosecute.”

The following few sentences were redacted, but the last sentence in the paragraph
states, “These allegations also do not concern issues within the Board’s authority.”

Another claim by Rees is that his wife, Sandi Perry-Rees, was sexually harassed. Rees claims that Perry-Rees had been called his “warmongering whore wife,” by Rees’
former supervisor, Vice President Farhad Javaharipour, of Chabot College Business
Services.

Rees claims that there was another witness during this incident as well who is unavailable to comment due to health concerns.

The district addressed this claim in the document, stating, “Allegation 18 relates to
alleged sexual harassment of Rees’s wife ‘years ago’ – again, beyond any relevant statute of limitation. They also do not concern issues within the Board’s authority.”

Rees and Correa have attended countless board meetings to address these
incidents and claim to possess substantial evidence in support of their several grievances.

Despite citing potential violations of specific board policies and federal laws, the board
maintains a firm position regarding its lack of authority in Rees’ and Correa’s claims.

Rees’ final statements in our interview were about his intentions with the district
moving forward. “Until an injustice has been properly satisfied and justice has been served, I’m not going anywhere. At some point in time, the district is going to have to honor my request.”

He continued to state, “I’m investigating everybody and anything that has to do with
me, mine, and so on. One way or another, this is going to get taken care of.”

Correa plans to call for a federal investigation. He also stated, “I’ll never leave [Rees’]
side, because [the district] knows that we’re right. They just can’t face the truth, and the truth will set you free, and I’m free.”

The district’s final statement in its provided document states, “For years, Rees and Mr. Correa have appeared at the Board’s monthly public meetings making appeals for justice that have been laced with accusations, finger-pointing, and occasional profanity. Rees’s right to Free Speech is unquestioned, but the efficacy of monthly, vituperative attacks on Trustees over stale claims those Trustees were not even involved in, and that the District had no opportunity to defend, is elusive.”

Rees responded to this statement by stating, “I have not used profanity in my Public
Comments other than to accurately describe incidents. It is also my First Amendment right. I took the time to conduct some research with CA School Board Trustee Associations. The bottom line is that per their legal counsel and court rulings, we can criticize any district employee or trustee. No matter how harsh that criticism is or described.“

As the outcome regarding Rees and Correa’s demands for justice is uncertain, it
appears that both sides are holding firm on their positions in this dispute.