Tempest in a Teapot - last chapter (I hope!)

Back in September, I posted about our local scandal concerning the firing of our college president in a dramatic way.  He asked for a formal hearing, before a judge, which was in October.  It lasted 4 days.  I did not go, but a friend who is a retired faculty member did go for all 4 days.  He reported back that, based on what he heard, he was unsure how the judge would rule, so we were all on pins and needles concerning this, awaiting the judge's official report. 

The report was released last Friday.  It was 38 pages, and officially on the public record, so the University sent electronic copies to all faculty and staff.  I printed it and read it.  It was surprisingly clear and easy to read.

Oh, my!  What a pull-no-punches report!  It was in 2 parts, the "facts" part and the "conclusions of law" part.  Evidently, there was written evidence, including University emails, that were not presented orally at the hearing, so my friend did not hear them.  But, the judge went through the whole of it in great detail.  Conclusions:  Several people broke the law, others were lax in their duty, and the whole thing was at the direction and/or pressure of the president.  The judge found the president guilty in other matters, as well, and the conclusion was that the Chancellor was fully justified in firing him.  Now, all that is lacking is for the state board to put their seal of approval on the whole thing, which is expected soon. 

The president would have been gone in any case.  The thing to be decide was if the University would have had to buy out the remaining time of his contract or not.  NOT, as it turns out, which will save the school a lot of money.  So, that's great news!  There have been some budget cuts this fall due to the fact that we were paying 2 presidents. The soon-to-be-former president may file a law suit, but given this report, I don't think he has a leg to stand on. 

Now the question is...what happens with the other people in the report that the judge says broke the law? 
Charged?  Fired?  There is one faculty member, one long-time staff member, and one administrator that were cited -- as far as I can tell, all good people who knuckled under pressure.  

Here's a lesson for all of us.  Let our internal moral compass always be our guide.  Those skeletons in the closet can come back to life.