Parking revenues doubled in the year after the arrest of former SRJC District Police Officer Jeffrey Holzworth, who pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges on April 2.
According to Kate Jolley, the director of fiscal services, in the last 12 months Holzworth was in charge he collected $215,805 of parking revenue. In the year after his arrest, officers collected $428,554, nearly twice as much.
Holzworth retired one day before a law took effect that would have disqualified him from receiving a pension from the school because of his crimes. Holzworth’s sentencing is scheduled for May 29. Joe Passalacqua, his attorney, plans to ask for probation.
“It’s pretty tragic,” said Omar Paz Jr., SRJC student body president. “I would expect that the amount he stole should be taken out of his pension.” Paz said Holzworth made a “really poor decision, and a horrible move as a parent.”
Thor Olsen, vice president of advocacy, said Holzworth’s actions “have been absolutely immature and completely unacceptable.”
Doug Roberts, vice president of business and finance, added that many factors could be involved in the increase in parking revenue. These include more available parking spaces, stricter parking enforcement and an increase in students, among others.
An increase in student enrollment could account for an increase in parking receipts, but enrollment has been declining in the last few years. According to the Office of Institutional Research, total enrollment in 2013 was 26,833 students compared to 28,038 in 2012, a drop of over 1,200. In 2011, there were 31,630 SRJC students, nearly 3,600 more than in 2012.
SRJC Chief of Police Matt McCaffrey said that the increase is a significant amount, and that it “is really good news.” McCaffrey said the SRJC District Police tries to live within its budget and hadn’t yet made plans for the revenue increase. McCaffrey added that some infrastructure to make the school more safe and secure could be looked at now.
McCaffrey said the police took immediate steps to ensure thefts of this nature would never happen again. New rules require two employees to collect revenue together. New parking machines that are “100 percent accountable,” according to McCaffrey, are being phased in. Nine such machines are in place now and more are being added in the near future. Receipts from these machines will be completely monitored and accurately matched to deposits.
McCaffrey said it is important for students and staff at the college to know that if they are paying money to the school, that money is being used to improve the school.
