College board to appeal court ruling

The Coast Community College District board of trustees voted late Wednesday to appeal the latest court decision on KOCE-TV, after a public meeting in which a number of residents spoke in support of keeping the television station public.

During a closed session after their regular meeting, the members opted to appeal an appellate court ruling from last month, in which the judge said the district violated its own bidding rules by selling KOCE to the station’s foundation. The Daystar Television Network, a Christian broadcaster that operates stations across America, made a higher cash bid and sued shortly after the sale.

The trustees announced their latest decision after the closed session at about 11:15 p.m. on Wednesday. They will now try to have the case heard in California Supreme Court.

“We appraised it and determined we had a reasonable chance, so we decided to go for it,” trustee Jerry Patterson said.

In May, appellate court Judge David Sills ruled against the validity of the sale to the KOCE-TV Foundation but stopped short of ordering an immediate transfer of ownership to Daystar, saying that the district still had discretion not to sell KOCE. The foundation has already made an $8-million down payment to the district, and most of the money has been spent.

At Wednesday’s board meeting, Daystar attorney Richard Lloyd Sherman said his client has a right to own the station and offered the trustees a settlement. About half a dozen community members spoke in defense of KOCE at the meeting.

Afterward, Sherman dismissed the district’s plan to appeal.

“It’s a waste of time,” he said. “The likelihood of the Supreme Court even hearing this is remote. They will not be successful, and it will be a waste of time and further money from the taxpayers.”

Ardelle St. George, the general counsel for the KOCE-TV Foundation, and Milford Dahl, the attorney for the college district, could not be reached Thursday.