Earlier this year, as the City Colleges pondered how to trim expenses and balance its budget – an exercise that eventually lead to 58 layoffs – technicians at Kennedy-King College were installing a $166,000 robotic camera system in the upscale Sikia Restaurant.
The project, pushed by then-Chancellor Wayne Watson since mid-2008, culminated in an invite-only dinner in May that featured singer Terisa Griffin – and which was broadcast live on WYCC, the district’s PBS station.
The event also celebrated Watson, who was leaving the district.
The $166,000 included a high-end Sony HD camera, a pair of robotic camera controllers, and the cost of designing, engineering and installing the system.
Running the show and providing extra security in the campus parking lots for the event added several thousand more dollars to the bill.
In dozens of e-mails between district officials discussing the installation of the equipment and the planning of the May event, student involvement and educational benefits take a distant second place to meeting Watson’s expectations.
“The Chancellor voiced to me his expectation that we will conduct a new Sikia Grand Opening featuring the ‘live’ broadcast of (a) jazz singer,” wrote Chiaka Patterson, a planning director with the district, in an April e-mail.
She went on to say that a performance in May “always has been a goal the Chancellor expressed over the months.”
Last week, district officials said the expensive equipment was installed for the benefit of students.
It is being used weekly for the taping of WYCC’s “Sounds of Sikia” show.
Students gain experience operating the robotic cameras, which adds to their resumes, says Kiara Battle, the director of Kennedy-King’s media communications department.
But that doesn’t seem to have been the primary goal when the equipment was installed.
“The obvious goal of adding live entertainment to Sikia is to draw in more customers,” Patterson wrote in her April e-mail.
Arthur Wood, who is WYCC’s general manager, did not return a call seeking comment.
Watson, now the president of Chicago State University, declined to comment.
He says it would be “inappropriate” for him to talk about the City Colleges since he is no longer associated with the district.
This is not the first time WYCC has drawn attention for special programming linked to Watson.
Between 2004 and 2006, Watson directed WYCC to produce promotional videos for politicians, including former state Senate President Emil Jones.
The station’s former general manager said in a lawsuit this summer that she was fired in retaliation for opposing those plans.
Both the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Illinois Arts Council, which have given WYCC large grants, forbid their grant money from being used for political purposes.
If the money were found to have been misspent then it would have to be repaid, officials from those agencies have said.
The board of trustees approved up to $200,000 for video equipment and television cameras at its December 2008 meeting.
The outlays prompted no discussion from board members.
A one-page description of the spending does not specifically say why the equipment was needed, nor did it name Sikia or Kennedy-King College.
In an e-mail two weeks after that meeting, Patterson wrote to several WYCC officials that, with approval in hand, “there is a need to quickly refine and nail down the scope and cost of this project.”
Diane Minor, the vice chancellor in charge of the district’s facilities, said last week the installation gives broadcast students a broader range of experience.
“It’s a part of the syllabus or the training program for students to learn off-site or live taping, as well as the programming for WYCC,” she says.