Less than a month after the College of Santa Fe officially closed, 18 former faculty members are suing the college, its president, two former presidents and members of the board of trustees, including 10 Christian Brothers, claiming fraudulent misrepresentation, breach of contract and related claims.

According to the lawsuit, the board signed off on deficit spending by the college's presidents and "closed its eyes to the obvious ongoing financial destruction of CSF."

In a complaint that repeatedly describes the defendants' actions as "willful, wanton and reckless," former faculty also detail how they believe that President Stuart Kirk and the board misrepresented the school's financial condition to gain control over them, forcing them to surrender tenure, or hope of tenure, and to accept pay cuts.

They are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as well as costs.

While most of the college's property is encumbered with debt, it does own some assets of value — equipment, etc. — and an entity called the Christian Brothers Risk Pooling Trust insures its directors and officers in the event of litigation.

The insurance money is the target of the suit.

The former faculty members who filed the complaint say they are angry, but that's not what motivated them to sue.

"This isn't about revenge," said Richard Bank, a professor of politics who was at the college for 17 years. "It's about being lied to, being excluded, having our expertise disrespected."

The plaintiffs, he said, are demanding accountability from those who "destroyed people's lives and careers."

While some former faculty have found positions elsewhere, many others are collecting unemployment. "We don't have jobs, (board members) do. We are facing life without health insurance and few prospects of employment. Board members are set for life. We were doing our jobs. They weren't," he said.

William Arland, the attorney representing the college, declined to comment on the case, saying he only received it Tuesday morning.

He did say that he is disappointed that the plaintiffs did not wait until the conclusion of ongoing discussions about the campus involving the city, which is considering issuing bonds to buy the property, and the for-profit Laureate Education Inc., which is interested in running an arts program there. But, he said, "You have to roll with the punches."

Debra Epstein, a spokeswoman for Laureate, said, "We're carefully reviewing the lawsuit filing and it is premature to comment."

David Chase, the chairman of the CSF board, said the college might have a statement today.

Stephen Tinkler, the attorney representing the faculty, acknowledged that Arland asked for a delay in the suit, but said he twice tried to interest the board in mediation to avoid the litigation, but, "they had no interest in dialogue with the faculty."

According to the lawsuit, when former CSF President Jim Fries resigned before the fall semester of 2000, the college was operating within its budget and its long-term debt totaled about $5 million. But by the time Linda Hanson, his successor, left the job, long-term debt had increased to about $19 million — and there was no "adequate independent financial analysis." During the tenure of Mark Lombardi, long-term debt jumped to $30 million — and enrollment continued declining. When Kirk became president in 2007, the suit says, the board approved increasing debt to about $40 million.

Over the next two years, the message was constantly changing, according to the complaint. Significant cost-cutting began in the fall of 2007, but by early 2008 the board was reassuring faculty that financial conditions had improved. They promised to authorize a forensic audit but never approved one.

By the summer of 2008, Kirk and the board were saying that the college would go bankrupt unless the sale to Laureate was completed. And to ensure that it did, faculty would have to give up tenure (a virtual promise of lifetime employment) and accept a new faculty handbook, one that granted the board the right to terminate their contracts upon declaration of a "financial emergency." The faculty agreed and signed new contracts pledging to be bound by the new handbook.

Months later, Kirk and the board announced the sale of CSF to Laureate was not going to happen, but they refused to reinstate tenure or the earlier faculty handbook, the lawsuit says.

Next, the faculty heard that the acquisition of CSF by New Mexico Highlands University was proceeding and their jobs were safe. But on Feb. 18, the complaint says, Kirk told them that the purchase of the property was delayed and the college would not be able to continue operations through the spring semester unless they accepted pay reductions. A financial emergency was declared with the board authorizing Kirk to terminate all faculty contracts and implement a pay cut.

Faculty say that they were also told initially that they would be eligible to extend their health-insurance coverage for an additional 18 months under COBRA after the school closed, but a month later were notified that there would be no active health plan under which to continue these provisions.

Tinkler said the theory of the case is simple at one level. Because the plaintiffs didn't do their job, the school was rendered insolvent. And because it became insolvent, it breached the contracts of its employees.

He compared the situation to the nation's recent economic meltdown. Like U.S. institutions and individuals, CSF borrowed against its assets, planning to pay the money back later when rising enrollment would produce higher revenues from tuition. But, Tinkler said, "Later came and (the college) didn't have the money."

And, he added, if your plan was to pay bills by increasing enrollment, "Don't you think it would be a good idea to hire someone who knows how to increase enrollment?" CSF hired no one for that job, he said.

The faculty's case, however, will be a difficult one, Tinkler admitted. There are no appellate cases similar to it in New Mexico.

But Bank, who was a faculty representative on the board, claims that they can prove that, at least in the last two years, "They've just lied — to us, to students to parents."

Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@sfnewmexican.com.