SANTA ANA – Rancho Santiago Community College District will continue its consulting agreement with two Saudi Arabia technical colleges despite opposition from some faculty members who say the deal violates the district’s values of equality and tolerance.

Chancellor Raúl Rodriguez said during Monday’s board of trustees meeting that working with the Saudi campuses does not mean the district, which operates Santiago Canyon College and Santa Ana College, endorses the Arab government’s record on human rights.

“I personally find a lot of the things that I’ve read about – they’re horrible, even barbaric by our standards,” he said. “At the same time, I’m an educator. We can, in a small way, contribute to helping set the conditions in that country for change.”

About 10 professors and other employees demanded during the meeting that trustees cancel the estimated $105 million deal to improve and restructure the two Saudi government-run schools. Faculty from Santiago Canyon College also presented a resolution from the campus’ Academic Senate calling for the district to dissolve the deal.

The U.S State Department and several human rights groups have described Saudi Arabia as promoting pervasive restrictions on universal rights such as freedom of expression, a lack of equal rights for women, and discriminatory practices against gays and non-Muslims, especially those of Jewish heritage.

“They are not passive racists over there; they are aggressive racists. They are very aggressive homo-phobics. They are very aggressive anti-Semites,” said George Wright, a criminal justice professor at Santa Ana College.

There was no formal action scheduled Monday on the three-year contract. The deal had not required the board’s approval because it was made earlier through the district’s fundraising foundation.

Opponents said trustees ultimately have the power to cancel the contract if they choose to, even if it was negotiated through the foundation.

They hoped trustees would bring up the contract for further discussion at a future meeting. Some trustees recommended the contract be more accessible for the public to review and asked some logistical questions, but none of the five trustees indicated direct opposition.

“This agreement violates the district’s nondiscrimination policy,” said Morrie Barembaum, an astronomy professor at Santiago Canyon College. “This is too important of an issue for us not to continue debating and asking more questions.”

Starting this fall, the district will revamp the Saudi schools’ curriculum, train teachers and strengthen other infrastructure. Rodriguez said the district hopes to earn an 8 percent profit from the deal after covering expenses.

The chancellor pointed to a growing number of Western colleges and universities that work with Arab countries.

Barry Resnick, president of the district’s faculty association, said there is no guarantee the deal would be profitable, making the risk not worth the reward.

“The biggest concern, however, and most alarming fact is the liability for those traveling to Saudi Arabia as representatives of colleges of North America,” he said, referring to the U.S. State Department’s travel advisory issued last year warning that ISIS and Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula are targeting Western interests, including schools.

The chancellor said most consultants will be Arabic-speaking contractors hired from Middle Eastern countries. Only a handful of Orange County employees will be directly involved in the daily operations.

The district hopes to land similar contracts, especially in developing nations that want to strengthen their education systems.

“We’d love to go to a place like France. But they don’t need us,” he said. “Countries that need our assistance tend to have a lot of problems.”

Contact the writer: 714-704-3773 or fleal@ocregister.com