Former Teacher at Weld-Led School Alleges Abuses
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

ALBANY – A former teacher at a Kentucky vocational school headed by William Weld is looking to derail the former Massachusetts governor’s bid to run for office in New York over alleged fraud at the Louisville-based school.
The Boston Herald reported earlier this month that Decker College, a for-profit school that provides training for electricians, carpenters, and specialists in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, is under investigation by an accreditation organization following complaints by students that it did not deliver on job placement and training promises.
Mr. Weld, who announced last week he will be seeking the Republican nomination for governor of New York, has worked as chief executive officer of the college since early January in his capacity as a partner with the private-equity firm Leeds Weld and Company. The firm, which specializes in educational investments and boasts Mayor Giuliani as chairman of its board of advisers, is a minority shareholder in Decker.
Yesterday, the teacher, Brian Vandenburg, told The New York Sun that before he was fired in July 2004, he was asked by college officials to stage a carpentry class while a team of evaluators toured the school. Mr. Vandenburg also charged that the school attracts prospective students with false information about its job placement and its impact on future wages.
“I think that no. 1, they are taking advantage of people that can’t afford to be taken advantage of,” Mr. Vandenburg said. “And there’s nothing I can see showing that it provides a valid education, that it provides the income they are claiming. … William Weld is turning around and wanting to be governor of New York, and he’s got this looming over his head.”
A spokesman for the attorney general of Kentucky, Vicky Glass, said the state’s Board of Proprietary Education recently completed an investigation into the charges of eight former students at Decker.
The school’s general counsel, B. Russell Hensley, said he was not aware of any such investigation.
Mr. Hensley characterized Mr. Vandenburg as a disgruntled former employee looking to get back at the school for firing him. He said Decker has a suit pending in Kentucky Circuit Court against the former teacher for trying to recruit students to a union-backed apprenticeship program while he was employed by the school.
“Mr. Vandenburg was an instructor who was fired, and not only was he fired, but we had to file a suit against him for intentionally interfering with a business relationship,” Mr. Hensley said. “He was essentially soliciting students from within to leave the school.”