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Sunday, August 31, 1997

Park board director resigns amid controversy over lack of college degree

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) -- The director of Galveston's Park Board has resigned amid controversy over his lack of a college degree.

George Van Etten came under fire last week for, among other things, not having a college degree, which was listed as a requirement for the job he won in May over more than 200 other applicants.

On Thursday afternoon, Van Etten handed a resignation letter to board Chairman John Knust. Hours later, at the urging of Knust and other trustees, Van Etten withdrew his resignation.

Knust and at least three of the other eight trustees said they wanted to keep Van Etten despite any possible discrepancies or misrepresentations in his personnel records.

The second resignation came after a Friday morning meeting of Knust, trustee Raymond Lewis Jr. and the board's attorney, Dan Vaughn.

Galveston County Sheriff Joe Max Taylor last week told the board about Van Etten's lack of a degree. Lewis said that he had come away from the hiring process thinking Van Etten had a degree.

Trustees referred all questions about the second resignation to Vaughn, who refused to say what new information was presented that prompted Van Etten to quit again.

Van Etten did not immediately return a call by The Associated Press to his home on Saturday.

On a copy of his job application released last week, Van Etten listed "4" under the heading "year completed" in describing his college background.

Van Etten had quit Sam Houston State University in 1975 before finishing a degree in political science.

Before taking the $67,000-a-year park board job, Van Etten managed three Galveston hotels and several restaurants for developer George Mitchell. He was replaced when a management firm took over those operations in 1996.

Information also surfaced last week that Van Etten listed a vacant downtown Galveston building as his address on voter registration records for three years until election officials challenged it.

Park Board Special Events Coordinator Lou Muller has been named acting executive director.