Karen Lorenz, an employee at the center for 15 years, lost her job toward the end of last year for reasons the center maintains were "strictly financial." But Lorenz believes her termination was fueled by the rocky working relationship she had with the executive director. And now some of Lorenz's loyal followers including two other employees who quit as a result have withdrawn their support from the center as a way to protest the decision.

Over the past several weeks, the Saratoga News has received a handful of calls from concerned residents whose loved ones participate in the adult care center. One prominent issue for them is whether the center is equipped to handle the number of participants while operating with a reduced staff.

"The program is not only up and functioning but shows some improvement. There hasn't been any curtailment of the program whatsoever," said David Elgart, president of the board of directors for the Saratoga Area Senior Coordinating Council (SASCC).

According to Lorenz, she walked into work as usual on Nov. 19, 2002, only to learn that the board of directors had decided to eliminate her position. Without prior notice, Lorenz said, the center offered her a check for two weeks' pay, but she refused it and walked out without packing up her belongings.

Lorenz claims the board's decision was the doing of Executive Director Sean O'Leary. O'Leary has repeatedly declined to comment on the personnel issue and would neither deny nor confirm the allegations.

According to Lorenz, conflict arose when she made known her opposition to the city's plans to relocate the senior center to a new facility on Prospect Road that the city had acquired last year. Lorenz said she opposed the move, but O'Leary supported it.

While Lorenz alleges the decision to terminate her position was political, Elgart insists the position was eliminated due to budgetary constraints. "It was very necessary," he said, explaining that the center was running a deficit in the overall operation and needed to eliminate one of its two full-time positions.

According to O'Leary, during the 2000-01 fiscal year, the center was operating with a deficit of $98,000, and last fiscal year it was $90,000 in the red. The center has managed to reduce operational costs somewhat this fiscal year, he said, but even with the elimination of one full-time position, the center continues to operate with a $70,000 deficit. "We've slowed the bleeding is all we've done," he said.

Not everyone is convinced, however, that Lorenz's dismissal was the appropriate solution. About one month after Lorenz left, Sue Alvey turned in her resignation as the center's only part-time social worker.

"I didn't agree with the way the decision to terminate Lorenz's position was handled by the board and the executive director," she said as her reason for quitting.

After Alvey, others followed suit in withdrawing support from the center. In January, Saratoga residents Ilena and Ken Sternberg called off their annual spaghetti dinner, an event that has raised an estimated $10,000 for the center over the years, according to Ilena Sternberg. She said the couple cancelled the dinner this year to show that they are unhappy with the board's decision.

A letter apparently signed by O'Leary that Sternberg submitted to the Saratoga News reads, "We understand that you are disappointed with the tough decisions that our board of directors have made recently, and we regret to lose this event. Please accept our apologies for having offended you."

The center replaced the spaghetti dinner this year with a lasagna dinner sponsored by the De Anza Kiwanis Club. The event raised $1,600, according to O'Leary.

Last month, Charlotte Niemeyer, who had been at the center five years, also left her job as a program assistant. Like Alvey, Niemeyer said she quit because she disagreed with how Lorenz was dismissed.

"Over the last six months or so, I haven't felt the decisions made were with the interest of the seniors as a priority," Niemeyer said. She also said that O'Leary did not show support and that programs she had planned for the seniors "did not seem to be a priority to him."

With the resignation of Alvey and Niemeyer, one service for Alzheimer's patients may also be in jeopardy, said Alvey, who facilitated a support group with the Alzheimer's Association while she was at the center. The association only plans to continue the program through March, she said.

O'Leary said that in his discussions with the Alzheimer's Association, he was reassured that the decision to disband the support group at that facility in no way suggests that the association holds any personal animosity against the center. O'Leary also said he thought that perhaps Alvey and Niemeyer—who volunteered to be facilitators—just decided they would be more comfortable running the meetings elsewhere.

Despite the sudden departure of three employees, which has caused some in the community to become alarmed, staff at the center say the quality of the program continues to be first-rate, and the center recently hired a new program assistant to fill Niemeyer's position.

"We've never been understaffed, not even one day," said Debi Snyder, the center's program coordinator.

"The care is still there," added Ginger McClure, one of the program assistants.

According to O'Leary, due to the general high demand for adult care services, the center has gained five or six new clients since the staff reorganization, and there is a waiting list to enter the program. While the center is licensed to have up to 30 participants in the program, it has decided for itself to not go beyond 21 people, he said.

"We don't pack people in. We don't do anything to compromise the program," he said.

A federal law under the community care licensing division of the Department of Social Services states that there should be at least one staff member present for every 15 clients. The center has three part-time program assistants, a program coordinator and O'Leary.

O'Leary, who has taken on the job duties once delegated to the administrative director, said he now spends 75 percent of his work day at the adult care center. While he has always been responsible for both the adult care center and the adjacent senior center, certain administrative responsibilities for the adult care center were once handled by Lorenz.

Responding to concerns raised by some of the residents who contacted the Saratoga News that it is difficult to oversee both centers full time, O'Leary said: "A lot of people were led to believe the administrative director's job was incredibly complex. I can do that job and this job and more efficiently. It's about time management."

The center still offers "the best services and program of its kind in the Bay Area," O'Leary said, adding that anyone is welcome to visit the center and meet with him.

As for the vacant social worker position, O'Leary said that while "social workers are nice to have," other priorities must be dealt with first. Meanwhile, he has applied for a grant to have a social worker. He acknowledged that he does not have a degree in gerontology (which Alvey had), but noted his experience working in mental health facilities. O'Leary also holds a degree in nonprofit administration.

"The fact that we're down three people is not invisible," O'Leary said, adding that "all the people there now are committed to making it work, especially myself."