heartbroken about particular feral cat situation

How about relocating where you put food for them so it is not found by anyone? The cats will follow the scent of the food naturally.. they will find it. Then just stay on top of what you leave so that there is no evidence? Is that a possibility ? If not .. take them home. Well.. that may be a bit extreme . but if it is an option you may want to do that. If this person has a hair up ther butt about them being on the campus I would not put it past them to try to rid the campus of them by calling animal control or some thing else.

Kudos for sticking up for animals. :-)
It is always nice to see people speak for those who cant.

Or you could call around to see if there's an agency that would pick them up and care for them.
I don't know where you live, but in MA I used to call Animal Umbrella in such situations. They would come out and catch the cats and relocate them to a no-kill shelter where they'd either live out their lives or be adopted. Then at least you know they are fed every day and not exposed to the elements.

yes, call around, there are humane animal shelters that may step in. also, if no one will come and get them, you can put some food in a cat carrier and try to catch them that way.

Walk by there every day and "accidentally" drop some cat food. After all, you could start a war with the groundskeeper, bring it to court, get the groundskeeper fired and make it a political issue. But I'm sure you don't want to get that involved - or do you?

I like shewolf's idea - relaocate the food drop off point. They'll get it. Is there a way to catch and spay the rest?

We have, in MA, the mspca. They will take any animals in, but they won't keep them unless they are adoptable. that is, unless they are socially fit and disease free. I think that these little kitties might not be socially acceptable. Ask many questions if you do call a shelter.

Alliance for Animals, if it still exists, will take pretty much any kitty, even if it's not social. I don't know about disease, but knowing them, they would still take it and give it a comfortable life. I lived, for a while, in an area where there were many strays and feral cats. I called the Alliance many times, and they always came. It is (or was) a free service. They will take a donation if you can afford one. I'm not sure they will actually go out and look for the kitties, though. You would have to catch them yourself.
My only concern about relocating the feeding spot is that we don't know how big the grounds are at this school, or how stealthy one would be able to be as they sneak into the woods every day to put out food. It could be that the grounskeeper is keeping his eye out for anyone walking into the woods, or that it'a a half mile walk or something, and may not be possible to do this on a daily basis.
It's a shame that your job could be jeapordized simply because you care for animals.
If you can't continue feeding them and there's no-one to call and you're not willing to make a political issue of it (although I like Nick's thinking!) rest assured that they will find a way to feed themselves. They did before you came along, right?
You can only do the best you can. Try not to worry about them.
I once worked at a place surrounded by woods and lots of feral cats. People who worked the night shift would complain that their were pawprints on their cars in the morning, and the grounds staff took it upon themselves to shoot cats whenever they saw them! I only heard about this after I started leaving food out for them, (it had been something that happened in the past) and I figured the cats would be safer having to forage for their own food than to be lured into the "shooting site" by my leaving food out. Some people just suck and there's only so much you can do.

i see the point of catching them in order to neuter them so they don't multiply, but really, the most humane thing to do is find them a shelter. it just doesn't seem to make much sense to go through the expense and trouble of getting them neutered only to have them live in the wild, where their chances for survival are less than if they were to find a home.

cats can be domesticated. even the wild ones. and, they may have been dumped off by an owner ands had some human contact at one point.

i rescued a semi-feral cat and he was just the sweetest, most appreciative little guy.

Ferals at campus
I want to thank all of you who so very quickly responded to my heartbreaking situation about the feral cats on the grounds of a school campus. I sincerely appreciate you all taking the time to respond - it sounds like you all have been through similar situations and understand what it's like to deal with unreasonable people.

I live in the Pittsburgh PA area, and there are no shelters that will take cats that are not friendly. They are having a hard enough time finding homes for the cats they already have. I am having mixed feelings about removing them from the school's wooded area, because I think they have been there all their lives.

I particularly like the suggestion of moving the food away from where it is most obvious. We have been given a week or so to "wean" the cats from our food source (isn't that awful? I guess it's better than nothing.). I was thinking of moving the food every day closer and closer to the nearby woods (which unfortunately is still on the campus, but is not out in the open).

Haha! I laughed when I read the comment about accidentally dropping some food - I did that last night!

Right now, that is our plan - to gradually give them less food to eat every day (sob sob) and continually move the food towards the woods. If I can get away with it, I will play dumb about knowing the woods are still on the property, and find a place there to feed them without being seen - which ain't gonna be easy! And, I will try to trap the others, if possible, on the weekends - hopefully no one will be around to see me doing this. Jeez, I hate sneaking around.....

It's so nice to know there are fellow animal lovers out there, like all of you, who care enough to put that love into action. Thank you for your helpful and kind words.

A good way to 'wean' them to another feeding location... accidently drop a small trail to a safe place for them. then, keep the spot!!!
You are right though , they did eat before you showed up.. but that doesnt mean that they dont appreciate the help now that you are there. I am sure you are not feeding them a truly HUGE amount of food to where thier need to hunt or hunting abilities are at risk ? If you are and you think there may be a chance you cant continue feeding them for what ever reason, maybe every other day feedings will still allow you to help with out getting caught and with out making the cats so dependant on you that they are seen every where , every day.
What about posting a bulletin for help? Or homes for the kitties? College kids jump into alot of things. I bet there are some there that have volunteered at a shelter or animal hospital that may have some suggestions for you! .

Feral cats are non-native (obviously) and an invasive, destructive species that can decimate local wildlife populations.

I'm sorry, buy you need to put your feelings for the cats aside and think about what they're killing. If they are truly wild, they should be destroyed.

House cats are destructive to natural wild life too. On average a house cat that is allowed to roam freely will kill 10 animals in 12 hrs. Usually just for the sport and to take a "taste" so to speak. Everything from birds, to mice , to other cats. They are ruthless.

Ditto shewolf.