"The door was opened. That's why I thought I could go certainly into it."
- LAUSD Board Member Karla Griego
As Dr. Rocio Rivas, Chairperson of the Committee of the Whole, prepared to move on to the next item on the agenda she was interrupted by LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. Rocked by the recent scandal of being sued by his predecessor for allegedly misspending PROP-28 funds earmarked for expanding arts programs, Carvalho sought to use the appearance of the District's auditor to try to repair his image. Most importantly, he wished to challenge the allegation that he had used these funds to pay for programs that existed before voters passed the proposition.
As he often does when his actions are questioned, Carvalho began by blaming the controversy on misinformation and misunderstandings. This included a statement that "there is a lot of confusion, a lot of perspectives and opinions, some of them not necessarily rooted in what was approved by the voters". This is a strange defense as one of the most vocal critics of the District's failure to comply with the terms of the proposition is its author, Austin Beutner. It is also Beutner, alongside LAUSD students and parents, who filed the lawsuit claiming that Carvalho's actions "defrauded taxpayers over millions of dollars in funding".
In an exchange that came across as pre-planned, Carvalho asked Joseph Moussa, an Audit Partner from Simpson & Simpson, if the District "spent the monies, in terms of quantity, in a way that complies with state requirements". The carefully constructed answer stated that "the District was complying with that requirement" based on "the calculation provided by the District" and "the documentation that supports the numbers". That documentation included the District's financial statements, the Trial Balance, and reconciliations. What was specifically left out was any indication that the auditors verified the accuracy of the District's calculations.
Carvalho's own statements seem to contradict the accuracy of the calculations that were reviewed by the auditor. While PROP-28 requires that these new funds supplement, not supplant, art funding, he stated that "the District prioritized the use of PROP 28 funds to cover existing staff as well as hire new staff". According to parents and teachers, some elementary schools saw "little or no change in teacher hours".
Newly elected Board Member Karla Griego took note of the disconnect between the Superintendent's statements and what parents and students are experiencing in their schools as she attempted a follow-up to the Superintendent's publicity stunt. Addressing Moussa, she noted that "on the ground, at the school sites, when you look at school budgets it doesn't look" like students are getting more access to art programs. She then asked: "How do we make sense of what you're saying [when] comparing it [to] what the reality is or [what] people are experiencing."
Unfortunately, the elected representative's question was not answered. While the LAUSD's General Council, Devora Navera Reed, did not object to Carvalho using the session to defend himself against the accusations in the lawsuit, she did not like Griego digging into the statements that were made. Citing "pending litigation", she told the Board they could not "delve deeper" into this subject.
While Reed had a fiduciary duty to inform the Board of the risks of discussing the issue in an open session, this should have been done as soon as the Superintendent started asking the auditor about the subject. Her delay suggests that she is more interested in serving Carvalho's needs than protecting LAUSD students. She also failed to provide the Board with a balanced recommendation as the possible benefits of continuing the conversation were not mentioned. Those involved in the lawsuit are interested in fixing the system and properly funding the arts would probably be enough for them to drop the litigation. This can not be achieved if the Board is prevented from digging into the problem.
The PROP-28 lawsuit is the latest scandal to plague the District during Carvalho's tenure. The one common denominator running through all of them, from the lies told to the public after the hack of the District's computer systems to the failed response to the Los Angeles firestorms, has been a School Board that lets its Superintendent operate like they have no control over him. The shutting down of questions meant to clarify his presentation is just the latest example.
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
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