Local school districts have many lawyers, officials and administrators who do their best to ignore the law. Usually the wrondoing gets covered up. But when it can't be covered up, the district suddenly develops a stance of intolerance toward illegal activity.
Betancourt is gone from San Diego Unified because he was in the papers. When will Mr. Cohn and the board start the real house cleaning? When will wrongdoing be a cause for concern even if it isn't in the papers?
It seems that school districts are perfect proving grounds for administrators who might want to go on to work in municipal government. These administrators can wrap themselves in the sacred flag of education while they learn to bamboozle the public. Jo Anne SawyerKnoll, who recently produced a whitewash of the relationship between San Diego city officials and the Sunroad company, came from San Diego Unified School District.
Here's a story about Betancourt's departure:
Betancourt's Replaced
by Vladimir Kogan
Voice of San Diego
August 13, 2007
School District CAO José Betancourt is being replaced, according to a one-line memo delivered to trustees.
A one-line memo delivered to the San Diego Unified School District trustees today announced that the school system's chief financial officer, Bill Kowba, has been named as the acting chief administrative officer, replacing embattled José Betancourt.
Betancourt has spent the last month negotiating with the school district over a severance package that would pave way for his resignation, following a guilty plea on federal conflict-of-interest charges for his work on a defense contract.
District spokesman Jack Brandais said he had not seen the memo, though he confirmed that Betancourt was not at the district this morning...
http://voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2007/08/13/this_just_in/170replaced081307.txt
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