Photo: Guajome Park AcademyMaking Conflicts Law Apply to Charters
Voice of San Diego
May 5, 2009
A proposed California law would tighten rules around conflicts of interest and public information at charter schools, a change that would settle disputes over what public school rules apply to charters.
It would explicitly require charter school board members to file statements listing their economic interests, mandate that meetings be open and noticed to the public, and require schools follow the Public Records Act.
...Encinitas Union School District claimed that the charter school was subject to a state law that bans public officials and employees from participating in contracts that could benefit them financially.
Charters have long argued that the specific rule does not apply to them. They point to other protections in the California Corporations Code. The question has never been settled in court...
-- EMILY ALPERT
2 comments:
Greg Moser was a JPA preferred attorney and worked for the law office of Foley and Lardner LLP. Moser is/was also involved with the CA Charter School Association and started up many charter schools in Southern California.
Just about all of the SD charter schools that Moser started have either been shut down or have many and I mean many problems. Guajome Park Academy was started by Greg Moser. Moser sat at both sides of the table in the “contractual agreement” between Guajome Park Academy and Vista Unified School District back in 1994 since Guajome Park was one of the original charter schools in CA.
Not only is/was this illegal and a conflict of interests the contract did not include a solid “curriculum” or “conflict of interests” codes, health and safety codes, etc.. just about all the requirements under CDE were violated.
http://www.edgateway.net/cs/r/view/uscs_rs/1716
http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2009/01/16/news/coastal/vista/z051f3c77768cb130882575400021df39.txt Guajome Park Academy is now being investigated by VUSD.
Most of Moser charter schools had similar problems.
AB2115 was written for one of Moser’s first charter schools Guajome Park Academy an SIAtech which separated from Guajome Park academy. I personally went to Sacramento and spoke with some of the legislators including Soto and Mulin who was the Chair at the time. The only opponents to the AB 2115 bill were the California Charter School Association and the School for Integrated Academics and Technologies (SIATech formally joined to Guajome Park Academy.)
SIATech shows on their last form 990’s that they paid fifty five thousand dollars for lobbing out of DA.
http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_2101-2150/ab_2115_cfa_20080701_103217_sen_floor.html
Well, Governor Schwarzenegger did not sign AB 2115. When I called his office his aid told me that members of the charter school association and representatives for SIAtech had a private meeting with the Governor.
Well, I asked him if he knew that the steak and lobster dinner they spent on the Governor meal came from illegal lobbyist contributions? See state and federal monies or student daily allowances cannot be used to pay for lobbyists. The money did not come from a foundation but straight out of the general fund.
I sent him and the CA Legislation members copies of the reported lobbyist spenditures. I also asked Arnold Schwarzenegger representative if the Governor was familiar with the indictments of the California First Charter Academy and Stephen Cox CEO and founder. Whereby, Stephen Cox had members of his family working at the charter. Plus, Stephen Cox himself had multiple positions of employment at the charter.
Schwarzenegger Office claimed they were not aware of anything, so I sent them many copies of newspaper articles.
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cs/ac/documents/csccaaudit.pdf
Guajome Park Academy currently has Karla Skaggs as CEO and CBO plus she is also head of curriculum and superintendent. She makes Stephen Cox look like small potatoes
http://northcountytimes.com/articles/2009/01/16/news/coastal/vista/z051f3c77768cb130882575400021df39.txt
http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2008/07/14/news/coastal/vista/z22ed5e2891b4bd57882574860078fa53.txt
Lets not forget that about half of the 25 or so Board Members at Guajome Park Academy are also employees of Guajome Park Academy. This charter school has been getting away with no curriculum, no conflict of interest codes, no health and safety codes, incestuous relationships for over a decade?
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/10/07/news/coastal/23_04_1510_6_05.txt
Like Stephen Cox Guajome Park academy has way too many employees also serving as members of the Board of Directors for Guajome Park Academy. Some even had three conflicting positions?
So Greg Moser the king pin of the charter school scandals and his entire law firm of FOLEY and LARDNER Plus Ramona school district were sued under Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act “RICO.” RICO [is codified as Chapter 96 of Title 18 of the United States Code, 18 U.S.C. § 1961–1968.]
Today the Ninth Circuit came out with a decision on the case of Kearney v. Foley & Lardner, LLP, No. 07-55566 that has been going on since 2001.
The Plaintiff sued because she was cheated out of the total value of her eminent domain property valued at 1.4Million and the school district offered her $ 800 plus thousand. So she sued for the value of her property. So both Foley and Lardner had lawyered up and hired:
Seth M. Galanter (who formally worked with the United States Department of Justice and wrote many amicus currie)
Michael V. Sachdev, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Washington, D.C.,
Mark C. Zebrowski, Morrison &Foerster LLP, San Diego, California.
For appellees Foley &Lardner LLP Larry L. Marshall, and Gregory V. Moser.
Daniel R. Shinoff, Paul V. Carelli, IV, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz, APC, San Diego, California, for appellee Michael T. McCarty.
Just imagined how much they have spent on BILLABLE HOURS since 2001?
They went through California Superior Court, Fourth Appellate Division, (possibly California Supreme Court). Then they filed in the Southern District Court, then the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals now it’s going back to the Southern District Court.
Oh and its going back to the Southern District Court on SPOLIATION OF EVIDENCE:
Spoliation of evidence is the “destruction or significant
alteration of evidence, or the failure to preserve property for
another’s use as evidence, in pending or future litigation.”
Hernandez v. Garcetti, 68 Cal. App. 4th 675, 680 (Ct. App.
1998).
CIVIL PROCEDURE, INJURY AND TORT LAW, PROPERTY LAW & REAL ESTATE
Kearney v. Foley & Lardner, LLP, No. 07-55566
In a RICO action against a law firm that represented a school district in an eminent domain proceeding concerning Plaintiff's property, the dismissal of the complaint is affirmed in part, where Defendant's actions were in service of its right to petition, but reversed in part, where the sham litigation exception to the Noerr-Pennington doctrine applied. (findlaw)
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/05/11/07-55566.pdf
Basically the attorneys for the school district and the school district withheld a report that was vital to the trial and they lied and claimed the report did not exist. The Plaintiff Kearney finds out about the report after the trial court granted her over nine hundred thousand dollars. She then pursues causes of action against the school district and a preferred JPA law firm foley and Lardner and their attorney Greg Moser who is famous for clandestine endeavors. Moser not works for Procopia, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP I am sure he is in good company.
Some of Moser famous appellate cases:
· Knapp v. Palisades Charter High School, 146 Cal. App. 708 (2007)
· Ridgecrest Charter School v. Sierra Sands Unified School District, 130 Cal. App. 4th 986 (2005)
· Gentry v. City of Murrieta, 36 Cal. App. 4th 1359 (1995)
· El Monte v. So Cal Joint Powers, 38 Cal. App. 4th 1629 (1995)
City of Lafayette v. East Bay Municipal Utility District, 16 Cal. App. 4th 1005 (1993)
So now the California Legislation is reviewing Senate Bill A.B. No. 572 submitted by Brownley. Once again AB No. 572 is an act to add Section 47604.1 to the Education Code, relating to charter schools.
http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_0551-0600/ab_572_bill_20090413_amended_asm_v98.html
“(1) Existing law prohibits certain public officials, including,
but not limited to, members of governing boards of school districts
and citizens' oversight committees, from engaging in specified
activities that are inconsistent or incompatible with , or inimical to , their
duties as public officials, including, but not limited to, entering
into a contract in which the official or the official's family member
has a financial interest, as specified.”
AB No. 572 will probably face the same fate as AB 2115. As long as the Charter School Association keeps a strong hold on Arnold it is doubtful that anyone will look into the millions of dollars siphoned off by these charter schools.
Guajome Park Academy has well as the Vista Unified School District have been cited many times by various state and federal agencies. The California Fair Political
A Complaint was filed with the FPPC, the FPPC referred the matter to the Office of the California former Governor Gray Davis who sited Guajome Park Academy in the California Regulatory Notice Register (GRAY DAVIS, GOVERNOR OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW California Regulatory Notice Register. REGISTER 2003, NO. 5-Z JANUARY 31, 2003 PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW)on Page No.126 TITLE 2. FAIR POLITICAL PRACTICES COMMISSION Conflict of Interest Code—Notice File No. Z03-0121-04
http://www.oal.ca.gov/pdfs/notice/5z-2003.pdf
So did Guajome Park Academy comply with the former Governor’s mandate? NO!!!
Then the matter was also addressed not just to Guajome Park Academy but also to sister satellite and adjoined SIATech partner in crime.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, GOVERNOR OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW California Regulatory Notice Register REGISTER 2004, NO. 20-Z MAY 14, 2004 PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW Page 623. PROPOSED ACTION ON REGULATIONS TITLE 2. FAIR POLITICAL PRACTICES COMMISSION Page
Conflict of Interest Code—Notice File No. Z04-0504-04 page 623. School for Integrated Academics and Technologies (SIATech)
http://www.oal.ca.gov/pdfs/notice/20z-2004.pdf
So did Guajome Park Academy comply with the mandates of Former Governor Davis and current Governor ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER? No!!
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