I did not know about Accelerated Charter Schools in Los Angeles until I found out yesterday that CVESD's own superintendent Lowell Billings in on the board, and had apparently helped CVESD trustee Patrick Judd get a job there as a consultant. What's Billings doing on a Los Angeles board? And why did he bring the backward-looking Judd to a school that presents itself as reform-minded?
From Schools Matter blog
January 09, 2007
Accelerated Charter School Puts Brakes on Repayment of $10 Million Loan From L.A.Taxpayers
The edu-business world is making a killing from corporate welfare payments and easy-pay or no-pay loans from city and state officials across the country who are bilking taxpayers as a part of the charter school revolution. Here's a great example of one sweetheart deal that has come to light in California. Some clips:
A nationally recognized charter school in South Los Angeles has defaulted on a $9.9 million loan extended by the Los Angeles Unified School District using voter-approved bond funds, documents and interviews show.
Dysfunction, dysfunction, and dysfunction this sounds so much like the Vista Unified School District sweet heart deal! VUSD recently built a over 40-million charter school for Guajome Park Academy with Prop. O Bond money.
ReplyDeleteThe Vista Unified School District was supposed to build a high school for students of the Vista Unified School District which VUSD two high schools house over 2,500 each. As it turns out VUSD built a 40- million campus for Guajome Park Academy. Guajome Park Academy student population comes from all over the county of San Diego.
The VUSD did not build a high school for the students of VUSD. The taxpayers are stuck will the tab, literally millions and million of dollars are unaccounted for and so what happened here?
Well, former Superintendent Dave Cowles, Former facilities right hand man Mike Veil, Former President of the Board David Hubbard, former leaders of the Vista Teacher Association and some of the leaders from Guajome Park Academy made a sweet heart deal and it was all covered up by Best Best and Krieger attorney Dina Harris.
What actually took place is that the VUSD established a Citizens Oversight Committee. This Oversight Committee had members with conflicting interests. They were all connected in one-way or another. Even Guajome Park Academy had their very own Administratior/teacher/501C3 holder/and Board of Directors for Guajome Park Academy named Beverly Kanawi. Kanawi was listed on the list of Oversight Committee members as a “community member,” but so where the rest of the folks in this committee.
http://ns2.vusd.k12.ca.us/Departments/BusinessServices/facilities/cbo/CBO%20Meeting%20Documents/2006-07/roster.pdf
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/07/17/news/coastal/21_41_317_16_05.txt
The members of the Oversight Committee never filed any FFPC forms 700 or IRS 990’s. Most of the members were friends with the developers and some VTA/PTA members of the Oversight Committee had their own construction Companies. Here is the sweet heart deal you get your friends to bid for a job (school building) and make sure you bid LOW so that you get the contract. Once you get the contract you jack-up the price 2 or three times above the original bid. Then we split the difference!!!
The taxpayers are left holding the bag!
These folks happily fleeced the taxpayers and left with happy faces and a lot of cash.
They did not build schools instead they put these trailers and called them the schools of the future, “modular” building. Well, these overpriced modular buildings had leaky windows and roofs from the start. Mike Vail claimed “stick built” (permanent structures) buildings were a thing of the past.
However Guajome Park Academy Charter School got an award winning building while the Vista Unified students got the shaft and the taxpayers got fleeced.
Here are the Members of the Current Board of Directors of Guajome Park Academy. Most have conflict of interests. They are employees of the charter school, their spouses are employed and so are their kids and cousins and on and on. They don't care about the laws when they have the local politicians and the DA Bonnie Dumanis on their pockets.
Angle Sandy Beukema Sam
Arroyoavila Nancy Borawski Lisa
Marsh Mara Kelly Moreau Joe
Quellette Pamela Royer-King Julie
Campbell Robert Chavez Eva
Findell Chris Groenewold Rod
Hansen Peter Hamamoto Kathy
Harrison Penny Kastama Carey
Klemic Annette Llamas Luis
Solano Juan Margaret Tate
Waidelich Janet VUSD Representative- vacant
University Representative –vacant
School Counsel Representative- vacant
Parent Representative
Blogger note:
ReplyDeleteOn June 30, 2006 Accelerated Charter Schools (TAS)trustees were:
LOWELL J. BILLINGS
LEONARD RABINOWITZ
CATHERINE COTA
JONATHAN WILLIAMS
GINA HAWKINS
SIMEON SLOVACEK
CHARLES OPPENHEIM
SHEILA PAYNE
ERIC C. JOHNSON
KEVIN SVED
TARA LYNDA GUBER
SCOTT BOTTLES
NEAL MANEGOLD
In 2008, the board consists of:
Lowell J. Billings, Ed.D.
Chula Vista Elementary School District
Eric C. Johnson, President
Victex Inc./Crail-Johnson Foundation
Simeon Slovacek, Ph. D. Vice President
Accelerated Schools Center, CSULA
Johnathan Williams, Secretary*
Founder, Co-Director
Charles Oppenheim, Treasurer
Foley & Lardner
Maria Arias
Parent Representative
Pamela Erwin
Wells Fargo Bank
Omar Muhammad
Parent Representative
Leonard Rabinowitz
StudioCL
Scott Bottles,
Immediate Past President
George Smith Partners
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