Government schools have too much money in California. There is no need for more bonds or parcel taxes, anywhere in the State. All they have to do is be honest and open their books, stop paying off unions with money meant for education and teach instead of indoctrinate. If I wanted to insure a generation of failures, I would use Common Core so students know that the wrong answer is Ok as long as you understand the “process”.
Now we find that the corrupt Beverly Hills School District told the public it needed money for construction and maintenance of schools. Instead, they are paying attorneys to fight a subway—which is using your tax dollars to fight back. In other words, it is tax dollar vs. tax dollar, the winner are the attorneys and the losers are the people, every taxpayer.
“The Beverly Hills Unified School District has spent at least $3 million in school construction funds battling the Metro Purple Line extension subway route, spending which appears to be outside the lines of what voters approved when they OK’d Measure E in 2008.
Meanwhile, little progress has been made on the capital improvements that the measure was intended for.
Where is the District Attorney, who should be representing the people to stop this fraud?
Beverly Hills Unified’s legal fight against Purple Line subway route paid for with school construction bonds
BY MATTHEW FLEMING, LA Register, 5/8/14
LOS ANGELES – The Beverly Hills Unified School District has spent at least $3 million in school construction funds battling the Metro Purple Line extension subway route, spending which appears to be outside the lines of what voters approved when they OK’d Measure E in 2008.
Meanwhile, little progress has been made on the capital improvements that the measure was intended for.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said he could not comment on the legality of the issue, but the use of Measure E funds for something other than building and improving educational facilities, as the voters intended, “certainly raises an eyebrow.”
State law requires that money raised through such voter-approved school bonds be used only for the projects outlined in the approved list. The district has regularly been dinged on independent audits of the Measure E bond program for not creating a specific master list that would include litigation as well as describe the relationship between the legal matter and construction projects.
Only a general list of goals has been created, according to several annual performance audits completed by Harvey M. Rose Associates, and some local officials believe the money is not being used as intended.
“I think that where certain geotechnical studies may have been needed to be done, obviously in preparation for building construction at the high school and other sites, (those) were an appropriate use of funds,” said Beverly Hills Councilman William W. Brien.
“Beyond that, it is my opinion that that’s not what the taxpayers voted for, for monies to be spent on other activities and legal battles. This is a construction bond and it should be used to enhance and build the finest academic standards for our children in the city.”
Measure E authorized $334 million worth of bonds to pay for a general list of goals, which included “safe and modernized school facilities … necessary structural seismic safety repairs, (to) upgrade, repair and reconstruct aging classrooms, infrastructure, multi-use, gyms, libraries, science, technology and labs.”
According to the most recent performance audit, the district had not completed construction for any major project other than the Horace Mann School auditorium renovation as of June 30, 2013, nearly five years after the measure passed.
The battle with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority stems from the district’s resistance to a subway line that would run underneath Beverly Hills High School. The city of Beverly Hills and the district would prefer that the line run along Santa Monica Boulevard.
The district has raised numerous concerns, including possible seismological activity, other natural hazards like methane gas, cronyism, whether or not Metro followed proper environmental review procedures, the unprecedented nature of the project and even terrorism.
However, none of the concerns about the subway line appear to fall under the stated goals of Measure E.
The district is apparently operating under the guidance of a legal opinion that defends the use of the funds to fight Metro, according to the performance audits and district officials.
“The fees were deemed allowable by bond counsel,” according to the audit, which also noted that the district should “continue to closely monitor legal amounts paid to ensure that maximum funds are available for facilities construction projects while, at the same time, ultimately defending the program.” Subsequent audits have had similar language.
The Register on Monday requested a copy of the legal opinion and financial records detailing spending on legal fees under the California Public Records Act. District officials have not released the documents and have yet to respond to the written request.
CalAware, keep up the work of shining a light on yet more ways to waste public money. Even Beverly Hills can't be allowed to throw cash around.
May 12, 2014 at 11:02 am