(Image by El Camino Real Charter High School) Details DMCA
The response confirms that Covian and Novantia are owned by the CIO's father. The chairman also states that the governing board in place at the time knew of these ties at the time the business relationship was started. He says that the issue was discussed by the board in a closed session. What is not detailed is the possible cost to the school for using a supplier who could use an insider to obtain information not available to other vendors. The response also did not mention if the employee directly placed orders with his father on behalf of the school.
The chairman claims that the board has no responsibility for the nepotism case involving the vice-principal as "this is an operational/staffing matter, in which the Board would normally not involve itself." He does, however, state that "the Board has been advised that this matter was investigated and appropriate actions taken regarding the failure to disclose the nature of the relationship between the Assistant Principal and the Office Assistant at the time the Office Assistant was hired." In most cases, lying on an employment application is grounds for immediate dismissal. The fact that the vice-principal remained silent through the hiring process is also troubling.
In his response, the Chairman claims "that the nepotism policy is adhered to" because the Office Assistant does not report directly to the Vice-Principal. Instead, there is a middle-man, but this person is overseen by the Vice-Principal. As the chairman admits, this arrangement ensures "that any potential conflict of interest between the Assistant Principal and the Office Assistant is minimized." However, it is definitely not eliminated.
While the CIO is still employed by El Camino, the Chief Business Officer who alerted the Charter School Division to these issues is not. While this person expressed his concerns in writing to various members of the Governing Board and the school's leadership team, the response from the chairman complains that "an Internal Complaint Form was never received." This does not seem indicative of a governing board that welcomes the input of those who have witnessed wrongdoing.
Many of these events took place prior to an audit by Oracle Investigations Group that was paid for with $20,000 in public funds. To this date, El Camino still refuses to release this document after multiple PRA requests. The public deserves to know if this investigation also exposed the issues detailed in the Notice of Concern. If it did, why did the board wait until an employee spoke up before taking action?
As voters in LAUSD's Board District 3 get set to choose between a life-long educator and a charter-school employee, this lack of accountability should be at the forefront of the discussion. Incumbent Scott Schmerelson has a proven track record of supporting successful charter schools while holding these publicly funded private schools accountable when they break the rules. The challenger, Marilyn Koziatek, works for Granada Hills Charter, which is also a conversion charter that had an excellent record as an LAUSD school. Instead of looking out for stakeholders, her record shows that she is willing to keep violations hidden from parents. Koziatek's elevation to the board would guarantee that betrayals of the public trust would continue unabated.
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Carl Petersen is a parent, an advocate for students with special education needs, an elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council, a member of the LAUSD's CAC, and was a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race. During the campaign, the Network for Public Education (NPE) Action endorsed him, and Dr. Diane Ravitch called him a "strong supporter of public schools." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
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