Who to blame for California's education funding woes?

An article in Sunday's edition of The Times about public school parents across California being asked to donate hundreds of dollars to save teachers' jobs and keep class sizes manageable inspired scores of reader comments.

At left, students raise money for their Rolling Hills Estates high school at a car wash.

Many readers worried that too much is being spent on school district administrators and too little in classrooms. Others called for audits of districts' spending plans and lottery revenue, or questioned whether illegal immigration was the source of the state's budget crunch. Some even called for revisiting a sacred cow in California politics -- Proposition 13, the 1978 voter-approved initiative that limited property tax increases and dramatically reduced school finances. Click here to read more.

-- Seema Mehta

Photo by Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Califronians are being scammed]

The same tactic is being used in Texas universities where schools cryabout how poor they are to get as much money from people that they can. Meanwhile
they sit on BILLION dollar endowment funds. UT also is the top earning endownment in public universities in the nation. 4th over all between private and public.

The public elementary and highschools also have really crooked administrators, superintendents, and boards who have no qualms doling out contracts to FBI investigated "business people" some who have contributed to GWB's campaigns.

Honestly. if there were better accountablility and auditing to track how the money is spent there should be enough.

The plan republicans have is to have states funding what the federal funds usually fund. Then what is funded at the state level would be funded by the cities and what the cities fund more directly by the individuals. It is a ponzi scheme.

[SAMUEL OLAGUE]

used to work for hacienda la puente unified school district;;;one year after i left,went to see old friends in the school district;;;they were all excited ,because everyone was getting a bonus money;;;school personal,teachers,administrators;;;;i ask how is that happening;;;they replied the calif. state lottery money,,,i assumed the lottery money was for school supplies,when it passed on the ballot in calif.;;;;;
sxchools district are spending huge amounts of money on eqiupment to access teh internet;;;fiber optics;sonet transports;laptop programs,and every student that is issued a laptop at school ;;;is also paying the internet access service ,where the student lives;;;;;what happen to the 3 r's;;;;;;lets waste some more $$$$$;;;;

[Liz Wetzel]

My Mom lives in the valley. The San Fernando Valley has been trying to pull away from Los Angeles for a long time now because most of the taxes paid by Valley residents does not help them at all. I called the "Neighborhood Council" to ask for a street sweeper, they said they dont have enough money for that. I guess they dont have enough money to do that but illegal immigrants are manning the neighborhood council and are getting paid for these "administration".

My Mom asked that the cars parked outside be required a sticker to make sure that the parked cars belong to the residents in the area. There are like 20 people in every house in that area and the home owners have transformed garages into living quarter for the illegal immigrants. Well, the illegal-immigrant neighborhood council doesnt want to inconvenience the illegal immigrants so my mom's neighborhood turned from suburbia to junk yard.

[Thomas Carter - Mr. Flashlight]

FYI - What LAUSD Staff does not wish for you to know; they like the lack of oversight and the lack of acounting and transparency - BAH HUMBUG

____________________________________
From: Honest CPA [mailto:honestcpa@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2008 3:29 PM
To: 'Julie Korenstein'; 'Marlene Canter'; 'Marguerite Lamotte'; 'MONICA.GARCIA@lausd.net'; 'tamar.galatzan@lausd.net'; 'richard.vladovic@lausd.net'
Cc: 'tracy.webb@atty.lacity.org'; 'scott@bradsherman.com'; 'Naush Boghossian'; 'Howard Blume'; 'zev@bos.co.la.ca.us'; 'Dennis.Ragasa@dss.ca.gov'; 'Ryan.Kawamoto@asm.ca.gov'; 'Nell Abernathy'; 'lchick@ctr.lacity.org'; 'Mayor Villaraigosa'; 'greuel@council.lacity.org'; 'huizar@council.lacity.org'; 'Michael D. Antonovich'; 'Jon@hjta.org'; 'joconnell@cde.ca.gov'; 'Mark T Thomas'; 'matt@mattepstein.com'; 'jbbarad@adelphia.net'; 'PhilAnsell@dpss.lacounty.gov'; 'Don Knabe'; 'superintendent@lasud.net'; 'richard.deeb@lausd.net'; 'Debra Duardo'; 'Landsberg, Mitchell'; 'David Roman'; 'david.holmquist@lausd.net'; 'Gonzalez, Rene'; 'Collins, Robert'
Subject: CAN LAUSD BEGIN TO STOP THEIR GAMES AND POSSIBLY SAVE A LIFE - what is Staff hiding from you?

Good day LAUSD Board members and fellow members of the community:

In a recent Los Angeles Times article written by Mitchell Landsberg, “In poorest schools, fear, despair rule” one can read how students have adapted to the LAUSD games.

The article goes on to say that after the release of a survey the “student organizers said they don’t like to use the word “dropout” to describe their many peers who leave school. They prefer “pushout” – get the picture?

And, in the article it is said that, at “the announcement of the survey results, at the headquarters of the Community Coalition of South LA., students played a home-made version of Monopoly that told much the same story as the survey”.

And, where the article goes on to say that “the familiar squares for Baltic, Atlantic and Marvin Gardens might be, the options included Drugs, Dean’s Office and Drop Out. Jail was place to go when you’re pulled over by the cops for no apparent reason. Restroom was where the player was likely encounter gang members. Where Boardwalk should have been the square read: “Dead.”

It does need to be that way, to be a “dropout” or “pushout”, in my opinion, and I have proposed an alternative for LAUSD, at first as a test, since we all know what occurred with the payroll conversion. My proposal is to begin to track student attendance within LAUSD departments, and then share the data with the City of Los Angeles, the State of California and eventually the Nation. For the record, currently in Kern County this automated process is in place and it works!

In changing from the manual processing and limited automation, LAUSD could save $100 million in the Federal Free and Reduced Meals programs and at the Federal level the amount was $935 million last year, according to an editorial in the Daily News.

LAUSD Senior Staff is objecting for false reasons and in my opinion might be in violation of at least California Education Code 48260, and for possibly NOT maintaining accurate records of the process (accountability). Please note that LAUSD public information requests made were NOT made available and any documentation of the process below as to sharing data with other public community organizations, was piecemeal – get the picture?
.
Thus to help the KIDS, please join me to ask LAUSD the following, and my information is based on a LAUSD 2005 directive, updated in 2006 and revised in 2008:
If student is absent or “not-in-school” for 1 or 2 days and or periods, as defined by California Education Code 48260 then LAUSD Staff is to contact parent/guardian when student is absent. Thus how many per period, and or on day1 and or 2 might that be; possibly in excess of 62,000 according to Debra Duardo at LAUSD.

If student is absent or “not-in-school” for 3 and or 4 days or periods then a Classroom teacher is to contact parent/guardian when student is absent. And, Truancy Letter # 1 is to be mailed. Thus how many per period, and or day 3 and or 4 might that be; possibly in excess of 3000 according to Debra Duardo at LAUSD.

. If student is absent or “not-in-school” for 5 or more days or periods then a LAUSD case management person is to contact parent/guardian when student is absent. And, Truancy Letter # 2 is to be mailed. Thus how many per period and or day is an unknown number at this time (As of August 2006 the number was approximately 20,000 students according to Robert Collins, then the in charge person of the Diploma Project) since neither Debra Duardo (the now in charge person of the attendance process at LAUSD) nor David Roman (the now in charge person of the public records release process at LAUSD) are willing to share the numbers – we now need to ask why?

If student is absent or “not-in-school” for 9 or more then LAUSD is to refer the
student to SST (Student Success Team); and or the RCT (Resource Coordinating Team); and or the SART (School Attendance Review Team); ACT (Abolish Chronic Truancy) and or the OBF (Operation Bright Future). And, Truancy Letter # 3 is to be mailed

Thus we now must ask why not reduce this process here and automate this
process for sending three letters, the use of staff, avoiding budget cuts and begin to share the data with the local community. Or said differently; one might wonder if parents and or guardians are even aware of this legal process – get the picture?

Please, note that the one County Supervisor has asked and LA County DPSS has
offered to begin to share data in an automated fashion, but according to LAUSD the District does not believe that threatening to deprive or depriving families of assistance is an effective tool in dropout prevention and recovery. And, only then after nine days, and three letters sent out, of “not-in school”; LA County in an automated fashion would contact a parent and or guardian that their Welfare Check, if issued as a participant (75% of LAUSD population), would be reduced in accordance with the State regulations of the CalWorks program.

In closing what are the hiding at LAUSD, or do they wish to “pushout” potential model citizens of the future; be they from poor families, of multiple colors and or ethnic backgrounds – you be the judge?

And the Results when we stop the games played at LAUSD and beyond, after testing is completed, and might be:
1. Accurate future ADA and “drop-out” statistics per school district.
2. Accurate data for school districts to plan for feeding of students and reduce waste from excess cooking.
3. Accurate data for Counties to eliminate waste and fraud, knowing what claims filed have students “NOT IN SCHOOL” on a monthly basis, rather then only test 3% of the student population as is required by the audit process, I am told.
4. Accurate data for the PD to hopefully reduce “gang activities” and bring Kids back to the classroom.
5. Last parent resort – sanction a parent, in accordance with the laws on the books, if the child is “not in school”, after three letters are issued by the school districts, etc.
6. And last school district resort, stop State school funding for ADA, the CalWorks’ and Title I funding programs until they comply, beginning with LAUSD – what have they been hiding and fear from a little collaboration and accountability?
If supporting details are desired to the above please email me and I will share data with you.
Yours truly,
Thomas D. Carter, CPA – AKA Mr. Flashlight shining his light on the “truth”