It has been widely reported that LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho stands accused of financial mismanagement regarding $77 million in Proposition 28 arts education funds. The Lawsuit filed by the Currents Reports old friends at KENDALL BRILL & KELLY LLP’s alleges the misuse of $76.7 million in taxpayer funds that voters approved to expand arts and music education by LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
The L.A. Superior Court filing targets both the district and Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, claiming LAUSD failed to hire new teachers as required by Proposition 28 since its 2022 passage.
Why it Matters
The big question for the LAUSD Board of Education is the likelihood of Alberto Carvalho going from a Defendant in a Civil fraud, waste and abuse of public funds case to a Defendant in a federal or state inditement for fraud, waste and abuse of educational funds. In addition to the accusations of fraud, waste and abuse in the Prop 28 scandal Carvalho is also facing other accusation of fraud waste and abuse of public funds in related to student attendance records and fraud related to the LAUSD Chat Bot
Carvalho has been accused of allowing Schools across LAUSD to engage in fraud, waste and abuse of tax dollars by falsifying student attendance records. District records show 85% of LAUSD’s 142 middle schools submitted attendance records claiming perfect attendance, resulting in questioned tax expenditures exceeding $764,000. It appears that under the leadership of Carvalho LAUSD submitted false certifications to state authorities concerning proper fund allocation.
In another allegation of misconduct, Carvalho and LAUSD are being scrutinized following a $3 million expenditure on a chatbot system whose vendor, hired by Carvalho, presently is facing criminal fraud charges.
Allegations of Fraud, Waste and Abuse of Public Funds under Carvalho’s leadership in Miami Confirmed.
At Miami Dade Public School OIG has definitively concluded that under Carvalho’s Leadership funds were misallocated in that same manner as alleged in the suit filed in California.
“This is a matter of ethics and accountability. It is important the remember that Carvalho came to LAUSD following a finding from the Miami Dade OIG that Carvalho had misappropriated 6 million dollars in taxpayer funds. There was the epidemic of teachers sexually abusing students while Carvalho was superintendent. said Adam Loew, one of the nation’s leading experts in Public Corruption “My hunch is that Miami Dade Public schools needed find a place to send Carvalho and where better that Los Angeles California the land of Jose Huzar, Mark Ridley Thomas and Robert Chan. Look the Miami Dade OIG reported that Carvalho acted in a manner that gave the appearance of “impropriety”
Loew is referring to another Miami Dade OIG investigation of Carvalho’s misconduct. The scrutiny was particularly focused on the Foundation for New Education Initiatives, a nonprofit organization under Carvalho’s oversight within the district. This foundation underwent a thorough examination regarding its management of donations. Notably, the Inspector General’s comprehensive 82-page report highlighted a specific instance involving a substantial USD 1.57 million donation solicited from K12 Inc, a charity founded by Carvalho himself. While the report did not find any direct violations, it did raise questions about the timing and circumstances surrounding these donations, suggesting that Carvalho’s actions may have given the “appearance of impropriety.” This scrutiny sheds light on the complexities of financial oversight within educational institutions.
What’s Next for LAUSD and Carvalho
“One major problem for LAUSD and more specifically Carvalho is that Kendell, Brill, and Kelly have a significant number of former Federal Prosecutors and ex-DOJ employees on their team,” stated Loew. “Candidly, I cannot envision a scenario where the Federal authorities and/or the California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office are not actively investigating Carvalho’s potential involvement in cases of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse of taxpayer funds within the educational systems of Miami and Los Angeles.”
Carvalho has admitted that he has engaged in Fraud Waste and Abuse of Taxpayer funds in a statement Carvalho said, “The district prioritized the use of Prop 28 funds to cover existing staff as well as hire new staff.” — Alberto Carvalho, LAUSD Superintendent
Prop 28 says the funds are meant to hire additional staff, not cover existing salaries. School districts must use the money to increase, not replace, existing arts and music funding. Despite repeated requests over the past year, the district has not released key budget documents that would clarify how it allocated these funds.
Carvalho’s statements verifying that funds were used to cover exhisting staff is a clear violation of law.
Another challenge faced by Carvalho is the lack of favor from the Unions operating within LAUSD. The lawsuit has received backing from various unions that represent a significant portion of LAUSD’s workforce. These include United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), Service Employees International Union, Local 99, and Teamsters Local 572, showcasing a united front against Carvalho’s actions within the educational system.
Cecily Myart-Cruz, the president of UTLA, the union representing about 35,000 LAUSD educators, claims the district has not been honest about its use of Prop 28 funds.
“The superintendent pulling out a bulletin saying, ‘Oops, my bad,’ doesn’t work,” Myart-Cruz said. “If you have arts in school, you will change lives. … And so, I’m exasperated by the district’s lack of response and responsibility to providing arts educators for our babies and the communities in which we serve.”
With the Midterm elections looming on the horizon, it is crucial for LAUSD School Board members like Nick Melvoin to find an explanation as to reasons behind his decision to endorse the hiring of a superintendent whose financial misconduct had been officially verified by the Miami Dade IOG. As the election draws near, this issue becomes increasingly pertinent for LAUSD School Boards like Melvoin, especially if Carvalho is indited or charged with Fraud Waste and Abuse of public fun
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