How the LAUSD Powerful Silence their Critics

THE PRICE FOR RUFFLING FEATHERS-Stuart Magruder's removal from the Bond Oversight Committee (BOC) by Board Member Tamar Galatzan is just the latest example of on an LAUSD that is out of control and has no effective checks on its power to do whatever is damn well pleases, irrespective of whether it is good for the district by any honest metrics. 

As I pointed out in my recent article regarding the economics of scale, literally the only justification for an LAUSD behemoth would be if they got a better price on goods and services, given the exceptionally large quantities of these that they buy on a regular basis. 

This has literally never been the case and, in fact, LAUSD with its "preferred vendors" from which it exclusively buys all goods and services, most often pays more than you yourself would have to pay, if you walked into a store and bought it retail. 

The only bogus justification that LAUSD administration offers for this hand and glove relationship with its suppliers is that the District has "special needs," which only these agreed upon vendors can supply. 

After looking at the purchase of items like the obsolete IPads without adequate software or service contracts, it seems clear that the special needs LAUSD refers to are those of its vendors and clearly not those of LAUSD. 

Recently removed Mr. Magruder in challenging the expenditure of bond money for IPads, supposedly reserved for capital improvement, has ruffled the feathers of vested interests that continue to benefit in direct relationship to LAUSD's continued dysfunction, that continues to be sustained by an LAUSD Board that is remains captive of the vendors it is supposed to monitor and keep honest in fulfillment of its fiduciary duty to the district. 

Sadly, $45,000 a year part time employees, which is what the board is, are captive of their entrenched bureaucracy, which each board member inherits from their predecessor in office. No wonder nothing has changed at LAUSD. 

At the end of 2013, Superintendent John Deasy, who has presided over the IPAD fiasco and other programs that spend money on everything but improving teacher to student ratio and supporting teachers in things that would actually bring about measurable change, threatened to resign. 

What was the response from the Board with its supposed four members who were supposed to be supportive of teachers? They extended his contract until 2016 and ultimately raised his compensation package.    

Unlike Panamanians, Americans seem unprepared to deal with an in your face blatantly corrupt and unaccountable entity like LAUSD, because they can't believe such a thing is possible here in America. Other than litigation, I am at a loss as to how to teach them this lesson.

 

(Leonard Isenberg is a Los Angeles observer and a contributor to CityWatch. He’s a second generation teacher at LAUSD and blogs at perdaily.com. Leonard can be reached at [email protected]) 

-cw

 

 

 

 

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 12 Issue 42

Pub: May 23, 2014