Here we go again.
I was reading an article in the Los Angeles Times today they republished this AP article For poor U.S. schools, building repairs soak up COVID relief money regarding the billions sent to local school districts in response to Covid-19 which led me to ask “where’s the receipts” as it relates to Inglewood Unified School District and it’s unaccounted for expenditures of $85 million dollars they received in COVID funding?
Come on IUSD “show me the money” because based on the district’s well-documented chronic history of mismanaging and theft of taxpayer funds doesn’t afford me, and I think I speak on behalf of the greater Inglewood community, to extend you the benefit of the doubt that $85 million dollars were best spent for the overall good of Inglewood Unified students, teachers, and staff.
The money was supposed to be earmarked to make repairs and when everyone went back to school there were a plethora of complaints of non-functioning HVAC units that should have been addressed with the COVID funds.
Local newspapers, with the exception of the Los Angeles Wave, only exploit the issues at the schools went it’s time to pass a school bond instead of following up on how the money was actually spent.
Inglewood residents would be doing themselves a huge favor to read the LA Wave each week as Emilie St. John not only writes for 2UrbanGirls but is a weekly contributing writer for them too.
“There are so many articles in the newspaper about what’s going on in Inglewood,” said Inglewood Councilman Alex Padilla, and he’s definitely speaking about the LA Wave, because neither the Inglewood Today nor the LA Sentinel are writing about significant issues businesses and residents are facing pertaining to the Inglewood Transit Connector.
Why should we extend any leeway to IUSD as my curiosity has led me to discover that their typical modus operandi has failed to provide documents under its legally bound obligation under the California Public Records Act despite a request being made in late December 2022.
I mean I guess it’s plausible to explain that $85 million dollars went to a large part of construction and upgrades of our schools but yet that’s too easy of an answer as Inglewood was just a year removed in passing a controversial bond bill to assist with school construction and repairs despite the fact based on the FCMAT report that former Administrator Erika Torres and the Board of trustees apparently took a vow of silence and deception in pushing for approval of the tax measure while agreeing not to inform the general public a clandestine plan to close and consolidate schools was in full execution mode.
The FCMAT report also lambasts the district for not making repairs to the schools while the students were off campus. These aren’t my assumptions, these are the FACTS written by the experts tasked with getting the district out of receivership.
In fact, the only visible construction we see is at Morningside High School which is overflow parking for SoFi Stadium and who has a strong alumni base, and Oak Street which is directly under the flight path. Both schools are getting upgrades from federal funds for sound insulation. Not with the COVID funds or presumably not the $240 million school bond voters passed in 2020.
How has this district got its filthy hands on over $300 million over the course of two short years but are focusing on closing schools rather than repairing them like the voters asked them to do?
I’m sorry I can’t trust IUSD and protests aren’t the answer as time and time again IUSD and it’s trustees despite best efforts to portray a “community partnership” always gives in to its vices in being self-serving because partners don’t hide from each other especially when one partner is working with laser-like precision to close schools and not disclose it to the other partner its school’s funders, the taxpayers?
I’m sorry but if anything it sounds like a dysfunctional relationship based on lies and for that reason, I can’t trust that Inglewood will spend $85 million dollars responsibly. Oh, and let’s not forget they also get a “bonus” each time they close a school.
The district’s lawyers have every reason to stall the dissemination of these records pertaining to the spending of funds because they were campaign donors to the measure to get the school bond passed in 2020.
I’m sorry IUSD it’s not you it’s me and I must admit trust issues are complicating our relationship and if you’re being reasonable I’m sure you can see why taxpayers simply can’t trust you with hundreds of millions of dollars and then you get offended when we ask for the receipts.
If the saying is “there’s something rotten in Denmark” then Inglewood smells like the feces-infested building Inglewood Police Department just rescued a pack of stray animals from.
Marvin McCoy is a lifelong Inglewood resident and can be reached at therealmccoymarketinggroup@gmail.com or on Twitter @MarvinM83905936
