Did IUSD Principal Embezzle Girls’ Basketball Team Funds?

INSIDE INGLEWOOD-The Inglewood High girls’ basketball team funds are in the red for $8,000. The money, which was raised by the girls performing car washes, bake sales and other fund-raisers, has gone unaccounted for despite being the responsibility of Inglewood high interim principal Jose Gallegos. (Photo)

The school is part of the fiscally challenged Inglewood Unified School District (IUSD) which was taken over by the state in 2012 owing to its insolvency.

The team’s coach, Tony Scott, is furious. “The student store, where I turn in the cash to get checks to pay vendors, was taken over by Gallegos in mid-March of this year. He won’t show me the receipt book, he won’t show me anything. He just gave me a piece of paper that had a lot of charges on it that didn’t go to the girl’s basketball team activities.”

“We should have had a few thousand dollars in that account,” he added.

According to Scott, Gallegos was responsible for essentially firing the student store clerk, Linda Travis, and then personally taking over some of her duties–including handling the cash and signing checks from the fund-raising accounts.

Scott said that while all the teams have their respective coaches, not all of them have fund-raisers. “I was told by Gallegos that there was money taken out for other teams’ games, for scorekeepers and for referees that were at other teams’ games.”

In early April, Scott wanted to know how much was in the account so that he could start planning for the end-of-season dinner. According to him, Gallegos refused and instead demanded that Scott “tell [him] how much [Scott] thought was in there.” He then allegedly told the coach that he was busy and to come back another time as he had lots of accounts to deal with.  

Scott said he returned a number of times, all to no avail. He then approached IUSD Chief Operating Officer (COO) Joe Dominguez and was promised a meeting which was later canceled by the COO.

He has also approached IUSD's state-appointed superintendent, Dr. Donald Brann, in April.

California State Superintendent Tom Torlakson has appointed three supers to the troubled district, the first two of which left quickly and after significant conflicts. Brann is the third and current IUSD state-appointed super. The state has given IUSD $55 million in loans, most of which have been spent.

Earlier this year, Brann attempted to explain away a $40,000 luxury retreat at the Estancia La Jolla Hotel and Spa in San Diego that IUSD administrators enjoyed under the auspices of a “Common Core” forum. The student body was not convinced and planned a peaceful student protest. Rather than speak with the students, Brann apparently called the Inglewood Police Department. Students were met with teams of Inglewood police dressed in riot gear and assisted by no fewer than three other cities’ police agencies. The school was locked down for several hours.

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Brann and Dominguez are the only two IUSD members who can sign checks from IUSD’s accounts. The check for the San Diego luxury spa event was signed by Dominguez.

The checks that Gallegos signed were funds raised by the girls and were meant only for their team’s activities and not for school purchases.

At the protest in early March, Gallegos exited the school grounds to confront this journalist. He wrongly insisted that it was illegal to take photos of students. When he was given evidence contrary to his statements, he did not respond.

Reached via e-mail and asked to comment on the missing funds, Gallegos did not respond.

(Randall Fleming is a veteran journalist and magazine publisher. He has worked at and for the New York Post, the Brooklyn Spectator and the Los Feliz Ledger. He is currently editor-in-chief at the Morningside Park Chronicle, a weekly newspaper based in Inglewood, CA and on-line at www.MorningsideParkChronicle.com.  Mr. Fleming’s views are his own and do not reflect the views of CityWatch.) Photo credit: Randall Fleming

 -cw

 

 

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 12 Issue 60

Pub: Jul 25, 2014