LA’S SCHOOLS AND THE LAW-The problem with endemic corruption that has existed at LAUSD for years- if not generations- is that it has gone unchallenged and has never been subjected to a truly independent audit of both its financial and other practices in order to finally hold LAUSD and its administration legally accountable for their actions. This has created a bully culture of impunity and unaccountability where those running LAUSD have come to think they can get away with anything.
With this mindset LAUSD administration has allowed itself to become rather sloppy in the commission of its various ongoing crimes, so that an FBI federal grand jury investigation, if allowed to go where the evidence takes it, should easily be able to connect the dots to uncover the clear pattern of criminal behavior that heretofore has gone unpunished and often unreported in the media.
In aid of finally shines some cleansing light on LAUSD practices, I would suggest that those of you who read this and have evidence with regard to the iPad scandal or any other actions of questionable legality practiced by LAUSD on a daily basis, take the time to call the FBI at (310) 477-6565 and tell them what you know. According to fellow education blogger Ellen Lubic, this FBI investigation is being headed up by Patricia A. Donahue, who represents the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section of her agency. Will it succeed? As my grandmother used to say, "It couldn't hurt," unless it too has politically imposed limits.
For starters, let me tell you what I called and talked about with the FBI today. As many teachers who have also been targeted for removal from their jobs on bogus charges without due process of law know, they have also been hit with allegations of salary overpayment by LAUSD. However, these allegations of salary overpayment never have any documentation of their veracity and LAUSD in my case and others has steadfastly refused to supply any in complete derogation of both state and federal law regulating these matters.
Rather, they have hired a collection agency to collect these false claims of overpayment that can easily be debunked by just looking at your pay stub for the year in question and comparing it to what the LAUSD salary scale says you should have been paid. In most cases, the teacher targeted by LAUSD with having been overpaid will actual find that they have been underpaid. But in no case that I know of has LAUSD responded to multiple requests for substantiation of overpayment claims or shown a willingness to drop them.
At various times in this process over the last four years, LAUSD has claimed that I owe them anywhere from over $9000 to over $13000 without ever offering documentary justification of either amount.
On November 30, 2014, I arrived at four years since I was last paid by LAUSD. I also arrived at the statute of limitations for LAUSD collecting this supposed overpayment from me, even though my account says I was in fact significantly underpaid.
So, for argument sake, let's assume that I in fact did owe LAUSD for overpayment. Why would they have allowed the statute of limitations to run on this debt I supposedly have to LAUSD? Isn't this negligence per se on the part of those LAUSD employees charged with collecting it who now have allowed the statute of limitations to run? And isn't it also malpractice by those LAUSD lawyers involved in this affair?
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What is a better explanation as to why they allowed the statute of limitations to run is that they know I fight back with lawyers, while most teachers already deprived of salary and benefits have neither the money or energy left to do anything but take out a check book and pay a "debt" they all know is invalid.
Now, for argument sake, let's assume that I- and most of the other alleged overpayment targeted teachers never did owe LAUSD any money. Could it be that LAUSD administration just saw this as yet another way- along with going after teachers at the top of the salary scale- to lessen an LAUSD budget that is constantly being pushed into the red by LAUSD administrative ineptitude, e.g. $169 million Miramonte settlement, iPad scandal, Belmont and Ambassador Hotel toxic waste dump and over-budget scandals, and fixing attendance figures, grades, and assessments.
Again, assuming that LAUSD administration had any belief in teachers actually having been overpaid, wouldn't they have been required to file an amended W-2 with the IRS?
It's long past time for the chickens to come home to roost at LAUSD. Any chicken pluckers out there?
(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 98
Pub: Dec 5, 2014
