Long plagued by scandals and mismanagement, the Inglewood Unified School District has found itself in the danger zone again, this time over questionable budgeting.

The K-12 district's budget has been rejected by the Los Angeles County Office of Education not once but twice since August. It is the only one of the county's 80 school districts lacking an approved budget.

Union and county officials alike are particularly concerned with cash flow, which is another way of saying that the district at some point this school year might struggle to make payroll.

Now, the county might have to exercise the rare option of assigning a fiscal adviser to oversee all of Inglewood Unified's financial decisions.

The heightened scrutiny is the latest blow for a district already beset by a slew of misfortunes over the years. They include an exodus of students to area charter schools, extremely high turnover in management and a