Former L.A. schools official Aquino defends conduct over iPads contract
| Jaime Aquino, left, then-deputy superintendent of L.A. Unified School District, with a teacher at an iPad training session in 2013. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) |
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The former Los Angeles schools official at the center of scrutiny over the district's $1.3-billion iPad program said Thursday that he acted properly in his dealings with Pearson, the company that provided the curriculum on the devices.
Former Deputy Supt. Jaime Aquino worked for a Pearson subsidiary before joining the L.A. Unified School District. Critics have said that emails he exchanged with Pearson suggest that he was trying to steer the contract toward the multibillion-dollar, international firm. Aquino responded that his comments are being taken out of context.
Separately, the school district said it is looking into whether Aquino volated ethics rules in dealing at all with Pearson less than a year after he joined L.A. Unified.
Aquino, who left L.A. Unified at the end of last year, said that allegation is groundless as well. Aquino's comments to The Times were his first public attempt to address concerns that he may have acted inappropriately.
“I don't have anything to hide,” Aquino said. “I did everything by the book and always sought legal counsel.”
L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy suspended new purchases of iPads on Monday in response to concerns about the earlier bidding process and other issues. The $30-million iPad contract, approved by the board in June 2013, initially was expected to expand to about $500 million, with another $500 million spent on upgrading wireless access at campuses. So far, the district has spent about $61 million to purchase about 62,000 iPads.
Last week that effort suffered two blows. First came the draft of a critical report, obtained by The Times, from board member Monica Ratliff, who chaired a committee overseeing technology issues. Then came the release of emails, through the California Public Records Act requests, showing that, before the bidding process began, Deasy and Aquino had developed a close relationship with Apple and Pearson, the winning team.
In one email, Aquino wrote to Pearson representatives:
“I believe we would have to make sure that your bid is Former L.A. schools official Aquino defends conduct over iPads contract - LA Times:
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