LAUSD charter group gave food contract to an employee's firm
The probe involved Jacqueline Duvivier Castillo, who is the director of business and development for PUC Schools and a part-owner in Better 4 You Meals, a company that has provided food to the charter group for the last five years. Investigators said the charter failed to demonstrate that the contract was "awarded properly despite the apparent conflict of interest."
Late Saturday, the charter organization said in an email to The Times that Duvivier Castillo would no longer be an employee of PUC.
"This move will allow her to focus on her business full-time and will remove any perception of conflict with our schools," the PUC statement said. "While we in no way believe that Ms. Duvivier influenced our decision-making process, full disclosure and transparency are of utmost importance to us as an organization."
The state Department of Education, which released emails and documents about its investigation to the Los Angeles Times under the California Public Records Act, also found:
Duvivier Castillo failed to properly report her financial interests in the company.
The company was ineligible for the food contracts because it lacked a health permit and relied on a subcontractor to prepare meals.
PUC Schools did not select the lowest-priced bidder as required.
One of the area's largest charter groups, PUC serves about 4,800 students in 15 schools, including in the east San Fernando Valley and north of downtown. PUC's test scores typically compare well with nearby traditional neighborhood schools. It recently started a national organization that opened a campus in Rochester, N.Y.
The education department recently ordered PUC Schools to begin a new bidding process under state supervision. The charter group must also adopt stricter conflict-of-interest guidelines, the department said.
Duvivier Castillo did not respond to requests for comment.
The head of Partnerships to Uplift Communities denied wrongdoing, but said the charter organization is taking the state's findings seriously and plans to comply.
"We have always run a competitive bid process that we believe is legal and is within the realm of how it's supposed to be done," said Chief Executive Jacqueline Elliot. "We were not aware of Jackie's personal involvement in Better 4 You. All we were aware of was that the procurement process was done appropriately."
The charter organization was co-founded by L.A. Unified school board candidate Ref Rodriguez. Rodriguez is on the charter group's board of directors and works part-time as its treasurer.
He is vying to unseat one-term incumbent Bennett Kayser in an expensive, hard-fought contest for a spot on the Los Angeles Board of Education. The election is May 19.
Better 4 You Breakfast, the company's original name, contributed $2,200 to the Rodriguez campaign and Duvivier Castillo received $1,700 this year for work as an election consultant, according to campaign finance reports.
The state investigation began before Rodriguez announced his candidacy.
Rodriguez declined to answer questions about the state investigation, but issued a statement saying that he backs the decision to terminate the agreement, particularly because he supports "public transparency around our schools and our decision-making."
State officials did not determine who was at fault for the charter issues. Charter schools are publicly funded and independently managed.
Most of PUC's 16 schools are under the supervision of the L.A. Unified School District. Officials said Friday that the district had no record of PUC alerting LAUSD charter group gave food contract to an employee's firm - LA Times:LAUSD charter group gave food contract to an employee's firm - LA Times:
