LAUSD charter investigations increase but funding doesn’t
Investigating and analyzing charter schools is becoming a greater burden for LA Unified, and the district isn’t getting any more money to do the work, according to a report presented today.
“Charter-related work consumes the most amount of investigative resources due to the time-sensitive nature of the work and the monthly deadlines for board action on charter petitions,” LAUSD inspector general Ken Bramlett said in his report to the Budget, Facilities and Audit Committee. He noted that at least 20 percent of the district’s total investigative work is to check the due diligence of charter schools. This year alone, there are also five ongoing large-scale charter school investigations.
“What worries me is that with more charter schools planned for the district we will be doing more investigations without additional resources,” Bramlett told the committee, chaired by Mónica Ratliff.
The district’s Office of Inspector General looks at improper and illegal activities of anyone doing business with LAUSD. Some of the investigations come from complaints, others come from research required by law. Bramlett said that about 54 percent of projects are investigative, and 46 percent are due diligence issues, such as checking staff backgrounds, facilities and charter schools.
The inspector general’s office needs an additional $570,000 for staff, which would pay LAUSD charter investigations increase but funding doesn’t - LA School Report:
