Ref Is Gone: Ripples of Hope from a Resignation
In resigning from the L.A. school board last month, Ref Rodriguez pled guilty to felony conspiracy, admitted to money laundering, and agreed to pay a $100,000 fine to the ethics commission. Downfall of the longtime charter-school treasurer opens a seat on the board of the school district with the second most students in the nation, 18 percent of them in charter schools.
As a new school year starts, his departure leaves lessons about representation, and misrepresentation, in the communities that narrowly elected him three years ago and throughout metropolitan L.A.
As a new school year starts, his departure leaves lessons about representation, and misrepresentation, in the communities that narrowly elected him three years ago and throughout metropolitan L.A.
As a new school year starts, his departure leaves lessons about representation, and misrepresentation, in the communities that narrowly elected him three years ago and throughout metropolitan L.A.
First, Rodriguez’ exit amid a criminal trial for manipulating money and his public disclosure statements shows the gulf in openness between some private charter-school operations and the public sector. Several charter schools in L.A. County face challenges over their accounting standards, dramatized by the FBI raid on the Celerity schools’ offices in 2017. Rodriguez himself faces an ongoing probe by federal investigators for writing checks to entities he had a financial stake in, which came to light along with his scheme of fraudulent reimbursement of phony donations. Besides disserving the public, this shortcoming in the area of financial oversight could hurt the reputation of candidates closely aligned with charter schools when they face voters.
Second, Rodriguez’ misdeeds prompted an unusual outcry from a diverse group of community leaders, including Neighborhood Council members, current and retired education professionals, and former members of the L.A. school board. Protests centered on misrepresentations in his campaign and intensified this spring when he stayed on the board after his arrest during work hours for public drunkenness. They highlight a healthy and growing concern for integrity in representation in governing bodies for Angelenos in communities along the L.A. River. Voter turnout in local and state elections in neighborhoods in the eastern parts of the county often comes in at half that witnessed in Westside and Valley districts. But civic engagement among voters in Eastside and adjacent communities is making a comeback.
Whistle-blowing over Rodriguez’ fraud is a case in point. It did not take rocket scientists to spot a suspicious pattern of low-wage workers employed by his chain of charter schools supposedly finding $1,000 or more in the closing days of 2014 to make lavish donations to Rodriguez’ campaign for school board. It did, however, take alert citizens. Many of us answered questions Continue reading: Ref Is Gone: Ripples of Hope from a Resignation - LA Progressive
Big Education Ape: BREAKING NEWS: Ref Rodriguez pleads guilty to conspiracy and resigns from L.A. school board - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2018/07/breaking-news-ref-rodriguez-pleads.html
Big Education Ape: OMG: CCSA's Ref Rodriguez's PUC Lakeview Charter Academy Audit - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2015/04/ccsas-ref-rodriguezs-puc-lakeview.html